What the death of ADSL means for South Africans
The Internet Service Providers’ Association of South Africa (ISPA) has published a statement which details how South Africans should approach the move from ADSL to alternative services.
This is because Openserve has announced its decision to decommission its copper network on an area-by-area basis as alternative services become available.
“The decommissioning of copper-based telecoms technology will indeed be something of a headache for many consumers,” said Guy Halse of ISPA.
“However the fact that copper’s time has come was plainly obvious during lockdown when we saw how vulnerable the technology was to theft.”
ISPA noted that Openserve cannot provide fixed decommissioning dates for specific areas, but the decommissioning of copper-based telephone services has already commenced in some areas.
A wealth of choices
ISPA highlighted that Openserve provides wholesale products and services to other licensed telecommunications service providers through an open-access network.
“This means consumers and businesses owners are still free to select any service provider available in their area,” said ISPA.
“Openserve would simply be one of these potential providers of infrastructure required for voice and data services.”
For those who do decide to stick with Openserve, ISPA said that South Africans will still have a variety of choices at their disposal.
“ISPA urges copper customers to make sure that they clearly understand if and when Openserve copper will be replaced in their area,” said Halse.
“If your area is affected, then be aware that an alternative fibre or wireless connection should be made available and that you will be free to choose who you want your ISP and voice provider to be.”
Halse also noted that South Africans should still be able to keep their phone number when transitioning away from copper services.
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