Fixed-line access to grow
That’s the word from Tshilidzi Marwala, who headed a committee appointed by communications minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri to make recommendations about how local-loop unbundling (LLU) should take place in SA.
The local loop is the so-called “last mile” of copper cables that link consumers to their local telephone exchange. The argument is that the local loop was built using taxpayers’ money and that it is therefore fair to give other service providers access to it.
Marwala, who is director of the control & systems group at the school of electrical & information engineering at Wits University, says the committee has recommended that access to the local loop should not be restricted to licensed network operators and that Internet service providers should also be able to provide fixed-line access to consumers.
Matsepe-Cassaburri has set a final deadline of November 2011 to complete the process. It’s an aggressive timeframe given that it has taken much longer to unbundled the local loop in other countries. But some industry executives have said that November 2011 is being too generous. DataPro chairman Tony Van Marken says Telkom will simply stall other operators until close to that date.
Marwala has recommended that:
• The local loop be decoupled from the rest of Telkom’s business.
• Carrier preselection and co-location be enforced. Preselection allows consumers to decide which company will carry their voice and Internet traffic. Co-location allows service providers access to Telkom’s exchanges.
• The regulator, Icasa, be given the resources necessary to police the local loop.
Not everyone agrees that LLU is necessary. Incumbent operators worldwide argue that wireless options mean operators can quickly deploy wireless local loop alternatives. But Marwala says wireless technologies are not yet as efficient in delivery broadband services.
Marwala expects Telkom to employ tactics to try to delay LLU unbundling but ultimately he believes it will stimulate competition. He hopes the process will entice local and foreign operators to invest.
He dismisses warning by Telkom executives that LLU will stop it investing in the local loop. On the contrary, he says, it could spur Telkom into deploying higher speed fibre.
The process is complex and Icasa now has to draw up LLU regulations and determine costs associated with the local loop, which could prove difficult if Telkom tries to mask them.
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