According to Sentech’s Winston Smith: “No money has come through for Sentech yet.” When asked about government’s new focus on setting up Infraco as an infrastructure provider Smith stated that in principle Sentech have no problem with them.

Smith did add, however, that there was very little information available about the new company making it difficult to comment on the role that Infraco will play in SA telecoms.

The Minister of Communications, Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri, reiterated her commitment towards making Sentech the ‘Government’s wireless broadband provider’ in her budget speech earlier this year, but despite these words nothing much has happened.

“Sentech will form the core of our wireless broadband infrastructure network that our country will use to advance its socio-economic development goals,” the minister said.

“Sentech’s wireless broadband infrastructure network will be expanded beyond the current footprint and enabled it to carry voice to the end user in the provision of this service, thus giving full effect to its multimedia licence,” she continued.

This effectively makes Sentech a third national operator, enabling it to deliver a wide range of services including voice.

For Sentech to meet the Department of Communication’s demands a great deal of money is needed, but so far it’s been all talk and no do from Government.

Unless Sentech receives funding soon this may prove to be yet another proposed intervention by the Department of Communication which served only to hold back competition without the promised tangible results.

Discuss this article