Somaliland Aspires to Lead Africa in 5G Development

Somaliland is a self-governing region that declared independence from Somalia in 1991, although its sovereignty remains unrecognized by both Somalia and the international community. With a population of around 3.5 million, Somaliland operates with its own government.

In recent years, Somaliland has made significant strides in developing its telecommunications sector. Companies like Telesom and Somtel have played key roles in providing affordable mobile phone services and high-speed internet. Mobile banking services, such as Telesom’s Zaad, have transformed how people manage financial transactions. 

However, internet access in rural areas remains limited, and connection speeds in urban areas still fall short of global standards. Despite these challenges, Somaliland is one of the first low-income nations, particularly in Africa, to adopt 5G technology. This development offers a unique chance to bypass traditional broadband infrastructure, potentially delivering faster, more reliable internet services and driving technological progress.

Somtel introduced 5G in Somaliland’s capital, Hargeisa, in partnership with eDahab, the leading mobile payments provider in January 2024. The company claims to be the first operator in the region to launch a 5G network. Other African nations that have rolled out 5G include South Africa, Uganda, Kenya, and Nigeria.

Founded in 1998, Somtel is a publicly traded company registered in the British Virgin Islands. Since 2008, UAE-based MTO Dahabshiil has owned approximately 95% of Somtel's shares. The eDahab money transfer service operates through Somtel's SIM cards and Dahabshiil’s money transfer platform. Somtel has previously introduced 4G to the region, implemented VoLTE and eSIM technology, and launched Bluekom Fiber services.

Meanwhile Telesom also launched their 5G network again in January of this year. According to Telesom chairperson Abdikarim Eid  Somaliland’s 5G rollout reflects the country’s resilience and commitment to a better future. “We’ve launched ahead of 36 African countries, many of which have stronger economies than ours,” Eid stated. “Our goal is to provide subscribers with near-instantaneous download speeds that will boost local industries, including education, healthcare, transport, and agriculture.”

With download speeds reaching 1,016 megabits per second, Eid envisions Telesom’s 5G network unlocking new possibilities, driving innovations like smart farming, remote surgeries, and immersive virtual reality education. “It’s not just about speed; it’s about opening a new era of opportunities for our people and preparing for the future,” he said.

Affordability will be key to widespread 5G adoption, but Somalia, including Somaliland, is already among Africa’s top five countries with the most affordable mobile internet. According to the 2023 Worldwide Mobile Data Pricing index by UK-based Cable, Somalia has the cheapest mobile internet in East Africa, with an average of $0.50 per gigabyte (GB) and the lowest provider offering just $0.19 per GB.

Somaliland’s journey to 5G has not been easy. The country faced conflicts last year and continues to deal with militia threats, which have slowed infrastructure development, including the expansion of high-speed internet.

With extensive coastlines, Somaliland and Somalia have access to undersea fiber optic cables, but fiber internet is largely concentrated in urban areas. Eid noted, “Telesom’s fixed wireless access (FWA) using our 5G network will allow us to bring high-speed internet to areas beyond the fiber network in every city we serve.”

Despite a high internet penetration rate of 95%, Somaliland’s 5G rollout may face challenges, particularly due to the relatively high cost of 5G-enabled devices, similar to what Kenya has experienced.

While analysts estimate that 5G could add $2.2 trillion to Africa’s economy by 2034, the impact will depend on how quickly the private sector integrates the technology into business. As 5G spreads across Africa, one thing is clear: Somaliland is now a key player in the high-speed internet revolution.

Related Posts: 

• Operator Watch Blog: Somalia to get 100% 4G Coverage by 2023 

SK Telecom on 'Applying AI to Transform Customer Experience'

FutureNet Asia 2024 took place from September 17-18 at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, marking the event's fourth edition. Earlier this year, FutureNet World celebrated its sixth year in London. The event brought together over 400 industry leaders and visionaries to explore the intersections of network automation and AI.

Eric Davis, Vice President of the AI Tech Collaboration Group at SK Telecom, oversees collaborations with global tech partners to customize large language models (LLMs) for the telecommunications domain. His teams are responsible for designing and building datasets to fine-tune LLMs, as well as benchmarking LLMs both generally and specifically for the telecommunications sector. He gave an insightful talk on how SK Telecom is 'Applying AI to Transform Customer Experience'.

His talk is embedded below:

Following this event, SK Telecom announced AI Pyramid Strategy to become a global AI company. In a press release, they announced:

SKT sets forth ‘AI Pyramid Strategy’ to accelerate innovation centered around three key areas: AI Infrastructure, AI Transformation (AIX) and AI Service.

• AI Infrastructure, which consists of data center, AI semiconductor, and multi LLM, will serve as a technology platform that forms the basis of SKT as an AI company.
• AI Transformation (AIX) of SKT’s core business areas such as mobile, broadband and enterprise, as well as new business areas like mobility and healthcare will be pursued to reach a new level of productivity and customer experience.
• In the area of AI Service, SKT announces the official launch of ‘A.’ and plans to build a globally competitive personal AI assistant service by leveraging its telco and AI assets.

It further mentioned:

SKT today announced that it has branded its AI technology as ‘A.X’ and named its large language model ‘A.X LLM’.

The company is pursuing a multi-LLM strategy, under which it takes a two-track approach to secure diverse LLM lineup as well as an overall platform that encompasses the LLMs. It is advancing its own LLM based on high-quality data accumulated over decades. Simultaneously, SKT is collaborating with a diverse range of partners, including Anthropic, OpenAI, and Konan Technology, to develop tailored LLM and related technologies specifically for the telco industry.

First, in terms of strengthening its own capabilities, SKT plans to advance its LLMs into telco-specific LLMs by leveraging its abundant telecommunications-related data.

In addition, the company will continue to secure more sophisticated LLM technologies based on its supercomputer Titan, which ranked no. 47 on the Top 500 list of the world's most powerful supercomputers; high understanding of the Korean language trained with the world’s largest Korean language data; intelligence platform where multi LLMs and AI technologies customized for diverse telco use cases can be utilized; and multimodal LLM technologies that support communication via not only text but also voice, video, and so on.

SKT invested USD 100 million in Anthropic last month, and is working together with Anthropic to develop LLM customized to telcos. The company is also cooperating with Open AI, which includes co-hosting of an AI hackathon in Korea. SKT also invested KRW 22.4 billion in Konan Technology last year, and the two companies are collaborating to enter into the enterprise market with LLMs customized to corporate customers.

■ AI Transformation (AIX)

In the area of AIX, which is located in the middle layer of the AI Pyramid, SKT will innovate its existing core business areas like mobile, broadband and enterprise with AI, while at the same time expanding into new business areas such as mobility, AI healthcare, media and advertising technology. 

In the mobile business, the company stated that AI holds the power to significantly improve both profitability and customer experience. AI can not only be used to acquire/retain customers and provide better customer support via AI Contact Centers (AICC), but also be applied to the network infrastructure to enhance the efficiency in network deployment and operation. The company expects that, in the mid-to long-term, AI will help reduce 20 to 30% of costs compared to the current level.

SKT will also evolve SK Broadband’s Btv service into AI TV to deliver a new level of convenience and value. For instance, ‘AI Curation’ will identify the user and show personalized TV; and ‘AI Home’ will allow users to enjoy various media services by conversing with an AI agent.

In addition, by combining multi LLM with existing AI solutions like Vision AI, Language AI and Big Data AI, the company to expand its AICC business to financial institutions and data platform business to manufacturers. For its generative AI business, it will build customized services for public and financial institutions with strong needs for security and specialized services, while providing SaaS bundles to general corporate customers.

Furthermore, SKT will continue to pursue AI innovation and expand the overall AI ecosystem by growing its new business areas such as urban air mobility (UAM) and AI-based healthcare services like X Caliber. The company will also promote mergers and acquisitions in areas including media and advertising technology to create new business opportunities through AI transformation.

■ AI Service

SKT today announced the official launch of ‘A.’, the world’s first Korean LLM service released in the beta version in 2022. 

The company said that ‘A.’ will evolve into a personal AI assistant service by innovating customers’ communication experience and fully assisting their everyday lives via seamless connection to a wide variety of AI services. 

SKT plans to add an AI phone service, which enables new connections through communication innovation that can only be achieved by a telco. The AI phone will provide a variety of AI services and mobile experiences based on understanding and reasoning of call context.

For instance, it will recommend people to call based on call history and analyze the content exchanged during a call with AI to provide a call summary. At the same time, it connects users to necessary tasks, such as registering the schedule made during a call to the calendar or sharing addresses. More features such as real-time interpretation during calls will also be added going forward.

In terms of integrating AI into all aspects of daily life, SKT will start by offering an AI sleep management solution named ‘A. sleep’ and an AI music service this month.

‘A. sleep’ is developed by combining sleep management solution startup Asleep’s sleep solution and SKT’s AI. It evaluates sleep quality by analyzing user’s sleep patterns. No separate device is needed. It helps users start their day in the best possible condition by determining the ideal wake-up time depending on their sleep status and quality.

The AI music service will not only allow users to edit their playlist by simply talking to A., but also automatically recommend music that matches their tastes based on its generative customer prediction model.

Going forward, SKT plans to leverage its AI service-related experience and knowhow accumulated in the Korean market to develop a powerful personal AI assistant service that can attract global customers.

The company expects that its partnerships with diverse global players – including the Global Telco AI Alliance – will help accelerate its progress. SKT plans to expand its presence in the global AI service market by launching personal AI assistant services simultaneously in many countries across the world by working closely with telcos for localization and advancement of these services.

You can read the complete press release here.

Eric shared some interesting lessons that they have learned as part of rolling out their LLM powered use cases as can be seen from his slide above.

Related Posts: 

• Free 6G Training: A Discussion on SK Telecom's First 6G Whitepaper from Wireless Future Podcast
• Free 6G Training: SK Telecom Releases 6G White Paper Looking at Lessons Learned in 5G and Way Forward with 6G
• Free 6G Training - SK Telecom 6G White Paper: View on Future AI Telco Infrastructure
• Operator Watch Blog: Is South Korea Losing its 5G Crown?
• Operator Watch Blog: 5G Network Sharing using MOCN for Rural South Korea
• Operator Watch Blog: Wi-Fi and 5G Status in South Korea 

5G is Growing Slowly in Croatia

Croatia, a picturesque country with a vibrant telecommunications sector, has a competitive mobile market that has evolved significantly over the years. With increasing mobile penetration, enhanced network infrastructure, and a growing demand for data services, the mobile landscape in Croatia is an interesting one to explore. Having written about the imminent launch of 5G in 2020, we were hoping for a lot more progress with 5G rollout so far.

Croatia's telecom market is largely controlled by the incumbent operator Hrvatski Telekom, along with the local branches of United Group and Telekom Austria. However, competition remains strong, supported by several smaller operators. The regulator has played a key role in fostering this competitive environment by implementing measures to facilitate network access and promoting regional licensing. Notably, two recent 5G licenses were allocated specifically for regional rather than national operators.

The mobile market consists of three major network operators (MNOs). These providers have been focused on increasing average revenue per user (ARPU) by encouraging prepaid customers to switch to postpaid plans and boosting revenue from mobile data services. While 5G is now widely available, the full impact of the technology will become apparent after 2021, following the distribution of licenses across various frequency bands. This spectrum, previously reserved for GSM, 3G, and LTE services, will play a key role in the government’s national broadband plan extending to 2027, which aligns with the European Commission’s goals to achieve gigabit connectivity by the end of 2025.

2G on Hrvatski Telekom and A1 is on 900 MHz and Telemach on 1800 MHz, 3G is on 900 MHz and 2100 MHz with all three providers. 4G/LTE is available on bands 1, 3, 7 and 20 (800, 1800, 2100 and 2700 MHz) with carrier aggregation available on all three providers. In 2021 all three operators are rolling out 5G. Hrvatski Telekom and A1 have started on n28 (700 MHz) and n78 (3500 MHz), and are now open for all Hrvatski Telekom prepaid packages and the unlimited A1 prepaid package, but not yet on Telemach and MVNOs.

Hrvatski Telekom (HT) is the largest mobile operator in Croatia, controlling a significant portion of the market. As part of the Deutsche Telekom Group, HT benefits from the vast expertise and resources of one of Europe’s largest telecom companies. HT has consistently led the market in terms of both subscribers and network quality.

Recently Rijeka Gateway has announced a 5G standalone (SA) connectivity partnership with Hrvatski Telekom (HT), marking the implementation of an advanced private 5G campus network.

Rijeka Gateway, which operates facilities at Croatia's largest port in Rijeka, is a joint venture between APM Terminals and ENNA Group. This development is entirely new, without any legacy LTE network infrastructure, which the company highlights as a key advantage, making it the first HT installation to use SA architecture.

Set to commence operations in 2025, Rijeka Gateway will utilize HT's public mobile network to support its primarily remotely operated electric equipment. The terminal emphasizes that its use of electric container handling equipment will significantly minimize environmental impact, reducing noise and pollution for the surrounding community.

The Croatian operator Hrvatski Telekom has already started shutting down their 3G network. Complete switch-off by end of Jan 2025https://t.co/I02prt7vL6https://t.co/nPdwOF8eOm

2G will continue to work as normal#2G #3G #3G4G5G #2G3Gshutdown pic.twitter.com/R7R2nkAbJe

— Zahid Ghadialy (@zahidtg) October 6, 2024

HT has already started shutting down their 3G network and plan to have their 3G completely switched-off by end of Jan. 2025. Their 2G network will still be around for a while.

A1 Croatia (formerly known as Vipnet) is the second-largest mobile operator in the country. A1 is part of A1 Telekom Austria Group, which operates in several European countries. A1 Croatia has positioned itself as a strong competitor to HT, especially in terms of pricing and customer service.

Telemach is the third provider in Croatia. It was called Tele2 before it was sold to a local cable operator. They started 4G/LTE in 2016 already covering 90% and opened it to all prepaid plans. In cities coverage is similar to HT and A1. In rural areas (highways outside cities and unpopulated areas) Telemach roams on Hrvatski Telekom without surcharges. After its acquisition by United Group in 2020, Telemach has been expanding its services and network to compete more aggressively with HT and A1.

The Croatian government and telecom operators have been working together to modernize the country’s mobile infrastructure, especially with the 5G rollout. Both HT and A1 have launched 5G networks, covering major cities such as Zagreb, Split, and Rijeka. Telemach has been somewhat slower in rolling out 5G but is catching up through significant infrastructure investments.

Related Posts: 

• Operator Watch Blog: Croatia is Switching-On 5G