Nokia Siemens Networks

From Aachen to Zvishavane, ready for worldwide connectivity?

Universal access to ICT will change our lives in ways that no one can predict.

We are racing into a new age of communications which, in a few short years, will see billions and billions of people given access to communications and information services for the very first time.

We estimate that four people are being connected for the first time every second (see the counter on our homepage).

At this rate of change, we estimate that five billion people will be connected to some form of ICT by the year 2015 – just seven short years from now.

In this exciting future, consumers across developed and emerging markets will enjoy fast data connections that will bring new ways to find information about the world around them. By connecting them to content, to knowledge and to their peers, people will feel closer to the issues that matter to them most.

Satisfying consumer demands through mobile technology

Mobility will increase its dominance of voice services, commanding 70-90% of all global traffic, depending on the market. In emerging markets, the affordability and convenience of mobile devices will play a crucial role in extending the reach of the internet.

More and more capabilities will be integrated into mobile devices. Information services will experience progressive and deep convergence. These trends will lead to new recipes for personalized content that will bring benefits beyond anything we can imagine today.

People will use mobile devices to become involved in new communities in which they will collaborate to create content and services for themselves, for entertainment and for business purposes. Indeed, completely new business models will emerge as mobile communications stimulates enterprises and encourages closer global cooperation.

The mobile will continue to provide countless new opportunities in education, employment, healthcare and public services. It will help people to better address demographic and environmental issues.

Understandably, this sharp predicted rise will pose both tremendous opportunities for – and challenges to – the ICT industry.

The communications industry must be able to adapt to varied needs

On a practical level, different economies, governments and cultures will each require specific, tailored solutions to enable this great change.

For instance, in remote areas far from the power grid, networks will need to be more and more efficient in order to use sustainable energy such as solar and wind power, avoiding the expensive and messy need for trucking in diesel.

In spite of these challenges, the opportunities are mind-boggling. Did you know that only 4% of Africans use the Internet? And 78% of lower income people in India have never even heard of the Internet? (Source: LIRNEAsia, Teleuse@BOP, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Thailand, 2006)

A new era of connectivity is on the horizon, enabled by the cooperation and innovation of all stakeholders. Together, we are making it happen – seven times a second.