Wired city plan goes ahead
By Xolani Mbanjwa
While municipalities around the country are gearing up to provide an answer to Telkom's monopoly as a telecommunications provider, the eThekwini Municipality is also speeding ahead with plans to provide access to cheaper internet, e-mail and local telephone calls through the city's extensive fibre-optic cable network.
The eThekwini Municipality has made extensive progress in its attempts to offer the public and small businesses cheaper telephone and internet connections, having given the project the go-ahead recently.
The council, said Deputy City Mayor Logie Naidoo, was looking for a contractor to lay out the infrastructure throughout the city, "before we get rolling".
Like the Cape Town, Tshwane and Knysna metropoles, the eThekwini council working on bridging digital divide.
City Manager Michael Sutcliffe said the provision of cheaper telecommunications throughout eThekwini was one of the council's most important initiatives.
Dream
He said, although the broadband network would take some time to install, it was a "realistic" dream that every city wanted.
"We need to ask ourselves whether it is pragmatic for poor people to have to use so much money to communicate, (to) pay Telkom, Cell-C, Vodacom or MTN.
"The fibre-optic infrastructure is just one strategy to get the city where it should be.
"Imagine what you could start doing with that system. You could use your telephone for as long as you wanted for a minimal flat rate a month.
"Companies with security guards working throughout the city, for example, could design a software solution to allow anyone, on any cellphone, to talk as if it was a walkie-talkie. Take-away businesses could deliver to anyone in the city without people having to use so much money for a phone call.
"This is good for small businesses."
He said the city's interest was not to generate money for itself, but to grow the economy.
"We will provide our citizens with the infrastructure at a nominal rate.
Solutions
"Other service providers won't look for solutions for the poor, but for the rich and income-generating. And these are solutions for the poor that are developmental," said Sutcliffe.
eThekwini Municipality head of Geographic Information and Policy, Jacquie Subban, who is leading the connectivity project, said the council started laying the fibre-optic network cables connecting municipal offices a long time ago.
This had made Durban the city with the greatest network in the country.
She said when the pilot projects proved successful, "hopefully by the end of June", the scheme would be presented to the council for approval. Only then would the city be able to roll out the service in a phased approach.
She said the broadband fibre-optic infrastructure would be used to connect businesses and citizens with the city's extensive power grid and wireless communications.
"Municipalities have been allowed by laws to look at other avenues. In addition, the legislation that protects the monopoly of Telkom has changed and allowed us to use our spare capacity for the rest of the city," said Subban.
There would be many spin-offs from such a network, attracting investment from South Africa and around the world, where expensive telecommunications and data costs were crippling the bottom line, said Subban.
"We have every reason to believe that it will be feasible. This is a true reflection of the term 'bridging the digital divide', because we will attempt to bring connectivity to every home and business within the municipal area."
Portals
She said companies and residents would have access to portals where they could access information such as tenders or career opportunities, products, new markets, services and education. Multimedia (music and video) would also be accessible to the vast majority.
"We will be able to teach at three schools at once, via video-call, beaming out to everyone. This would up education levels and the potential is huge," she said.
Subban said the fact that the law had protected Telkom had been the biggest problem, "but there are changes with the second network operator coming through. We are aware of the legal issues that may arise, but we are tackling them head on."
She said Telkom would be forced into competition and, ultimately, may be forced to drop its "exorbitant" rates.
"You cannot be outside the telecommunications game in the year 2006, and, as the eThekwini council, we will fight with other municipalities to get these projects rolled out. It's a good fight to fight for the poor."
She said the issue of cost would be dealt with later, but there would be a different rate for businesses and citizens.
Access to the internet, e-mail and local phone calls at a hugely discounted rate will be a boon to the citizens of Durban, creating a "Learning City" which, in turn, will lead to the vision held by the city's fathers of a "Smart City".
Subban said they had travelled to India last year on a fact-finding mission and had in place a series of memorandums of understanding with manufacturers of low-cost mobile and desktop devices that could be used to access internet and e-mail in poor communities.
"We would like to package these multimedia devices used in India, where you can get access to internet and e-mail, and sell them to the citizens who cannot afford PCs and other hi-tech computers."
Subban said all home owners would need is a modem to get on to the internet and also connect a phone.
"Anyone with a power plug at home can connect a modem to it and go surfing. Communities will then enter the information age without relying on Telkom."
The telecom providers could then jump on the bandwagon and supply the telephones and adapters to be plugged into walls and computers.
CCTV
This would also allow home owners to transfer their CCTV systems to cellphones via 3G (third generation mobile services which allow phones to relay huge amounts of data simultaneously) and monitor security of their homes.
"The home owner would simply dial into the home network, select video camera from the cellphone and it will display everything that is captured by the CCTV network at home," said Sutcliffe.
Putting it in simple terms, Sutcliffe said municipalities have powerlines and copper wiring running into the buildings and homes in their areas of jurisdiction and they can now use broadband technology to give them telecoms.
Pilot projects being run throughout the city are using ordinary powerlines, wireless networks and through the fibre-optic cable network into the homes next to municipal offices as they can carry telecommunications signals.
Published on the web by Sunday Tribune on May 14, 2006.
By Xolani Mbanjwa
While municipalities around the country are gearing up to provide an answer to Telkom's monopoly as a telecommunications provider, the eThekwini Municipality is also speeding ahead with plans to provide access to cheaper internet, e-mail and local telephone calls through the city's extensive fibre-optic cable network.
The eThekwini Municipality has made extensive progress in its attempts to offer the public and small businesses cheaper telephone and internet connections, having given the project the go-ahead recently.
The council, said Deputy City Mayor Logie Naidoo, was looking for a contractor to lay out the infrastructure throughout the city, "before we get rolling".
Like the Cape Town, Tshwane and Knysna metropoles, the eThekwini council working on bridging digital divide.
City Manager Michael Sutcliffe said the provision of cheaper telecommunications throughout eThekwini was one of the council's most important initiatives.
Dream
He said, although the broadband network would take some time to install, it was a "realistic" dream that every city wanted.
"We need to ask ourselves whether it is pragmatic for poor people to have to use so much money to communicate, (to) pay Telkom, Cell-C, Vodacom or MTN.
"The fibre-optic infrastructure is just one strategy to get the city where it should be.
"Imagine what you could start doing with that system. You could use your telephone for as long as you wanted for a minimal flat rate a month.
"Companies with security guards working throughout the city, for example, could design a software solution to allow anyone, on any cellphone, to talk as if it was a walkie-talkie. Take-away businesses could deliver to anyone in the city without people having to use so much money for a phone call.
"This is good for small businesses."
He said the city's interest was not to generate money for itself, but to grow the economy.
"We will provide our citizens with the infrastructure at a nominal rate.
Solutions
"Other service providers won't look for solutions for the poor, but for the rich and income-generating. And these are solutions for the poor that are developmental," said Sutcliffe.
eThekwini Municipality head of Geographic Information and Policy, Jacquie Subban, who is leading the connectivity project, said the council started laying the fibre-optic network cables connecting municipal offices a long time ago.
This had made Durban the city with the greatest network in the country.
She said when the pilot projects proved successful, "hopefully by the end of June", the scheme would be presented to the council for approval. Only then would the city be able to roll out the service in a phased approach.
She said the broadband fibre-optic infrastructure would be used to connect businesses and citizens with the city's extensive power grid and wireless communications.
"Municipalities have been allowed by laws to look at other avenues. In addition, the legislation that protects the monopoly of Telkom has changed and allowed us to use our spare capacity for the rest of the city," said Subban.
There would be many spin-offs from such a network, attracting investment from South Africa and around the world, where expensive telecommunications and data costs were crippling the bottom line, said Subban.
"We have every reason to believe that it will be feasible. This is a true reflection of the term 'bridging the digital divide', because we will attempt to bring connectivity to every home and business within the municipal area."
Portals
She said companies and residents would have access to portals where they could access information such as tenders or career opportunities, products, new markets, services and education. Multimedia (music and video) would also be accessible to the vast majority.
"We will be able to teach at three schools at once, via video-call, beaming out to everyone. This would up education levels and the potential is huge," she said.
Subban said the fact that the law had protected Telkom had been the biggest problem, "but there are changes with the second network operator coming through. We are aware of the legal issues that may arise, but we are tackling them head on."
She said Telkom would be forced into competition and, ultimately, may be forced to drop its "exorbitant" rates.
"You cannot be outside the telecommunications game in the year 2006, and, as the eThekwini council, we will fight with other municipalities to get these projects rolled out. It's a good fight to fight for the poor."
She said the issue of cost would be dealt with later, but there would be a different rate for businesses and citizens.
Access to the internet, e-mail and local phone calls at a hugely discounted rate will be a boon to the citizens of Durban, creating a "Learning City" which, in turn, will lead to the vision held by the city's fathers of a "Smart City".
Subban said they had travelled to India last year on a fact-finding mission and had in place a series of memorandums of understanding with manufacturers of low-cost mobile and desktop devices that could be used to access internet and e-mail in poor communities.
"We would like to package these multimedia devices used in India, where you can get access to internet and e-mail, and sell them to the citizens who cannot afford PCs and other hi-tech computers."
Subban said all home owners would need is a modem to get on to the internet and also connect a phone.
"Anyone with a power plug at home can connect a modem to it and go surfing. Communities will then enter the information age without relying on Telkom."
The telecom providers could then jump on the bandwagon and supply the telephones and adapters to be plugged into walls and computers.
CCTV
This would also allow home owners to transfer their CCTV systems to cellphones via 3G (third generation mobile services which allow phones to relay huge amounts of data simultaneously) and monitor security of their homes.
"The home owner would simply dial into the home network, select video camera from the cellphone and it will display everything that is captured by the CCTV network at home," said Sutcliffe.
Putting it in simple terms, Sutcliffe said municipalities have powerlines and copper wiring running into the buildings and homes in their areas of jurisdiction and they can now use broadband technology to give them telecoms.
Pilot projects being run throughout the city are using ordinary powerlines, wireless networks and through the fibre-optic cable network into the homes next to municipal offices as they can carry telecommunications signals.
Published on the web by Sunday Tribune on May 14, 2006.
