ADSL Regulations: Your Feedback Needed

rpm

rpm

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Hi folks

Can you please give your feedback/comments on the ADSL Regulations. We have provided comment space after each regulation, and please only quote and comment on the regulations which you feel needs attention.

Regards,

RPM


Regulations regarding the Provisions of Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL Service)

Notice 1112 of 2006

Schedule

1. Definitions

In these regulations any expression or word to which a meaning has been assigned by the Electronic Communications Act, 2005 (Act No 36 of 2005) (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”) shall have the same meaning in these regulations, unless the context otherwise indicates:-

“ADSL” means Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line.

“Broadband” means as always-on data connection that is able to support various interactive services, and has the ability of a minimum download speed of 256 Kilo bits per second.

“Installation” means all cabling of equipment on the customer side of the network interface.

“Installation and bringing into service Charge” means the initial charges in respect of costs relating to the set-up and connection of a subscriber to the network for ADSL services.

“Internet Service Provider (ISP” means any person who provides access to, or any other service related to, the Internet to another person, whether or not such access or service is provided under and in accordance with an electronic communication service license used to the first mentioned person under Chapter 3 of the Electronic Communications Act.

“Jitter” means an abrupt and unwanted variation of one or more signal characteristics which is caused by varying time delays in the circuit path from component to component in the signal path.

“Local Bandwidth usage” means the data that can be transferred from South African based Internet protocol addresses.

“Price Cap Regulation” means regulation No. R27772 of 06 July 2005 which determines the manner of fees and charges for telecommunications services in the Public Switched Telecommunications Services (PSTS) sector.

“SNO” means SNO (Pty) Ltd incorporated in terms of the Companies Act, 61 of 1973.

“TELKOM’ means TELKOM (Pty) Ltd incorporated in terms of the Companies Act, 61 of 1973.


2. Fees and Charges

2.1. The structure of an ADSL tariff shall comprise of an installation and bringing into service charge, a monthly rental for provisioning and maintenance of ADSL lines and a bandwidth charge.

COMMENT:


2.2. The installation charge shall be levied once off at the inception of the services.

COMMENT:


3. Consumer Protection Issues

3.1. Subscribers who enlisted for the ADSL service prior to the introduction of the monthly cap shall have an election to abide by, terminate the contractfor the service upon notice to the Telkom, SNO or ISPs or vary the terms and conditions in relation to the monthly cap.

COMMENT:


3.2. Subscribers that have reached the monthly cap shall be allowed to top-up their monthly cap without the need to purchase a new user account. This provision shall not in any way be used to prevent subscribers who choose to purchase new accounts once their monthly cap has been reached from doing so, should they wish to do so.

COMMENT:


3.3. Telkom, SNO and ISPs shall inform subscribers, at least on a weekly basis, of their bandwidth usage until the monthly cap has been reached.

COMMENT:


3.4. Local bandwidth usage not be subject to the cap.

COMMENT:


3.5. Telkom or SNO shall publish updated information on ADSL-enabled exchanges in the white pages of the telephone directory or electronic directory.

COMMENT:


3.6. Telkom or SNO shall install the ADSL service within thirty (30) working days of receipt of an application if the applicant qualifies and resides within and ADSL-enabled exchange area.

COMMENT:



4. Throughput Speeds

4.1. Telkom, SNO and ISPs shall guarantee minimum broadband speeds for the ADSL service in order to ensure that the service does not lose its broadband character.

COMMENT:


4.2. Any services provided with speeds lower than those defined as Broadband, shall not be advertised as Broadband services.

COMMENT:



5. Port Prioritisation

Telkom, SNO and ISPs shall not be allowed to impose port prioritization on their subscribers.

COMMENT:



6. Key Performance Indicators

6.1. Telkom, SNO and ISPs shall on a quarterly basis publish on its website the contention ratio as a commitment to good business practice.

COMMENT:


6.2. Telkom, SNO and ISPs shall publish on its website, on a quarterly basis, Key Performance Indicators comprising of at least Packet Losses, Average latency and jitter for the provided ADSL service as a commitment to good business practice.

COMMENT:



7. 24 Hour ADSL Service reset

7.1. Telkom, SNO and ISPs shall not periodically reset the ADSL service.

COMMENT:


7.2. Any reset required for the service maintenance shall be done with a prior notification of at least seven (7) days to the subscribers and by notification on the website.

COMMENT:



8. Service Level Agreements

Telkom, SNO and the ISPs shall enter into service level agreements with subscribers. Such agreements shall determine amoung others:-

(i) complaint processes and procedures;
(ii) dispute resolution mechanisms;
(iii) turn around times in effecting repairs;
(iv) penalties for failure to effect repairs in time and issues related thereto; and
(v) guaranteed minimum downstream data rate for local loop length of a given distance.

The Authority may, at the request of any party wishing to conclude a service level agreement contemplate herein, intervene to resolve any dispute in instances where a service level agreement cannot be concluded within sixty (60) days.

COMMENT:


9. Repeal and Amendment of Regulations

This Regulation shall not in any manner be construed to repeal and amend the Price Cap Regulation or any other Regulation.

COMMENT:
 
3.4. Local bandwidth usage not be subject to the cap.

COMMENT:

Who's responsibility is this as ISP's are not wholesalers but rather resellers of services offered by network providers e.g. Telkom/Saix, IS. Thus changes like this need the providers to remodel their wholesale services. Clarity is needed wrt who's responsibility this is under the current situation(as written it will work if LLU ever happens, but is vague under the current model).
2ndly does this mean that local traffic shall not count/increase the usage count of users?
 
A clear speration is required between wholesalers and retailers.

IE: Telkom (and Neotel in future) can act as infrastructure and wholesale bandwidth providers. But the value add retailing must be totally independant from the wholesaling.

The implications would be that TelkomSA etc will not be allowed to sell ADSL bandwidth.

Motivation: Telkom currently abuses its powers to charge an indecent rate to retailers, knowing that TelkomSA has only to semi-breakeven.

Also telkom abuses its voiceline market access for punting their own services. When ordering an ADSL line, Telkom hard sells TelkomSA's services.

This undermines the development of a viable and stable ADSL retail market.



The roles and separation
 
Capping:

This should be moved out of the equation totally as an antiquated concept. Telkom has already changed the rules that the user gets as much bandwidth as he is prepared to pay for.

The regulations should enforce the distinction of local and international traffic at destinctively different rates. There is no such thing as free bandwidth - but their is such a thing as vastly overcharged bandwidth.
 
SLA:

Decent penalties should be stipulated. A suggestion: For each calender day a line is installed after 30 days from application, the consumer will get a month free access.

Similarly for fault repairs: Telkom has 24 hours PER MONTH to repair all faults. For each day (or part thereoff) more than this, the consumer will get AUTOMATICALLY a months free service.

This concept ties lack of performance with penalties and consumers will fight for the freebies!
 
I'm not if it's applicable to put it into these regulations and if the ECA has mentioned it but somewhere it must mention how Telkom/ISP should be penalised if they do not abide to the regulations. No matter how well a regulation is, no mention of any penalties for not abiding, means it's useless. Telkom can do nothing about these regulations and goverment can't do anything to force them to do it if no penalty clauses have been put forward.
 
rpm said:
Hi folks

2. Fees and Charges

2.1. The structure of an ADSL tariff shall comprise of an installation and bringing into service charge, a monthly rental for provisioning and maintenance of ADSL lines and a bandwidth charge.

COMMENT:
This needs to specify whether the monthly rental should be different from the rental we pay for a analogue telephone system.


3.2. Subscribers that have reached the monthly cap shall be allowed to top-up their monthly cap without the need to purchase a new user account. This provision shall not in any way be used to prevent subscribers who choose to purchase new accounts once their monthly cap has been reached from doing so, should they wish to do so.

3.3. Telkom, SNO and ISPs shall inform subscribers, at least on a weekly basis, of their bandwidth usage until the monthly cap has been reached.

3.4. Local bandwidth usage not be subject to the cap.

COMMENT:

This needs to adress post paid not restricted services to prevent ISPs from simply billing users for the bandwidth they use but never capping their usage. Forcing users to regulate their usage based on how much bandwidth they can afford can only be fair if there is a massive reduction in the per GB cost of bandwidth on both a local and international level.

5. Port Prioritisation

Telkom, SNO and ISPs shall not be allowed to impose port prioritization on their subscribers.

COMMENT: This should read "Telkom, SNO and ISPs shall not be allowed to implement any systems to prevent the subscriber from using the speed allocated on the broadband network in the way they choose. These systems include port priotitisation, deep packet inspection, but does not exclude other systems intended to have the same effect."

ALSO: The regulations need to specify who is responsible for the provision of bandwidth. Is it the ISP or the network provider.
It should force Telkom to give Icasa, within a specific timeframe, a breakdown of its costs related to the ADSL network and IS an Verizon should have to do the same.
Click to expand...
 
legal speak

I would seriously recommend that ICASA hire a legal professional to write up the regulations. The current regulations are vulnerable to misinterpretation. ICASA must use accurate and precise language to avoid confusion.
 
My detailed comments on the regulations are on this thread.

In addition to the regulations gazetted, I would like to see:

A similar set of regulations governing wholesale bandwdith pricing, linking it to Telkom/SNO's direct costs.

Whereas the ADSL regulations only directly concern ADSL, there is a competitive knock-on effect on other broadband services.

Regulations on wholesale pricing would have a more direct beneficial impact on all broadband services.

If ICASA's request for comment means delaying the regulations that have already been gazetted, then it is not a good thing. If it is to help clarify the regulations then I'm all for it...
 
Caps must be removed. Or at least be inexpensive.. not R50 per Gig, more like R1 per Gig
 
2.1. The structure of an ADSL tariff shall comprise of an installation and bringing into service charge, a monthly rental for provisioning and maintenance of ADSL lines and a bandwidth charge.

COMMENT:
ICASA should clearly define:
a) monthly rental for provisioning and maintenance in terms of minimum and maximum percentage based on cost to provide and maintain the ADSL service. Currently there is nothing preventing the providers from charging excessive rates (which is where we currently find ourselves).

b) bandwidth charge should be distinguished between local bandwidth cost provision and international bandwidth cost provision. Most importantly, the ADSL Regulations should dictate the margin providers are allowed to recover on both local and international bandwidth.

This should be made available to consumers (telesales, print and online) prior to the provision / sale of the service.

3.4. Local bandwidth usage not be subject to the cap.

COMMENT:
Local bandwidth usage will not be subject to termination or discontinuation of the ADSL service, but charged for in terms of the local bandwidth provision rate (lower rate than for international bandwidth). To distinguish local bandwidth from international bandwidth Telkom, Neotel and ISPs should only register data transferred from non South African based Internet protocol addresses towards the monthly cap.

4. Throughput Speeds

4.1. Telkom, SNO and ISPs shall guarantee minimum broadband speeds for the ADSL service in order to ensure that the service does not lose its broadband character.

COMMENT:
ADD: These minimum guaranteed speeds must be reflective of each speed package sold to consumers and made available to consumers (telesales, print and online).* Thinking ahead, this relate to the SLA: e.g DSL384 "Standard Hours" minimum speed = 256kbps (due to extra voltage / business traffic / contention etc.) and "Callmore Hours" minimum speed = 304kbps. DSL512 "Standard Hours" minimum speed = 340kbps (due to extra voltage / business traffic / contention etc.) and "Callmore Hours" minimum speed = 410kbps. Especially with the high costs of ADSL provision in SA, this would help the consumer know with better accuracy what is being paid for. Note to all naysayers: This is what a truly aspiring World-Class provider would do - pity we have to enforce it in this country.

5. Port Prioritisation

Telkom, SNO and ISPs shall not be allowed to impose port prioritization on their subscribers.

COMMENT:
ADD: Telkom, Neotel and ISPs shall not be allowed to differentiate between Shaped and Unshaped packages. Bandwith usage should be the only indicator determining cost of bandwidth provision. Should consumers demand Shaped / port-prioritised services, it shall be provided on the basis that there will be no reduction in price compared to a standard Unshaped service. *This will help ensure that bandwidth prices come down. Currently, ISP's are not "imposing" Unshaped packages on consumers which with current higher tariffs gives them bigger margins / more revenue, but it does impact the quality of service and limits application use for cost-sensitive consumers which is in fact a discriminatory practice. My view of this Regulation is to ensure low cost full-service bandwidth for the consumer. The consumer should be free to dictate their own use of the bandwidth and pay only for how much is used, not for what it is used for.

EDIT:

Specifically separate the ADSL Regulations into wholesale and retail provision to ensure competition in the market. This will also serve to provide better margins to ISPs and enable them to make the necessary changes wrt the Shaped vs Unshaped bandwidth (ie. make less profits from consumers than currently for Unshaped as the price should drop, but make more with better wholesale provision savings from the network provider).

<personal comment>

I feel another important amendment to the ADSL Regulations should be to move away from specifically mentioning Telkom, Neotel (SNO) and ISPs but rather be expanded to include any and all future infrastructure / service providers. Otherwise, it's just going to create a loophole for new entrants like InfraCo and give Telkom, Neotel etc. ammunition to take the ADSL Regulations to court / have to re-Amend etc. Lets start thinking long-term for once.

</personal comment>
 
Last edited:
“SNO” means SNO (Pty) Ltd or its renamed entity incorporated in terms of the Companies Act, 61 of 1973.

COMMENT: 2.1. The structure of an ADSL tariff shall comprise of a single one off installation and bringing into service charge and a single monthly rental covering bandwidth usage as well as the provisioning and maintenance of ADSL lines and other infrastructure necessary to providing the service. Markup shall not exceed 10% of costs, the latter being made available, in detailed breakdown of its components, within 7 calendar days of request by the licensing authority and/or any other authority authorised so to do.

COMMENT: 2.2. The installation charge shall be levied once off at the inception of the services. Markup shall not exceed 10% of costs, the latter being made available, in detailed breakdown of its components, within 7 calendar days of request by the licensing authority and/o any other authority authorised so to do.

COMMENT: 3.1 Where the basic terms and conditions of the contract between the service provider and the subscriber are requested to be changed by service provider, the subscriber shal have an election to abide by the new conditions or to give notice or vary the terms and conditions. These include but are not restricted to the cap or service availability,

COMMENT: 3.2. Subscribers shall be allowed to purchase additional bandwidthin in multiples of 1Mbit at any time. Subscribers should be able to purchase new accounts at any time. After the first billing cycle all contracts for the same subscriber must encompass the same billing period. The bandwidth for each account shall be treated individually and not be lumped together for the purposes of capping.

COMMENT: 3.6. Telkom or SNO shall install the ADSL service within thirty (30) working days of receipt of an application if the applicant qualifies and resides within and ADSL-enabled exchange area. The service provider must allow for independent organisations to test whether qualification has been correctly determined. Such tests shall assume the correct working of all equipment used in the connection of the applicant to the exchange as well as the minimum physical routable distance between the subscriber and the exchange.


COMMENT: 4.1. Telkom, SNO and ISPs shall guarantee minimum broadband speeds for the ADSL service in order to ensure that the service does not lose its broadband character. Where speeds are consistently below these minimums for more than 2 24 hour periods in a single billing month, the monthly rental shall be reduced to zero for the equivalent period of the degraded service.

COMMENT: 4.2. Any services provided with speeds lower than those defined as Broadband, shall not be advertised as Broadband services and shall be charged for at a pro rata reduced rate.

COMMENT: add (vi) turn around times for reply to complaints, after which the complaint must be escalated to the next higher level within the organisation. A maximum of 24 hours shall apply after which the CEO shall personally answer the complaint.

9. Repeal and Amendment of Regulations

COMMENT: This Regulation shall be construed to repeal and amend the Price Cap Regulation or any other Regulation so that they comply with this Regulation.
 
Hi folks

Thanks for the excellent feedback so far...please keep it coming!
 
3.4. Local bandwidth usage not be subject to the cap.

COMMENT:

Local bandwidth usage not be subject to the International traffic cap. Unlimited un-restricted local bandwidth. Wholesale suppliers (Telkom) must be obligated to package their product to supply local traffic before ISP's

**CLEAR** : Implementation timeframes!!!
 
I have just sent a e-mail to ICASA to ask when my account will be unshaped etc according to regulations.
 
In my opinion we are not the first country in the world to try to regulate the telecomms and more importantly the broadband i.e ADSL market. It has already successfully been done in Europe, the Americas, Australia, and closer to home, even in Mauritius. The point being that if ICASA are too incompetant to implement a simple clear and precise list of regulations, then perhaps they should just do a copy and paste of similar regulations done elsewhere, or even better bring in a consult to help those bunch of banana brains, do the job properly!!! South Africa, really is becoming the laughing stock of the broadband enabled world!
 
Feedback: Dissapointing. ICASA had a good thing going (sorta) with the draft regulations but they've really dropped the ball with this one. I haven't even phoned any of them to complain yet but if anyone wants numbers... pm ;)
 
ICASA put down regulations but then don't act on it??? Why put down anything then?? u might aswell just leave everything alone.. and Stop wasting people's time.

We don't ask alot, we just want cheaper line rental, Nice prices on international caps, and uncapped local. It aint that much.

But its a huge headache and the consumer is paying the price. (huge prices infact)

Estimates for prices :
* Personally i think telkom could provide 1mbit line at less than R200 per month, Since we already pay for the standard R100 line rental.
* for International bandwidth they could charge around R40-R50 per gig, they made enaugh profit as it is.
* They must provide uncapped local, since it costs telkom almost nothing to provide it.
* It would be a nice extra, but maybe provide specials on higher capped accounts (at R50 a gig, maybe give a 5gig cap at R200, and 10gig at R340 or something similar. This will boost sales, and consumer will also win something)
 
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