Telkom releases ADSL contention ratio
The Telkom website states: “One of the areas where Telkom needs to comply is that the contention ratio for its ADSL service should be published. The contention ratio for ADSL is 20:1.” “Contention ratios are an international norm and all ISP’s make use of it. The contention ratio does not remain constant as it fluctuates as the service grows and more customers and infrastructure are added,” the website further states.
There are however various contention ratios when it comes to ADSL, including local and international contention ratios.
According to Telkom the 20:1 contention ratio given on the website is for the ‘local access network only’.
Telkom further said that the international ADSL contention ratio can not be released since “this is business sensitive information and cannot be released.”
Due to the higher cost of International bandwidth on the SAT3 and SAFE submarine fiber connections, the ADSL bandwidth bottleneck is likely to occur on the international portion which is why the international ADSL contention ratio is a very important piece of information for ADSL subscribers.
ICASA also to blame
The absence of the international contention ratio seems like a partial contravention of the ADSL Regulations released last year, which states that “Telkom, SNO and ISPs shall on a quarterly basis publish on its website the contention ratio as a commitment to good business practice.”
Telkom is however not the only party to blame for the lack of clarity.
The ADSL regulations have been criticized for its vagueness, and ICASA remains mum on what exactly the individual regulations mean and exactly what companies and ISPs should do to abide by them.
In this specific case the regulations do not give any guidelines as to specifically which contention ratios should be published. This ambiguity leaves the door open for Telkom and ISPs to publish only a single contention ratio, arguing that this is what the regulations require.
ICASA’s continual silence on their ADSL regulations is astounding.
One would expect the regulator to be keen to clarify any uncertainty regarding regulations drafted by them, but instead it is impossible to get an explanation from personnel at ICASA on this matter.
ICASA Chairman Paris Mashile was once again unavailable when he was called last week to answer questions regarding the regulations.
Loading ...