TCCA and Wray Castle launch the Critical Communications Institute
09 July 2025
For anyone connected with critical communications, there is now for the first time, a range of training courses to meet all requirements. From new entrants to the sector using narrowband to those adopting 4G/5G critical broadband networks and those on the periphery, the Critical Communications Institute features a suite of specialist training solutions to help professionals understand, design, build and optimise the critical communications networks of today and tomorrow.
The courses have been designed in partnership with TCCA, the global member-led organisation representing the critical communications sector, and are delivered by Wray Castle, the long-established telecoms training experts. The focused, practical and highly relevant courses cover the latest critical telecoms technologies including mission critical narrowband TETRA, mission critical broadband, LTE and 5G technologies, tailored to the precise needs of critical industry sector users such as those in public safety, utilities, transport, energy and mining.
Find out more Paratus launches Paratus EduLINK to bridge educational digital divide
01 July 2025
Paratus, a leading pan-African telecommunications provider and authorised reseller of Starlink, has announced the launch of Paratus EduLINK, an innovative connectivity solution aimed at empowering schools in remote and underserved regions with reliable, high-speed internet.
Under the campaign slogan “Empowering Education, Anywhere,” EduLINK utilises Starlink’s low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite technology to ensure that no school is too remote and no learner is left behind. The programme offers qualifying schools in Botswana, Eswatini, Kenya, Mozambique, Malawi, Rwanda, and Zambia access to 2 terabytes of Priority Data each month, along with additional data buffers to support uninterrupted online learning and access to digital educational resources.
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Resolving the indoor connectivity problem
06 May 2025
Luke Kehoe, Industry Analyst, Ookla
As much as 80% of all mobile data usage originates from indoor environments like homes, offices and shops. However, mobile networks were initially designed with an ‘outside-in’ approach—relying on outdoor towers to deliver coverage, with the expectation that the signal would reach indoors without being specifically optimised to do so.
This strategy helped minimise deployment costs and was based on the assumption that indoor connectivity could be provided by low-band spectrum layered over the macro mobile network, with higher data rate demands met by home broadband and public Wi-Fi networks indoors.
Consumers have come to rely on mobile data to serve their indoor browsing needs and expect performance parity as they move around from home, work, the shops, and everywhere in between. Even where Wi-Fi and related features like VoWiFi are available and sufficiently fast, in-building mobile coverage remains critical for last resort access to basic telephony features like calling and texting to ensure reliable access to emergency service networks. Indeed, in many advanced European markets, operators and regulators prioritise routing 112 emergency calls over mobile networks using VoLTE rather than Wi-Fi, as VoLTE offers greater reliability and quality of service through dedicated voice packet routing on mobile networks.
But if indoor connectivity is so important, why is it still so lacklustre? While there is no one easy answer, there are a few clear contributing factors.
Network Design
Ericsson highlights innovation in connectivity at GITEX Africa 2025
14 April 2025
“Next Starts Now” as Ericsson participates in GITEX Africa 2025 , as a key sponsor, taking place from 14-16 April in Marrakech, Morocco. GITEX Africa provides an important platform for industry leaders like Ericsson to showcase the latest solutions designed to drive the continent’s connectivity and digital evolution.
Visitors to the Ericsson booth will have the opportunity to engage with industry experts and explore how the company’s advanced solutions in network infrastructure, automation, enterprise business, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) can play a transformative role in Africa’s diverse industries, from smart cities and mobility to telecommunications and beyond.
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