Hi Zamicro
Let me be the first to say that I hope a company like Screamer Telecoms will get their own spectrum from ICASA since they are willing to invest in a network. They are offering services to consumers which is great.
There are however other concerns which is why we are writing about this situation: Screamer is using Sentech spectrum, and Sentech says they are using it illegally. If this is indeed the case, then ICASA can take down their network at any time. This means that consumers may sit without telecoms services: something which I am sure they would have liked to be warned about. I am definitely not saying that this is the case, but don’t you think it should at least be reported on?
We asked Screamer Telecoms to explain the situation, and will give feedback soon.
@RPM
Your sentiments are admirable if they are in fact true. However your protestations that, your repeated "5 star labelled" articles on this subject are designed to protect the clients of Screamer, are suspect.
If your article is to be believed it states that Sentech is aware of Screamer using its spectrum as far back as 2005 and that there might be an agreement or correspondence of some sort that exists. This agreement in itself cannot be your issue as there are a number of agreements that Sentech and Screamer could have concluded that are completely legal and could even be designed on the basis that Screamer has built a network on behalf of Sentech and is testing and maintaining it for them. In any case this is not something then that MUST be disclosed to anyone, including the nosiest of reporters. You by your own admission have harrased Sentech and ICASA "numerous times" and they have ignored you. Screamer and Sentech are quite entitled to keep their agreements to themselves and are entilted to keep ignoring you and/or leading you up the garden path.
The bottom line however is that Screamer, Sentech and ICASA have lived happily with this situation for the past 2.5 years and will continue to do so for many years to come. That is, unless Screamer is successfull with this network and the "industry leaders" as you like to call them, but IMHO are the "industry monopolists" manage to pursuade the media, in this case you, to try and complain that they, sorry you, don't quite know what Sentech's/Screamer's strategy is. Why on earth would an "industry spectrum analyst" want to remain anonymous, unless of course he works for your "industry leader" who are probably the only people, apart from ICASA, able to analyse spectrum issued from a tower, or who would even bother.
What real harm is this arrangement about 10 Mhz of Sentechs 50 odd Mhz doing apart from the fact that some gutsy ISP has managed to outsmart the "industry leaders". On one hand you complain that Sentech is not using it's spectrum and then when it looks like they have done something with 10Mhz you complain about that aswell
They are damned if they do and damned if they don't
If Sentech and Screamer were left alone they, and their clients, would continue happily along the route and strategy they have chosen and their clients would be quite safe and continue receiving the good service they are receiving (yes I am one of their happy clients). However your repeated articles (and I am sure if this one doesn't do it there will be plenty more) are designed to scare their clients, and damage Screamers business and that is the only real threat that their clients are exposed to.
So let's be honest RPM, whose interests are you really looking after??
