The GSMA gives some tips on how to make fast, cheap mobile broadband a reality in South Africa
“Extremely affordable” mobile broadband services can be had in South Africa, if only a few stumbling blocks are cleared out of the way. So said Ross Bateson, special government adviser at GSM Association (GSMA) during an interview at the AfricaCom conference which was recently held in Cape Town.
Timely allocation of harmonised spectrum is the single biggest problem, Bateson said, but he also identified issues such as drawn out environmental impact assessments and the taxation system on imports in South Africa.
Harmonised spectrum explained
Harmonised spectrum, Bateson explains, means the operational frequency of transmitters and end point devices (such as phones and modems) in South Africa need to be in line with global and regional norms.
An example of an international norm South Africa should adhere to is the so-called “Option 1” configuration of the much sought-after 2.6 GHz frequency band. This band is being used world-wide for the deployment of high-speed mobile broadband technologies such as LTE and WiMAX, Bateson said.
Bateson warned that South Africa should steer clear of trying to roll-out those technologies in bands that the rest of the world isn't using, as it will increase the price of consumer devices or result in devices not being supported on networks at all. He also warned that South Africa shouldn't try to develop a unique band plan, but should adhere as closely as possible to the “Option 1” recommendation as set out by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).
Currently this is impossible in South Africa as a large chunk of the precious 2.6 GHZ spectrum is occupied by Sentech, with a smaller piece belonging to iBurst's Wireless Business Solutions (WBS).
A regional norm South Africa would have to consider very soon is SADC's decision on a digital terrestrial television standard. Proponents of the Japanese ISDB-T and European DVB-T digital broadcasting standards have been doing battle in South Africa for the last few months when the DoC re-opened the debate on which standard SA should use for terrestrial (i.e. not satellite or cable) broadcasts.
An SADC task team is currently evaluating various digital broadcasting standards and is set to report their recommendations on 22 November. Bateson said that the “important thing is to act in a harmonised manner with the rest of SADC” to minimise issues like cross-border interference.
Allocating spectrum
Bateson added that the decision of DTT standard needs to be made sooner rather than later as it's a major obstacle to the roll-out of affordable mobile broadband to rural areas. Once digital broadcasting begins and analog broadcasts are turned off, a valuable portion of spectrum known as the digital dividend becomes available in the frequency bands where analog TV broadcasts from the SABC, e.tv and M-Net used to occur.
This spectrum is so valuable because of it's low frequency compared to bands like 2.6GHz and 3.5GHz. Among other benefits, lower frequencies allow for a single base station to cover a larger area.
Digital dividend spectrum and the 2.6 GHz band will be the first frequencies in which LTE roll-outs occur, said Bateson.
Choosing the right technology
While spectrum remains the greatest stumbling block to the wider deployment of high-speed mobile broadband networks, Bateson said that choosing the right technology is the greatest factor to making access more affordable.
The most affordable broadband comes from mass-market broadband products, Bateson said. To drive down prices it's important to create a marketplace that's as large as possible. “It's very important that I can take advantage of the global market place,” Bateson said. According to Bateson, HSPA and HSPA+ is currently the mass-market broadband standard and in future it will be LTE and TD-LTE.
Bateson noted that regardless of the technologies operators are using currently, almost all have upgrade paths to LTE or TD-LTE. The battle between WiMAX and LTE is over and the industry is backing LTE, Bateson said.
- My Broadband, Jan Vermeulen
No comments:
Post a Comment