The Internet of Things (IoT) is set to overtake mobile phones as the largest category of connected device by 2018.

Between 2015 and 2021, the number of IoT connected devices is expected to grow 23 percent annually, of which cellular IoT is forecast to have the highest growth rate. Of the 28 billion total devices that will be connected by 2021, close to 16 billion will be IoT devices.

Western Europe will lead the way in adding IoT connections – the number of IoT devices in this market is projected to grow 400 percent by 2021. This will principally be driven by regulatory requirements, for example for intelligent utility meters, and a growing demand for connected cars including the EU e-call directive to be implemented in 2018.

Rima Qureshi, Senior Vice President & Chief Strategy Officer, Ericsson, says: “IoT is now accelerating as device costs fall and innovative applications emerge. From 2020, commercial deployment of 5G networks will provide additional capabilities that are critical for IoT, such as network slicing and the capacity to connect exponentially more devices than is possible today.”

Smartphone subscriptions continue to increase and are forecast to surpass those for basic phones in Q3 this year. By 2021, smartphone subscriptions will almost double from 3.4 billion to 6.3 billion.

Also revealed in the report, there are now 5 billion mobile subscribers – unique users – in the world today, which is testament to the phenomenal growth of mobile technology in a relatively short period of time.

Detailed in the report is a dramatic shift in teen viewing habits: use of cellular data for smartphone video grew 127 percent in just 15 months (2014-15).

Over a period of four years (2011-15) there has been a 50 percent drop in the time teens spend watching TV/video on a TV screen, and in contrast an 85 percent increase in those viewing TV/video on a smartphone. This, and the fact that the upcoming generation of mobile users are the heaviest consumers of data for smartphone video streaming (Wi-Fi and cellular combined), makes them the most important group for cellular operators to monitor.

In 2016, a long anticipated milestone is being passed with commercial LTE networks supporting downlink peak data speeds of 1 Gbps. Devices that support 1 Gbps are expected in the second half of 2016, initially in markets such as Japan, US, South Korea and China, but rapidly spreading to other regions.

Mobile users will enjoy extremely fast time to content thanks to this enhanced technology, which will enable up to two thirds faster download speeds compared with the fastest technology available today.

Further highlights from the Ericsson Mobility Report include:

A global growth story: mobile broadband subscriptions will grow fourfold in the Middle East and Africa between 2015 and 2021; mobile data traffic in India will grow fifteen times by 2021; and despite being the most mature market, mobile traffic in North America will grow 50 percent in 2016 alone.

Data traffic continues unabated growth: global mobile data traffic grew 60 percent between Q1 2015 and Q1 2016, due to rising numbers of smartphone subscriptions and increasing data consumption per subscriber. By the end of 2021, around 90 percent of mobile data traffic will be from smartphones.

LTE subscriptions grew at a high rate during Q1 2016: there were 150 million new subscriptions during the quarter – driven by demand for improved user experience and faster networks – reaching a total of 1.2 billion worldwide. LTE peak data speeds of 1 Gbps are anticipated to be commercially available in 2016.

Additional spectrum harmonisation needed between countries planning early 5G deployment: 5G is expected to start more quickly than anticipated, and spectrum harmonization is needed between countries planning early roll-outs. This is in addition to the current process for WRC-19, which focuses on spectrum for commercial 5G deployments beyond 2020.

First ever CyberXchange Hackathon sponsored by Facebook to touch Nigerian soil. Come not just by yourself but your team to compete against other university and young professionals with less than 2 years experience throughout Nigeria. You will have the opportunity to build a hack against a cyber security issue.

So what’s in it for you besides being part of the CyberXchange 2016, the largest cyber security conference to set foot in Nigeria? prizes, worldwide exposure of your company and university team, and so much more.

The pre-qualifier registration closes August 30th. Notifications to those who are accepted will be sent out by end of day on September 24th. The final competition will hold on November 2nd-3rd 2016 at the Landmark event Center Lagos.

Qualifiers will be required to start brainstorming ideas & form a team of up to 4 people.

Refreshments, fun diversions, prizes, and some expert guidance from Facebook’s team of experts will be provided. All participants need bring is a laptop, appetite, skills and ideas.

Judges include; Regina Wallace-Jones Head of Security Operations Facebook, popular celebrity, Eldee amongst others.

According to Facebook; sponsors of the competition “We hope to discover new talents, methods and ideas; and to encourage development in the field of information security. It is our hope that besides discovering gifted hackers and cyber-defenders, the CyberXchange 2016 Hack-a-thon will inspire the development of West Africa’s Information security professionals of the future.”

Hack-a-thon is a competition geared towards finding the best prototypes by starting from scratch to build a workable idea with the help of collaborating colleagues on their teams.

This event tests the skills of the brightest and best within programming, cyber security, information assurance, security engineer, and other IT fields within teams of 4 to 6 people.

Mr. Olusola Teniola, President, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria [ATCON] has lamented the current low penetration of Broadband in Nigeria, saying that Broadband today is only accessible to few Nigerians.

“Broadband is at infancy level in Nigeria. It is only accessible to low strata of Nigerians. Affordability is a big issue with Broadband. At the moment, market conditions are responsible for the price gap on Broadband as the government is not in the business of building Broadband. The government only creates the enabling environment”

Teniola listed the three key challenges of Broadband development in the country as accessibility, affordability and availability. He added that the 30 per cent penetration target contained in the National Broadband Development document was mainly for the starting process.

“Now-what of return on investment?. We need content to drive Broadband. The immediate challenge is to get the necessary data to fill the pipes and also overcome the problem of bandwidth price.”

Annual smartphone sales in Africa and the Middle East are forecast to grow by a CAGR of 15% to reach 238 million units by 2020.

According to Pyramid Research, this will surpass the 204 million unit sales in North America and 201 million unit sales in Latin America.

Following significant network investments by African operators to capitalize on the rising demand for data services, operators are increasingly becoming concerned with increasing the number of smartphone users on their networks.

Device financing – a direct approach to boosting smartphone usage.
Operators providing device financing schemes is one of the four direct strategies detailed in the report. In a region characterised by low income levels, smartphone prices can be prohibitively expensive.

To overcome this, African operators have partnered with banks to address this barrier to purchasing smartphones, such as Tigo Ghana’s partnership with Stanbic Bank to provide financing schemes for the Samsung Galaxy range of devices.

“However, a key limitation is the large unbanked population in Africa. To overcome this, operators need to consider financing schemes using mobile money,” says Mak Rahnama, Senior Analyst at Pyramid Research.

It is not just about just selling more devices.
Indirect strategies, which focus on increasing mobile data usage to drive smartphone adoption, are also found to be essential given the majority of consumers in African markets purchase their devices from various retail channels (e.g. informal sector, independent retailers) rather than directly from operators.

Rahnama states that “by providing OTT localised content, operators can incentivise consumers to purchase smartphones, and in-turn increase smartphone penetration on their networks.”

The report provides an in-depth analysis of three indirect strategies that operators can deploy to boost smartphone usage on their networks.

Huawei Probed by US for Sanctions Busting
China’s Huawei has been served with a subpoena by the US Commerce Department investigating allegations that it may have broken US sanctions on Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria.

The subpoena calls for Huawei to turn over information related to shipments to those countries over the past five years.

Huawei has not yet been accused of wrongdoing. In a statement, it said that it was committed to complying with laws and regulations where it operated.

“In particular, Huawei has a strict code of conduct, rigorous training, and detailed policies relating to export control compliance and actively cooperates with the relevant government agencies, including the Department of Commerce, regarding Huawei’s compliance with export control laws,” a company spokesperson said in an email.

The investigation appears to be similar to one which ensnared ZTE, which sold equipment to the embargoed countries based on components supplied by US suppliers.

The investigation into ZTE highlighted an unnamed rival company which ZTE executives were said to be copying in their efforts to sell to the embargoed countries.

The semi-official China Daily newspaper cited an official as claiming this was a sign of US protectionism against Chinese rival companies.