Should SA telcoms operators build an open access radio network?

It's a viable concept to rather have an open access network with a decent slice of spectrum than a number of smaller players with each such a small slice that it means nothing. Especially for rural where the cost for each network to build their own network is prohibitively high.

But this implies goverment will have to drive it, just like the Russian goverment drove the open-access LTE network they're building for their 3 moble and 1 fixed line operators (sounds familiar? :))
 
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This is a great initiative and can work well in South Africa. It will not be easy to Vodacom, MTN, Cell C and 8ta to agree on everything, but this is most likely the best thing to do with the digital dividend spectrum.
 
Collusion??

This sounds great, but does leave a large opportunity for legalised collusion. Surely if they colocate for towers and backhaul this would be sufficient for reducing the costs?
 
Great words from a great visionary - Mr P Uys.
Hope that if it happens we can get uncapped wireless broadband at a fixed fee
 
Legalised price fixing will be the order of the day. Great idea on paper, I am scared about the implementation thereof.
 
jannievanzyl said:
It's a viable concept to rather have an open access network with a decent slice of spectrum than a number of smaller players with each such a small slice that it means nothing. Especially for rural where the cost for each network to build their own network is prohibitively high.

But this implies goverment will have to drive it, just like the Russian goverment drove the open-access LTE network they're building for their 3 moble and 1 fixed line operators (sounds familiar? :))
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I agree, but that would require regulation - and then brings ICASA into the fray ?

How would this work practically ? Let's say Mobile Operator A is the only provider with a tower in TownA, how would Mobile Operator B piggy-back off the tower and would it have a financial benefit to both ? What does it require from Government and don't we already have something similar in place. Or is the suggestion that all ISP's invest in a government initiative to build a single Wireless Network operating at a certain frequency available to all wireless ISP to provide their services - is it not too late for that already ?
 
Jannie...how does this work? Is there one transmitter that serves all networks...or does each operator have to install their own transmitter, PC Computers etc into the BTS?

Or is it just a case of you linking the BTS via IPs or whatever you guys use to the billing servers of the core network for Voda, Cell C and MTN? I am very interested to learn in LAYMENS TERMS how this actually works. Also, would it not be beneficial to do this in cities also? Perhaps create a new company in which Vodacom, Cell C and MTN have 30% shares and this new company owns the network from which the operators then lease from? Would that not be viable?
 
A great idea.
Some caveats may include the risks of enormous collusion as well as corruption. Ideally some kind of transparent 'overseer' should run with it, a body not 'cadred' by government nor owned / run by a singular business enterprise.
 
LTE is all IP, so I imagine it will be a combination of MVNO base station implementation linking each virtual cell network to their respective VRF on the back-haul network... It could also be as simple as roaming agreements whereby a shell company owns the base network and lets all the providers roam onto it at a predetermined fee. I somehow dont see them using their own unique transmitters respectively as that takes you back to square one ito spectrum allocation. I also dont see them implementing individual backhaul links per operator. It will be one link split up amongst all of them.

If you read between the lines, this is Vodacom saying : "Give us all the spectrum, we will rollout the network, and allow all the others to piggy back of us at a predetermined fee". The so called splitting of infrastructure provider and Cell provider down to the virtual network level. (similar to how Virgin operate).
 
ocleroux said:
Jannie...how does this work? Is there one transmitter that serves all networks...or does each operator have to install their own transmitter, PC Computers etc into the BTS?

Or is it just a case of you linking the BTS via IPs or whatever you guys use to the billing servers of the core network for Voda, Cell C and MTN? I am very interested to learn in LAYMENS TERMS how this actually works. Also, would it not be beneficial to do this in cities also? Perhaps create a new company in which Vodacom, Cell C and MTN have 30% shares and this new company owns the network from which the operators then lease from? Would that not be viable?
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The different networks are already well established in the urban areas (cities), so it's not such a big advantage to do it here than in rural, but the model still works in urban.

If you want to take the concept to a logical extreme, it implies a new company is formed to build and run one, single super-LTE network. The various mobile operators really becomes MVNO's as ScrnScrm stated above. There's only one set of radio equipment and each operator have their own 'APN'.

To ensure transparency, it would have to operate on a cost+ basis, kinda LLU for wireless.

Such a network would not address all the capacity issues in urban, so practically you'll see a combo where each network still roll out it's own infrastructure in the cities (building on the massive fibre roll-outs happening at present) but will have the ability to lease capacity from this network, especially in rural.

Government keeps on talking about rolling out connectivity to rural areas. This is probably the only way it'll happen.
 
ScrnScrm said:
snipe).
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jannievanzyl said:
snipe.
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thanks guys. Very interesting. But I guess untill such time that ISUCKA pulls its thumb out of its own arse and gets the Digital Divedend available...there is not much point to this. Sad how long this process is taking. It really is. The entire USA has switeched to ditial and the dividend issued. We are how many times smaller country than them and look how long it is taking us!!!!!! :mad::mad:
 
ocleroux said:
thanks guys. Very interesting. But I guess untill such time that ISUCKA pulls its thumb out of its own arse and gets the Digital Divedend available...there is not much point to this. Sad how long this process is taking. It really is. The entire USA has switeched to ditial and the dividend issued. We are how many times smaller country than them and look how long it is taking us!!!!!! :mad::mad:
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It's slightly more complex in SA than in the US (where watching TV is a national passtime and the average income is substantially higher than in SA).

But we must get our collective behinds in gear and if the industry works together, it can only speed up things.
 
jannievanzyl said:
It's slightly more complex in SA than in the US (where watching TV is a national passtime and the average income is substantially higher than in SA).

But we must get our collective behinds in gear and if the industry works together, it can only speed up things.
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Stop making excuses for the Icasa Bastardos Jannie! They dont read mybb so kissing their behinds on here aint gonna get you more spectrum! lolz (KIDDING!) hehe
 
There are dozens of smaller wireless providers who provide cost effective, quality services on a professional basis (take the WAPA members for example) but don't charge an arm a leg for the priviledge. This is an example of the entrepreneurial side of the solution which South Africa excels at, in spite of all the regulatory hurdles. All they need is more spectrum, and support from ICASA (for example, support for a managed-spectrum approach). This is the way forward. Allowing selected big business to dominate this will give us more of the same. There's been nothing to stop the big players from all these great plans in the last 15 years.
 
entrepr said:
There's been nothing to stop the big players from all these great plans in the last 15 years.
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Yeah, I was also wondering why now all of a sudden they wanna cooperate with each other?
 
@Jannie

What about the financial aspect of it?

How do operators pay for capacity upgrades to site when one operator starts to congest? This is where MORAN (Multi-Operator RAN) tends to bring problems from what I have heard
 
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