DataPro: Clear LLU timetable needed
“We hope to see ICASA publishing a clear timetable for local loop unbundling by the third quarter of this year at the very latest,” says Group Chairman Tony van Marken. “We all need to know exactly what milestones Telkom must reach and what the deadlines are. Most importantly, there needs to be clear penalties for missing those deadlines.”
Otherwise, says Van Marken, “we’ll have the same story we had with the interconnection regime. Telkom will stonewall until the very last moment and the process will only start in 2011, instead of being completed by then.”
Van Marken pointed out that Telkom are sitting in the pound seats as they currently have full control over the local loop and forcing them to open up this segment of the market will take a firm hand from the SA telecoms regulator, Icasa.
“If we were Telkom, we wouldn’t do a thing about unbundling until 2010 at the earliest, and then make lots of excuses about how technically difficult it is,” adds Van Marken. “Walking very slowly backwards, as Telkom has been doing for years, is an entirely rational strategy for a monopoly under threat. That’s why ICASA needs to manage the programme of work very clearly and force adherence to a strict timetable. There needs to be a cost to dragging things out.”
The pricing of access to local loop facilities is one of the issues that needs to be clarified well in advance, says Group CEO Douglas Reed. “None of the other players in the market can invest in facilities or developing services until there is a clear pricing structure from Telkom,” says Reed. “If South Africa is to have any hope of actually seeing the benefits of unbundling by the end of 2011, we need to have our business plans in place several months in advance.”
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