A Line In The Sand

New research indicates there are only 1,7m private Internet users in SA. "That is ridiculous."
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Where does that figure come from? If it is the number of ISP accounts held in private names, it is very optimistic - I have three accounts myself, with three different ISPS (2 ADSL and one dial-up).
 
Excellent article. Some very positive things. Now with any luck, all the positive things hear about all over the place will start to materialise.

Also... Duncan Mcleod? Really? :) *sorry*
 
I think the pendulam is starting to swing and we have momentum, in the artical they suggested a TNO (third network operator) Hopefully government will take this under advisement.
 
Good article Duncan. wrt TNO , sheeessh, how long has the licencing taken for the SNO, and wait, that still hasn't been issued..... expect government to think about a TNO in 2010 and actual implementation much later.
 
Telkom, however, has warned that any move to do this could scupper future investments by it and other operators in new cable projects. Reid scoffs at the suggestion. "Telkom has had its time and has made huge returns [from the cable system]. Open the thing up."
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Ok then Telkom, take your investment an F-Off then, its not as though you have an outstanding record for currently 'keeping up' with the global trends or technologies, even Botswana beats your asses.

Enough ranting, seriousely, that is one of the best reports I have ever read on this issue. Well done Duncan.

There can be only one:D
 
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Some are taking advantage of this legal uncertainty to build broadband wireless networks using unregulated frequency spectrum - the so-called industrial-scientific-medical (ISM) bands at 2,4 GHz and 5,8 GHz. Wireless operators, many of them using outdoor Wi-Fi technology, have sprung up in Johannesburg, Cape Town and in some smaller centres.
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Its things like this though that are futher hampering growth in this country. A few months ago I went to a lecture at Wits given by Prof A Every on Waves. During the discussion afterwards, the SKA was brought up (This is a Radio telescope worth millions that South Africa is bidding for, to have built in our country). Currently the biggest contenders, if I rememeber right, are us and Australia.

Now the problem comes in that there is so much illegal use of the ISM bands, that there is a chance that we could lose the bid because of this.. TO AUSTRALIA. This is because they have better control of these bands than we do, and setting up the radio telescope here might cause huge amounts of interference and result inaccurate readings.

Our Department of Science and Technology is supposedly hugely behind this bid, yet the DoC doesn't seem to give a damn!

Is our Goverment ever going to learn!
 
I think ADSL ISPs should also sell wireless packages (Sentech ,Iburst)If they can,this will force Telkom to give them a reasonable margin

more and more dial-up users are migrating to always-on type of connection ,If Telkom can not keep ADSL ISPs in their camp comfortable ,it will lose them to wireless competitors
 
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