Sub-Saharan Africa’s digital revolution was not set to get under way  – it had already started, Ericsson VP for strategy, marketing and communication Tumi Sekhukhune told delegates at the Southern Africa Telecommunication Network and Application Conference (Satnac), in Port Elizabeth, this week.

The rapidly changing social and technological dynamic in information and communication technology (ICT), as well as the ever-increasing availability of low-cost devices, would drive the increase in subscription numbers in the region.

Ericsson forecast that by the end of this year, mobile subscriptions in sub-Saharan Africa would increase to over 635-million before rising to around 930-million in the next five years, indicating that “Africa is coming online”.

The continent’s mobile data traffic would experience a 20-fold increase during the period from 2013 to 2019, compared with the global average of a ten-fold increase in data traffic.

Cisco consulting systems engineer Cassie Bezuidenhout said Africa’s current digital adoption was the “tip of an iceberg”, with the Internet penetration of 18% expected to rise to 30% by 2025.

The number of Internet users in Africa, currently standing at 167-million, would increase to 600-million in the next ten years, with 360-million active smartphones by 2025, up from the current 67-million smartphones.

The contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) from the sector would also significantly jump from the current $18-billion to $300-billion in the same period.

The global industry was at a turning point, said Alcatel-Lucent head of corporate strategy Jean-Pierre Lartigue, who pointed out that, from 2012 to 2017, the world would experience a 440% increase in cloud adoption and use and a 720% increase in video traffic, with 3.9-billion people and 70-billion things connected to the Internet by 2017.

“The revolution is happening,” Sekhukhune said, adding that key growth areas had emerged, including the provision of devices for under $50 and greater local content, the increasing adoption of national broadband plans and ICT’s role in key sectors, as well as the delivery of high-performance networks.

A study on several companies that have achieved double-digit growth driven by mobile broadband showed that the best performing companies had undergone a mindset change, focusing on opportunities as opposed to being problem- or challenge-focused.

The “front runners” had a dual focus on leading by superior network performance and marketing and offerings.

The leading companies also narrowed focus to visionary investing, delivering on experience-centric key performance indicators, quality-led marketing, redefining subscriptions, ensuring open-ended innovation and enabling visionary collaboration.

“The solutions of yesterday cannot be the solutions of tomorrow,” Lartigue said, noting the need to view broadband and its delivery in “a different way”.

The various networks now had to adapt to the user’s demands, such as capacity, speed and flexibility.

Alcatel-Lucent VP Daniel Jaeger stated that the network was core, but it was “not enough” on its own, with a growing need to develop an “ecosystem” incorporating devices; content and applications; operator behaviour; end-user dynamics; and the regulatory environment.

Citing the results from a study on an undisclosed East African country, as well as the outcomes of three projects worldwide, he said there could be significant socioeconomic change stemming from the implementation of ecosystems, particularly in health, education and safety.

While a 2.7% rise in GDP growth was seen in the East African country where an ecosystem project was implemented, it had saved 627 000 lives and increased life expectancy at birth by 15 months and saw 443 000 additional students enrolled in educational programmes.

“It is not just that we [need to] build great networks to increase GDP, it also has significant socioeconomic impacts,” he said.

Huawei fixed network business unit CTO Daniel Tang added that a 10% rise in broadband penetration, while contributing to GDP growth, could also lead to a 2% to 3% rise in employment.

ICT was driving an industrial revolution and had shifted from its role as a supporting system to a growth engine for the economy.

Technology was simultaneously leading and driving network transformation and ICT convergence and reshaping other industries.

“Digitisation and the Internet [is] making all industries smarter,” he said, adding that the growth momentum was set to continue.