Key mining people got talking about info-rmation technology over coffee the other day, and it soon turned into a debate on costs, and whether mines understood their infrastructure and IT systems integration requirements. Do mines know the impact of IT, con-nectivity, and online access, on their operations and bottom lines? Many IT users feel exploited, saying that their full IT blueprint had never realised in day to day mining operations and strategy.
Technology issues spark hot debate on Africa's telecommunications development strategy, versus international strategy. Some current African telecoms and IT facts are sure to light up business expectations of the new year.
Some mining operations already use integrated communication infrastructures, to run high data applications like tracking, video, VoIP, remote vehicle diagnostics, vehicle control, Leaky Feeder, which is two way voice and data VHF radio. Some mines are implementing ultra low frequency paging and emergency warning systems, or evacuation warning systems, remote blast initiation system on wire or radio signals. Some mines are tracking miners and equipment underground in real-time. Some cap lamps include a range of communication and safety devices. Some wireless infrastructure allows open pit and underground mobile applications.
The need to bridge the digital divide between Africa and the rest of the world has become a focus in the international telecommunication industry.
Cable breakdowns do occur, this explains why several operators have not only invested in one or more of the new cables, but have also booked capacity in cables in which they have not invested. There are around 10 undersea cables either under construction or in the planning stages around the whole of Africa.
* Seacom cable, $650-m, 1.28 Tb/s, East African coast, live 23 July 2009
* East African Submarine cable system, $65-m, 1.4Tb/s, SA to Sudan, live 16 June 2010
* Main One cable phase 1, $240-m, 1.92 Tb/s, West African coast, Portugal to Nigeria and Ghana, live 30 July 2010.
* Main One phase 2 link to SA, estimated 2012
* Glo 1 cable link, $800-m, 2.5Tb/s, UK to Lagos, Nigeria; testing phase
* West African cable system, $600-m, 5.2 Tb/s, UK to SA, late in 2011
* Africa Coast to Europe, $700-m, 5.12Tb/s, including Mauritania, Sierra Leone, Liberia; 2011
* East African Marine cable system, $130-m, 1.28 Tb/s, Kenyan initiative, under upgrade.
Mining infrastructure worldwide depends on receiving and accessing online information.
Until a year ago, Africa had only a single fibre optic undersea cable to Europe, now upgraded to the 340-gigabyte South Atlantic 3, West Africa Submarine Cable, SAT-3/ Safe.
Ramifications of Main One's cable will be felt in all sectors; education, health, entertainment, economic growth and job opportunities all over Africa.
Expanding network and falling prices are expected to fuel explosive growth in mobile broadband in Africa in the next few years, particularly Nigeria, which has overtaken South Africa to become the continent's largest mobile telecoms user.
Enhanced capacity will increase competition among big operators like SA's MTN, and India's Bharti, which in late 2010 for $9-b bought African operations of Kuwait's Zain.
Fibre optic transatlantic cables between North America and Europe are transmitting voice and data at 1000 gigabytes per second.
Cable projects bring broadband to the coast, but more work remains to bring access inland.
As reported in Project Management, Sep 2010, a project manager linking SA to Sudan, said investments in network projects may be as much as twice the $2-b to $3-b being spent on new submarine cables.
USA's Pyramid Research said terrestrial networks had to accompany the supply of bandwidth, linking into strong terrestrial backbones, where broadband adoption and revenue had "limited room for growth".
With more reliance on wireless networks, 'last mile' access may be driven in the short run by Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax) and data cards or modems.
Affordable broadband inland may come via weather balloons, to a billion people in the African mass market. Hydrogen filled weather balloons could serve as cheap satellite substitutes, floating at 80 000 to 100 000 feet.
Individual users would contact these balloons via modem, bridging to nearby surface nets that are situated near fibre optic cables.
Balloon signalling is termed 'near space', and it could elevate African data use, and data reliability.
* Valerie Carmichael-Brown is CEO of Triniti Business Solutions.
African countries line up to go back to the nuclear future
Pelindaba to UN treaty, all's well that ends well
Global nuclear five year review off to a good start
Eastern urbanisation Paves yellow brick road for world resources