Hugo van Zyl is the Chief Technology and Systems Officer at Openserve. He has 18 years' experience in telecommunications and information systems, leading technology and network strategy, architecture, planning, IT and engineering teams in introduction and deployment of fixed and mobile telecommunications networks with supporting IT infrastructure.

He enjoys building and working with high-performance and diverse teams that work cross-functionally to achieve aggressive business goals. With one foot in the Network and the other in IT he understands the strengths and weaknesses of both areas of work.

Hugo completed his Master’s Degree in Electronic/ Electronic Engineering (cum laude) in 2001 at the University of Johannesburg. 

Telkom South Africa is a Fixed Mobile converged operator, who like other African operators are considering the business case and technical readiness for an eventual 5G reality in the country. Ovum forecasts that 5G usage in Africa will start taking off around 2020, with launches concentrated in North and Southern Africa. The early adopters will include early new-technology adopters that have pioneered 4G in the region and also service providers (including smaller ISPs) that have access to relevant spectrum. Here we will look at Telkom's holistic view of the entire 5G eco-system, high-level timings and opportunities from 5G.