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network, built by ZTE, was deployed as a commercial service by
the Tunisian PTT. It represents a major step for Tunisia’s commu-
nications and places the country at the very forefront of African
communications. Two of Tunisia’s most important cities – Tunis
and Sousse – will be covered by the planned 3G network,
meaning that Tunisians and European visitors alike will be able
to enjoy a higher standard of services across the country in future.
As well as the benefits to business and consumer customers,
the Tunisian 3G network is also proving to be an economic
success for the operator. Revenue-generating 3G networks in cities
like Sousse, Monastir and Mahdia will give perfect coverage
without the need for local operators to bear any additional infra-
structure cost.
The ZTE WCDMA network has also proved its worth in the
diversity of services it supports. So far, all permutations of voice
calls (between 3G, 2G and fixed phones) and conference calls
have been proven to work, along with SMS, MMS, VoD, WAP and
JAVA applications. Additionally, videophone services and real-
time surveillance/broadcast have also been made possible. As part
of the first 3G network in Africa, the Tunisian PTT is currently
developing new TV-enabled mobile, and more specialized services
to cater to the economically important hotel and tourist industry
are also planned for the future.
How does the developing world get there?
Hopefully, the above statistics and examples prove the absolute
desirability of a modern, scalable and affordable mobile phone
network for developing nations. Anyone outside the telecom-
munications industry would at this point have every right to start
shouting about why something so evidently beneficial to
economic growth and society as a whole has not occurred.
Working within the industry, many have got accustomed to the
real answer and no longer see its inadequacy.
The real answer is, cost. For far too long, access to communi-
cations has been seen as a privilege of the urban elite. In the era
of copper networks, this thinking could be explained as the cost
rose linearly with the deployments.
The arrival of new technologies has changed the equation
entirely in terms of both scalability and the cost of production.
No longer does it require decades of investment in physical
infrastructure, and the way has been opened for companies and
governments to leapfrog generations of technology. New tech-
nologies such as microwave networks, satellite transmissions
and wireless local loops have transformed the cost equation of
a network infrastructure. Massive improvements in the scala-
bility of voice calls for WCDMA compared to GSM and GPRS
have also brought calls to an affordability that the whole
community can reach.
Some telcos have remained resistant – believing that letting in
cellular, satellite and Voice over Internet Protocol technologies
would diminish the returns they were achieving from the aged
copper network. These telcos are few and far between now, and
most have seen the future and engaged in the types of ambitious
projects that we see here in Tunisia.
As well as the openness of governments and the development
of new, more efficient technologies, the third aspect of the cost
issue has simply been the mindset of the technology manufac-
turers. Geared up to service the needs of the wealthy telcos of the
West, they indulged themselves with expensive people, offices
and private jets – satisfied that they would suffer no great price
pressure. This meant that they were simply ignoring the needs of
the developing world and their prices made it prohibitive for the
telcos in these regions.
Since the telecoms bubble burst in 2001, many have had the
opportunity to reflect on where the major markets will be for the
next twenty years, and realized that the US and Western Europe
represent only ten per cent of the world’s population. China,
India, Africa, Latin America, and Russia are the new business
frontiers, and the technology companies have tried to adjust to
meet their needs. At the same time, a new generation of company
has arisen, which is dedicated to providing the infrastructure for
the 90 per cent of the world that most needs it.
With the technology in place and affordable, the companies
focused on supplying and installing it efficiently and the growing
understanding of economic and social benefits by governments,
the picture does at last start to look more optimistic for growth
in the developing world.
ZTE donated to Project Hope by building a middle school in Yunnan
province, China (December 2003)