Boosting fibre rollout in South Africa

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) is well advanced with their rapid network deployment plan which will make it easier for telecommunications operators to deploy networks.

South African telecoms operators have long complained about the laborious and time consuming processes needed for them to follow before they can deploy fibre or radio network equipment.

The recent decision by the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM) to place a moratorium on all deployments of fibre illustrates the challenges that telecoms companies face in growing their coverage.

Christian Mhlanga, senior manager of market and competition at ICASA, said that the regulator is working hard to alleviate the red tape associated with deploying telecoms networks in South Africa.

According to Mhlanga, they have already drafted a comprehensive plan to facilitate easier network deployments in SA, and are now in the process of finalizing the documentation which will then be sent to the Department of Communications (DoC).

The DoC will release a policy based on ICASA’s documentation which means that all municipalities in the country will follow the same “easy” procedures to allow companies to deploy telecoms networks.

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