Historically, telecommunication infrastructure was so expensive that it required very deep pockets to deploy. Government, until the latter part of the last century, has been the only player in the deployment of telecommunication infrastructure. Unfortunately, government monopoly telecommunication companies have not proved very efficient or effective in rolling out telecommunication infrastructure.

The privatisation of Telkom in the 1990s did little to improve things because they remained a de facto monopoly with little or no pressure to become competitive. The arrival of mobile telecommunication companies has finally provided a revolution in access, rapidly increasing the availability of phone services in South Africa. However, due to a lack of competition and effective regulation, costs remain unreasonably high in comparison with the rest of the world. What is remarkable is that people are willing to pay these high costs.

In South Africa people are willing to pay 10 to 15% of their income on mobile phones, compared to 5% in the developed world. This highlights the huge pent-up demand for access to communication. Yet, for the rural poor who need it most, this access is either unavailable or too expensive.

So is it possible to change the model? We think that the dramatic drop in the cost of information technology and the exponential increase in computing power has opened up new possibilities. The potential of combining cheap WiFi access points and open source VoIP telecommunication software opens up the possibility for anyone to establish local telephone services. Not only is it technically possible, it is not very difficult (and getting easier all the time). What stands in the way of the development of 'local telcos' is 1) the regulatory environment which is slowly changing to accommodate more competition, and, 2) a simple business model for entrepreneurs or communities or a combination of the two to begin delivering local voice and data services. A significant percentage of phone calls are local anyway. This means that a 'local telco' could deliver value even before connecting to upstream telecommunication services.

Shuttleworth Foundation is very interested in seeing this entrepreneurial model of telecommunication infrastructure deployment flourish in South Africa. Rather than wait to be connected by a telecommunication provider, communities could connect themselves and connect into larger telecommunication networks. This is very much the model that facilitated the exponential growth of the Internet. Connect into the network, do not wait for the network to connect out to you!



On WiFi and WiMax

WiMax is a powerful technology that is touted as having potential as a backhaul technology; a wireless metropolitan area network technology; and, as a competitor 3G mobile technology market. Its role in all of these areas is not without issues and it seems that WiMax has been over-hyped in the press as an access panacea. My comments focus particularly on its suitability as a metropolitan area network service. WiFi has a number of advantages which will make it hard for WiMax to compete with it in the metropolitan marketplace. WiFi's chief advantages are its extreme low cost and relative ubiquity in devices from laptops to phones. These two factors have contributed to it being a technology that is a hotspot for innovation both in the commercial and open source worlds. WiMax's advantages such as its non-line-of-sight capabilities are being marginalised by innovations such as the capacity to seamlessly mesh WiFi devices into a wider network. This would certainly not be the first time in history that an inferior technology has gone on to dominate the market. It will certainly ring a bell for those old enough to remember the VHS versus Betamax standard wars. That said, WiMax may win marketshare in the world of high-speed mobile access and also compete as backhaul technology.



On connected cities

We live in an age of rapid urbanisation. Africa is the fastest urbanising region on the planet. We also live in an age where innovation is increasingly recognised as a driver of economic growth. Research into what enables innovation has pointed to telecommunication as a key enabler and to cities as having a key role as innovation hubs. It is easy to see the strategic potential of connecting these two innovation forces together.

Happily, this is not really a big stretch for cities. They are already in the business of infrastructure stewardship and development when it comes to municipal transportation, electricity, water, and sanitation. An opportunity exists for municipalities to establish local telecommunication broadband infrastructure. There is a marginal cost to deploying fibre-optic infrastructure that can be rolled out with other infrastructure such as water, electricity, etc. This infrastructure can facilitate government communication, attract businesses dependent on robust communication networks, and, offer a level-playing field for digital service and content providers. It may also challenge incumbent telecommunication services to be more competitive.

A number of cities in South Africa have taken on telecommunication infrastructure as part of their agenda. These efforts deserve more public support and awareness.



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