Sentech receives R500m broadband boost
The capital boost will help it carry out orders from the communications department to build a high-speed network that will take voice and data services to areas that are not commercially appealing to the private sector.
Sentech has been coldshouldered by the treasury for years, leaving it unable to make any progress. The cash was finally promised in September.
In a note circulated to staff on Monday, Sentech said R500 million was transferred into its account on February 14 as a contribution to roll out a national broadband wireless infrastructure.
“The board is still in discussions with the minister (Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri) and the communications department to agree on the business model that Sentech will implement,” Sentech executives said.
Money would remain a sticking point, however, since chief financial officer Siddique Cassim previously estimated that more than R3 billion was needed to create an effective infrastructure.
A source close to the company said yesterday that the signal carrier might also lack the skills to execute the plan, after more than 100 resignations and an acrimonious restructuring process destroyed much of its talent last year. The executive of technology who quit was not replaced, and restructuring eliminated the executive of project management and quality assurance, who had co-ordinated new roll-out plans.
The main purpose of the new network is to take telephony and internet services to hospitals, schools and rural communities.
The plans have been watered down since Matsepe-Casaburri originally instructed Sentech to take high-speed internet access to businesses and consumers. Now it will focus on community services rather than commercial services.
It is unclear if Sentech will receive more money in today’s budget.
If it does, it might be earmarked for its more pressing R1 billion project to upgrade the broadcasting infrastructure from analogue to digital signals.
In his state of the nation speech, President Thabo Mbeki listed technology as a priority, and allocated money for Sentech to become a wireless internet wholesaler and fund the digital overhaul. But he failed to say how much Sentech would get and what it was expected to deliver.
The Cape IT Initiative development agency is hoping Finance Minister Trevor Manuel will provide more clarity on that issue.
The Universal Service and Access Agency said allocating some cash to begin the wireless network renewed its hope that Sentech could play a critical role in providing connectivity to more schools, clinics, telecentres and police stations in rural areas. Internet access would help people to access services that were vital to their inclusion in the mainstream economy, said the agency’s CEO, James Theledi. “We are looking forward to working with Sentech in making sure that … rural areas have access to high-speed internet at affordable prices,” he said.
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