Let’s get real about broadband plans
Communications minister Yunus Carrim recently discussed broadband in South Africa with Radio 702’s Stephen Grootes, highlighting that government is on track to provide South Africans with world class Internet connectivity.
Carrim has been a breath of fresh air in the Department of Communications (DoC), getting the wheels rolling in a department which has been completely dysfunctional for years.
However, his recent statements reminded me of the political rhetoric we have heard so often from his predecessors. Let’s take a closer look at his views on broadband.
Carrim: On the 4th of December cabinet decided on the broadband strategy and plan called South Africa Connect.
History has taught us that a broadband policy in and of itself means nothing. Zero. Zilch. Nada.
In June 2010 cabinet approved the previous National Broadband Policy, and that was the last we heard about it. The DoC now decided to replace it with its new “South Africa Connect” broadband policy and plan.
Unless the DoC and government change the way they do things, the “South Africa Connect” broadband policy and plan will go the same route as its predecessor.
Carrim: Next week we are going to appoint the broadband council which will include a range of experts from the industry, government, civil society, universities and the like.
You’ve got to be kidding me. In the words of Cosatu’s suspended general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi – “talk, talk, talk, conference, conference, conference, summit, summit, summit, resolution, resolution, resolution, declaration, declaration, declaration. No action whatsoever.”
Did the DoC not learn enough from the events and committees listed below?
- Telecommunications Colloquium in July 2005
- Telecommunications Colloquium in October 2005
- National Broadband Colloquium in November 2009
- National ICT Policy Colloquium in April 2012
- ICT Policy review panel in 2012
- Broadband workshop in November 2012
- National broadband policy workshop in October 2013
- International Broadband Policy Workshop in November 2013
Carrim: We are looking to a public-private partnership to ensure that broadband is rolled out in the country as a whole. We are on the course to roll out broadband very, very swiftly over the period ahead. We cannot do this alone, let us stress, it must involve partnerships with the private sector.
Let’s be clear – partnering with private companies is the only way anything will get done. We should not forget how the DoC previously spent it’s time – protecting Telkom’s decade long monopoly, preventing service providers from building their own networks and, the cherry on the cake, trying to block the Seacom and Eassy undersea cables from landing in South Africa.
Currently the DoC is still not helping. The mobile operators still do not have access to LTE spectrum (apart from their own re-farmed 1,800MHz and 2,100MHz spectrum), and the delay in digital TV migration means that valuable broadband spectrum has still not been freed up.
The DoC should focus on providing private companies with the legislation and resources they need to roll out broadband networks. It should be a facilitator – not a player.
Carrim: Part of this [country-wide broadband rollout] entails free Wi-Fi in certain parts of the country, including under-serviced areas.
Wi-Fi is a great technology to build affordable networks, especially for last mile access, but it is not magic. Rolling out large scale Wi-Fi networks is complex and expensive.
Free Wi-Fi is great, but building sustainable networks and business models remains a major challenge. The DoC has not made it clear how these challenges will be overcome.
Carrim: Government has not acted as fast as it should on broadband, and we’ve collectively acknowledged that.
Give this man a Bells. I would have preferred “we really messed up badly, and we apologize”, but any acknowledgement of failure in an election year is welcome.
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