29 December 2025

Telecoms are under pressure to move beyond delivering reliable connectivity and start competing on customer experience. By reimagining OSS/BSS as engines of insight, CSPs can unlock new revenue streams while building loyalty that lasts.

For decades, OSS and BSS were seen primarily as the plumbing of the telecom world — the hidden systems that kept billing accurate and services delivered. Essential, yes, but hardly glamorous. That’s changing. Today, operators are discovering that the same platforms can be powerful engines of growth, provided they are modernised, connected, and infused with customer journey mapping (CJM).

24 December 2025

Yogan Naidoo, Vice President, Aircom

Designing mobile networks in Africa is never a neat, linear exercise. The continent’s sheer diversity creates a planning environment where every kilometre introduces its own engineering puzzle. Geography, climate and regulation all pull in different directions, and yet the demand for reliable, affordable connectivity keeps rising. Turning this complexity into workable networks requires deep technical discipline, strategic ingenuity and a remarkable amount of patience.

Operators across Africa face a blend of challenges that shift dramatically from one region to the next. Many must balance limited power infrastructure, constrained backhaul, fragmented spectrum, and relatively low ARPU levels. At the same time, they must prepare for surging urban data demands, emerging technologies and political priorities that evolve as quickly as the markets they serve. Planning and operating networks here is less about following global templates and more about designing systems that can withstand the continent’s unique and often unpredictable conditions.