NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Wednesday, August 16, 2017

While developed markets have a tendency to take communications technologies for granted, the case for emerging markets, like Africa, is quite the opposite: the sense of expectation is still strong and service providers remain key role-players with new technologies widely considered a catalyst for ICT development and application.

Speaking to ITWeb Africa ahead of the Gartner Symposium scheduled for September in Cape Town, principal research analyst William Hahn said Gartner’s 2017 Hype Cycle for ICT in Africa confirms that communication technologies are setting the ICT agenda for the region.

“One of the themes that we’ve emphasised for years now, I don’t see it changing anytime soon, is the tremendous influence of communications technologies as a catalyst for ICT … and to a certain extent that is always true, but in developed markets there is such a tendency to take it for granted, communications providers are under a lot of stress to somehow distinguish themselves from a utility just providing connectivity, they’re kind of getting pushed down by all these mature and powerful value chains in other areas,” says Hahn.