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Spectrum constraints leave rural regions behind the data wave

1st August 2017

By: Natasha Odendaal

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

     

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One-million citizens in rural areas are still sidelined in the data communication evolution as it becomes increasingly difficult – and costly – without additional spectrum to expand into the far flung areas that are home to groups of the South Africa’s population.

Despite the unprecedented data explosion and the expansive deployment of second-generation (2G), third-generation (3G) and fourth-generation (4G) technologies across South Africa, work to bring communications coverage to every last citizen of South Africa continues.

Speaking at a business briefing on Tuesday, Vodacom group CTO Andries Delport told journalists that it was estimated that, on the back of low density, there was a need for some 1 500 to 3 000 new base stations, each with a R1.5-million to R2-million price tag, to include the last of the uncovered rural areas.

Vodacom already had close to 5 000 base stations in rural areas, with significant investments in infrastructure resulting in 99.9% of the country being covered by 2G, 75.9% by 4G coverage and 99.2% by 3G coverage.

“There are certainly some areas that do not have coverage. We have calculated that, if we look at the 1 Mb/s threshold, there are around one-million people that do not have coverage,” he explained.

The group’s 4G offerings covered 91% of the metropolitan areas and only 44% in rural areas, skewed coverage that is a direct result of the country’s spectrum constraints.

Just over 61% of the South African population lives on 1.4% of the country’s land area, leaving about 38% living on the remaining 98.6% of surface area.

Vodacom innovation head Jannie van Zyl elaborated that, at its lowest density, rural regions are home to around four people per square kilometre, while there were up to 700 urban dwellers per square kilometre in the cities.

Alternative technologies, which could only be leveraged through spectrum, were desperately needed to provide better coverage in rural areas, as it was just too costly to build sites to cover the last million, Delport commented.

“We need to be smart about how we cover the rural areas,” he added, pointing out that capacity added through the use of spectrum would cost 10% to 15% of the cost of building sites.

Further, to deploy 4G technologies to meet the ever rising demand for data, Vodacom had already refarmed as much of its 2G band as it could, diverting spectrum from the voice band that was still heavily entrenched in the South African market.

Spectrum allocation remains one of the most challenging of the headwinds facing the industry, which is far from reaching a resolution.

Last month, Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba, under a new 14-point action plan to revive South Africa’s recessionary economy, issued a directive to Telecommunications and Postal Services Minister Dr Siyabonga Cwele to complete the already years-long delayed spectrum licensing process by December 2018.

In the interim, while Vodacom remains in talks with government to find solutions, the company entered into an infrastructure-sharing agreement with Wireless Business Solutions and signed a nonexclusive roaming agreement to ensure data demand is met.

The desired spectrum, however, is likely to be shared with government’s proposed own wireless open-access network (Woan), which could possibly assist the industry in connecting the rural regions, dependent on the timing of its implementation.

The Woan’s spectrum needs are currently the focus of a high-level study by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), with a view to enable government to license the remainder to the industry by August.

The study aimed to to determine the appropriate quantity of high-demand spectrum to be set aside for the Woan to roll out a 4G network, with the remaining high-demand spectrum to be assigned to existing licensees through an allocation process has yet to be determined.

Delport raised some concern around the study, stating that it was a technical one, and needed further reviews delving into socioeconomics, transformation targets, competition, investment and viability.

“The CSIR study on its own cannot necessarily be used to come up with an answer, you have to add the other dimensions to come up with right answers,” he said, adding that the August deadline provided to the council was tight for such a serious undertaking.

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

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