During MWC Kigali, Akim Benamara of TechAfrica News interviewed Axel Hansmann, Director of Industrial IoT Security at Rohde & Schwarz, covering a range of topics related to the company’s vision and activities in Africa. They discussed Rohde & Schwarz’s perspective on the future of Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT) in Africa, the unique challenges and opportunities the continent presents, and how the company tailors its offerings to the African market.
We see a great opportunity in Africa with a growing population and a large potential for economic growth as well. Africa comes with some challenges. A lot of rural environments with poor infrastructure and at Rhode and Schwarz we also cater to these special requirements.
Axel Hansmann, Director of Industrial IoT Security at Rohde & Schwarz
They delved into the challenges of 5G device testing in Africa and how Rohde & Schwarz’s WIC platform stands out in this context. The importance of network benchmarking for emerging markets in Africa and the handling of diverse network infrastructures were also explored. The interview further covered the significance of spectrum monitoring and interference hunting in ensuring quality telecommunication services in Africa and how Rohde & Schwarz’s solutions address these issues. Lastly, the interview touched on Rohde & Schwarz’s growing footprint in Africa and its strategic focus on the continent, including the role of MWC Kigali in this expansion.
In Africa there is a very big market for lower-end smart devices, what we’ve seen is these smart devices, typically do not perform up to the level of some of the higher-end devices. So I think when it comes to, mobile devices’ testing is very important from a regulator perspective to understand whether these devices are of sufficient quality and conformance to be allowed to be used inside their country and also from an MNO perspective to understand whether these devices should be allowed onto their networks.
Axel Hansmann, Director of Industrial IoT Security at Rohde & Schwarz
