South Africa’s Department of Communications (DoC) has said part state-owned Telkom will form the “bulk” of the country’s nationwide broadband network after it finally outlined its policy for consultation.
In the DoC’s policy document they put the importance of broadband in the same bracket as water, sanitation, roads and sanitation, saying it should be available to all citizens on a non-discriminatory basis. They also reiterated their target of achieving 100 per cent penetration by 2020.
Telkom owns and manages 144,000km of the country’s 160,000km network and the department recognised the importance of the ADSL provider in its provisional policy.
The document reads: “Telkom will provide the bulk of the core of the backbone infrastructure. Telkom will be supported by other state owned companies and by the private sector.”
Referring to the need for all citizens to access the internet, the DoC said: “Government shall play a critical role in deployment of broadband backbone networks, especially in rural and underserved areas which are regarded as not being commercially viable by the operators.”
Although the policy says it will use radio frequency spectrum for mobile broadband access to connect the “last mile” in the short term, it further piled the pressure on Telkom and fibre optic providers by saying it aimed to have rural areas also connected.
It said: “Even though the rapid deployment of wireless and mobile access networks has contributed to the increasing penetration of communication services into the poor rural areas, in the long term the delivery of fixed line access to households and businesses still remains a key element in delivering true broadband speeds that are necessary for quadruple-play and multi-play.”
It does recognise however there will be areas where only radio technologies will be viable for providing broadband access.
In relation to the allocation of radio frequency spectrum, the policy reads: “The future allocation of this scarce natural resource shall be guided by the need to balance the country’s developmental needs and commercial imperatives.”
The DoC also recognise the importance of making sure end user equipment is available and affordable.
It even goes as far as to hint it may work to reduce the custom duties on imports such as mobile phones and tablets because currently they are unaffordable to the majority of people.
The DoC said: “In this regard strategies to promote the availability of affordability end user equipments will be developed and implemented.”
