'LLU won't solve problem of faster, better broadband'
Jan Vermeulen MyBroadband | 07 September, 2010 | Comments Rate this article
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Unbundling of the local loop won't solve the problem of faster and more widespread broadband access in South Africa, says Dr Richard Majoor from Telkom
Local Loop Unbundling (LLU) is seen by many as a potential savior to the poor state of fixed line broadband and ADSL in South Africa, but according to Dr Richard Majoor from Telkom this is only a pipe dream.
In answer to questions at a panel discussion at the 2010 SATNAC conference Majoor, the executive of technical regulations at Telkom, addressed the issue of local loop unbundling (LLU) – the act of making the last-mile copper network infrastructure built with public funding and operated by Telkom available for other network operators to use.
The last mile copper infrastructure is what enables Telkom to deliver services like ADSL and fixed-line telephony, and it is not hard to see why other players would like to get their hands on this valuable asset.
Majoor concedes that LLU might introduce competition, but says that it won't solve the problem of faster and wider broadband Internet access in South Africa. This sentiment is an echo of previous statements made by various players in the broadband and Internet connectivity space.
Players like Neotel are however more keen on using Telkom’s copper infrastructure. Ajay Pandey, Managing Director and CEO of Neotel, stated that he would “love to” make use of the last-mile copper network.
Questions of who would maintain the local loop, police cable theft and whether they could run it at a profit have also been raised.
Large amounts of international bandwidth are becoming available on a variety of new undersea cables. Local capacity has also increased due to the network Telkom built for the FIFA World Cup as well as the backhaul networks built by other players such as Vodacom Business, Neotel and Dark Fibre Africa.
The last hurdle for competition in fixed-line Internet services for consumers seems to be last-mile access, and while wireless providers are showing strong growth the fixed line broadband market only have a single player in the consumer space: Telkom.
Majoor argues that LLU will do little to increase the broadband penetration rate in the country, and that regulators may do well to focus their energy on introducing competition in the local market.
The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) has been dragging its feet in introducing LLU, and it is highly unlikely that they will meet the 2011 deadline set for this process to have happened
