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South Africa - Cutting cost of the world's most expensive broadband [African Business](African Business Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) The city of Cape Town is spending R1.3bn ($124m) on a seven-year project to open the information highway to less advantaged communities. Dubbed the Universal Broadband Network strategy, the fibre-optic network has reached the point where it is robust and extensive enough to be leveraged off by the private sector with an upsurge in new service providers. The upgrade will also improve network speed and capacity to local, municipal and national government institutions; linking FET (further education and training) colleges and expanding high-speed access to business. The city believes that the crippling price of broadband in South Africa, the world's most expensive, according to leading researcher Ookla Net Index, can most effectively be forced down by the proliferation of service provider competition. This is being achieved by the city releasing its surplus of broadband capacity to service providers. So far, eight have been signed and at least another 20 are in the queue seeking certification. The programme is part of the 'Smart Cape' initiative started 12 years ago as a bridge over the digital divide to connect people and businesses in poorer areas not serviced by the private sector. "The aim of the project is to make Cape Town an inclusive and opportunity city," says executive mayor, Patricia De Lille. The upgrade also gives Cape Town the lead in broadband access in South Africa by opening more information highway lanes to network traffic, easing congestion, access and cost. The latest Ookla Net Index showed that South Africa has globally the highest average price per Mbps for broadband access among all the countries surveyed. The researcher is onsidered a global leader in broadband testing and web-based network diagnostic applications. According to the latest figures, South Africa has the highest cost per Mbps of the 64 countries forming part of the report. South Africa's price of $30.72 per Mbps is several times higher than the global average of $6.95 per Mbps. My Broadband website notes that this high cost for broadband access in South Africa does not bode well for the Department of Communications' plan to give every South African access to a broadband connection at a cost of 2.5% or less of the average monthly income. Competition will improve services Mayor De Lille also believes that accessing broadband internet in Cape Town would be cheaper and more reliable as a result of agreements concluded with internet service providers (ISPs) that have taken up the spare infrastructure capacity generated via Cape Town's broadband net- work, a move that greatly facilitates the space for competition on an unprecedented scale. Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) telecoms analyst Taylor Reynolds reported in 2005 that broadband access in South Africa would improve with more competition. "Aggressive price reductions and better services in the broadband market are always a result of competition," he maintained. This is true today. The South African communications arena, with both monopoly players and competitive markets, is the ideal test bed for the OECD's views. If the organisation is correct that competition is the driver behind lower prices and better services, this will happen in competitive areas, but not where one player dominates. According to Mayor De Lille, the Cape Town's f ibre-optic network has reached the point where it is robust and extensive enough for the overflow to be put to use by the private sector. "Smaller operators would be able to access the infrastructure to enter the market, generating competition in the ISP sector and stimulating economic growth in the Western Cape. It would also generate revenue for the city. Cape Town city council has set aside R222m ($21m) of the budget for a three-year rollout of broadband infrastructure throughout the metro. The aim is 'bridge the digital divide' by connecting less advantaged communities in particular. So far lease agreements have been concluded with eight thirdparty licensed network operators - including RSAweb, Cybersmart, Comtel, Vanilla and Neotel - with cross-connections already in place with Internet Solutions, Vodacom and MWEB. Negotiations are continuing with 20 more. "The city of Cape Town does not want to be a telecoms provider," insists De Lille. "We want to grow the pool of service providers to end users. We invest in infrastructure, which we use internally then rent out to independent service providers. That way we stimulate competition in the communications market, and that means we will not only have one service provider, but as many as possible. Continuously growing of the industry is the best way to bring down prices." High-speed broadband a reality "This in turn helps drive economic growth and development and stimulates the emergence of an opportunity city in which progress opens up for both residents and businesses," says De Lille. "'Last mile' connections to commercial buildings are now being made," reports the executive mayor. "This will allow businesses in these buildings to use high-speed telecoms networks for access to converged services and faster, cheaper and more reliable internet connectivity." Smaller operators can use the same infrastructure to enter the market, thereby generating competition in the ISP sector and stimulating economic growth in the Western Cape private sector as a whole. "The conclusion of these agreements is part of our bridging the digital divide between underserviced communities and those with high levels of digital access," the mayor concluded. Smart Cape initiative Fast and free communication technology for the disadvantaged. All you have to do is join the library Smart Cape is an initiative of the City of Cape Town that takes basic information and communication technologies to unserviced areas of Cape Town free of charge. "In a digital world, computers are no longer a luxury but a necessity which enables individuals to create and take advantage of existing opportunities," says Alderman Demetri Qually, Cape Town city's Mayoral Committee Member for Corporate Services. "It is Cape Town's model for public internet access. It is comparable to international local government best practice, allowing internet facilities to be provided cost effectively using open source software, existing infrastructure and resources. By joining a municipal library, residents are able to have free access to information technologies, with which they are able to give life to their ambitions." The Smart Cape programme was launched in July 2002 as a pilot, with five computers being installed in six public libraries across the city. The City then developed a model for public access, using internet-enabled computers, which were provided cost-effectively, using open source software and existing infrastructure and resources. By the end of the first year, there were 3,000 registered Smart Cape users and gained international recognition. The initiative was given a $1m Bill & Melinda Gates Access to Learning Award in August 2003, which allowed it to expand to all of the City's public libraries over the next year. "Smart Cape is now a Cape Town institution. With over 350,000 registered users at 102 facilities at various libraries throughout the municipality, we are successfully bridging the digital divide. People use the Smart Cape facilities for email, to type CVs and assignments, apply for jobs, conduct research, play games and so on," says Qually. Anyone with a valid library card from any library in the city may make use of the SmartCape facilities at libraries anywhere in the city. "Libraries exist to preserve and promote access to knowledge, experience and ideas in a welcoming and supportive environment," says Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services Alderman Belinda Walker. "So it's important that they provide an access point to online information services for people who are not otherwise able to use them. The Smart Cape Initiative is taking libraries into the 21st century, making them as important an information hub today as they were when they first opened. These computers have developed libraries into a place where people can access business support networks and work on business ideas, helping them to their employment goals." Qually maintains that together with the broadband expansion, additional ways are being explored to bridge the digital divide. Cape Town believes that the crippling price of broadband in South Africa can be forced down by the proliferation of service provider competition The price of broadband in South Africa The following Ookla list shows exactly how expensive South Africa's broadband services are when looking at the cost per Mbps. 1 Bulgaria ($0.51 per Mbps) 2 Romania ($0.59 per Mbps) 3 Lithuania ($0.83 per Mbps) 15 China ($2.26 per Mbps) 19 UK ($2.68 per Mbps) 31 United States ($3.78 per Mbps) 41 New Zealand ($6.72 per Mbps) 45 Australia ($8.90 per Mbps) 46 Brazil ($8.99 per Mbps) 55 India ($11.02 per Mbps) 60 Egypt ($19.47 per Mbps) 63 Philippines ($30.49 per Mbps) 64 South Africa ($30.72 per Mbps) (c) 2014 IC Publications Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info). |