stoke
Honorary Master
source: http://www.busrep.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=561&fArticleId=2284438
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Duplication of facilities a waste, says Sentech
November 3, 2004
By Lynda Loxton
Cape Town - State-owned commercial signal distributor Sentech said yesterday that it was "wrong and a waste of money" and resources for the government to allow the seemingly random roll-out of telecommunications networks by a wide range of players such as municipalities.
In a presentation to the portfolio committee on communications, chief executive Sebiletso Mokone-Matabane and chief operating officer Gladwyn Marumo said the move would lead to a needless duplication of infrastructure (such as base stations) and a shortage of skilled staff as companies poached staff from each other.
They denied that they were just trying to protect their turf, but admitted that their complaint reflected "politics that need to be sorted out".
The fact that municipalities could now aspire to, and get, licences to roll out telecommunications networks was a direct result of the decision by communications minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri to open the field to competition from next year.
But the full reasoning behind this policy switch was "a bit hazy", Marumo said. He believed municipalities should stick to delivering services such as water to homes, and leave telecommunications to companies such as Telkom, Sentech and the planned second network operator.
Sentech, in particular, had done "groundbreaking work" building an integrated voice over internet platform that would help the country straddle the digital divide by 2010. It was therefore a "serious convergence company", and to allow smaller players to attempt to duplicate its work would be a waste of resources.
This was particularly so if each new operator built its own base station and rented its own satellite time, which was not only expensive but could lead to foreign exchange losses because of badly judged forward cover.
On delays in finalising the Convergence Bill, Marumo said Sentech had advised Matsepe-Casaburri to avoid the mistakes of the past, which had seen categories of licences being made technology specific. It should rather be "technology neutral".
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QUESTION : Should the governmint be allowed to compete against the governmint ?
Remember - we're going to have to pay for the infrastructure, and then they'll sell it to Americans when its finally working.
-- Begin --
Duplication of facilities a waste, says Sentech
November 3, 2004
By Lynda Loxton
Cape Town - State-owned commercial signal distributor Sentech said yesterday that it was "wrong and a waste of money" and resources for the government to allow the seemingly random roll-out of telecommunications networks by a wide range of players such as municipalities.
In a presentation to the portfolio committee on communications, chief executive Sebiletso Mokone-Matabane and chief operating officer Gladwyn Marumo said the move would lead to a needless duplication of infrastructure (such as base stations) and a shortage of skilled staff as companies poached staff from each other.
They denied that they were just trying to protect their turf, but admitted that their complaint reflected "politics that need to be sorted out".
The fact that municipalities could now aspire to, and get, licences to roll out telecommunications networks was a direct result of the decision by communications minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri to open the field to competition from next year.
But the full reasoning behind this policy switch was "a bit hazy", Marumo said. He believed municipalities should stick to delivering services such as water to homes, and leave telecommunications to companies such as Telkom, Sentech and the planned second network operator.
Sentech, in particular, had done "groundbreaking work" building an integrated voice over internet platform that would help the country straddle the digital divide by 2010. It was therefore a "serious convergence company", and to allow smaller players to attempt to duplicate its work would be a waste of resources.
This was particularly so if each new operator built its own base station and rented its own satellite time, which was not only expensive but could lead to foreign exchange losses because of badly judged forward cover.
On delays in finalising the Convergence Bill, Marumo said Sentech had advised Matsepe-Casaburri to avoid the mistakes of the past, which had seen categories of licences being made technology specific. It should rather be "technology neutral".
-- End --
QUESTION : Should the governmint be allowed to compete against the governmint ?
Remember - we're going to have to pay for the infrastructure, and then they'll sell it to Americans when its finally working.
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