Numbering regulations reach final phase / ITWEB

By Leigh-Ann Francis
Johannesburg, 14 Jun 2010

The Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) is in the process of formulating the Number Plan Regulations and has published a draft version, which is now open for public comment until mid-July.

The regulations are intended to align the regulatory framework with the Electronic Communications Act 2005 and the ICASA Act 2000, as amended in 2006, and to cater adequately for the newly competitive environment.

Senior telecoms consultant at BMI-Tech Knowledge Tim Parle explains that the regulations cover three phases, two of which are already complete.

The first phase was completed in 2007 and entailed changing the international dialling prefix used in SA from "09" to "00". This was in line with international norms and freed up the numbers with the second digit of 9, states Parle.

The most visible part of the second phase was the withdrawal of local calling, requiring South Africans to come to terms with dialling the prefix to local numbers and not just national, long-distance numbers, he continues. “For example, where we had to add 011 to all Johannesburg numbers regardless of whether we were calling from Sandton or Durban.”

The second phase introduced non-geographic numbers and short codes, needed to allow Neotel, and operators, to compete in the fixed market, he explains.

Parle notes that the third phase entails a more radical change. Here, the first digit dialled will change from "0" to "6" for geographic numbers and to "8" or "9" for non-geographic numbers. The aim is to provide more capacity for the long-term, he explains.

ICASA has called for public comment by 19 July and is holding public hearings on the topic in early August. The date for the implementation of phase 3 will be determined after these events.

Neotel welcomed the publication of proposed changes to the national telephone numbering plan, which the telecoms operator says promises to provide structure and clarity that has been lacking to date.

The regulations will force the industry to prepare for new infrastructure requirements and changes to their business models, which is said to have positive long-term effects for operators and their customers.

Industry impact

“The impact of these changes will be felt by the operators, which will need to re-programme the routing tables in all their switches and do extensive testing,” Parle predicts.

This is a large operation for Telkom, given its footprint of telephone switches across the country, and a significant exercise for the mobile operators, given the large number of base station control and MSCs deployed, he continues.

“The effect ripples down to Neotel, ECN, Vox and the like too. For small to medium enterprises, company PABX/PBXes will need to be reprogrammed to handle the changes with knock-on impacts to billing systems, LCR systems, internal directories and the like.”

Gregory Massel, MD of Switch Telecoms, notes that, while mobile networks and wireless application service providers will have to amend some of their premium rate and content subscription services, both company and consumers stand to benefit.

“Companies like Switch Telecom will benefit by being able to provide toll-free services. At present, Telkom makes this difficult because rather than honouring the toll-free status of the 0800 number, it simply plays a message saying: 'Calls to this non-Telkom toll-free number will be charged.'

“In the future, the calls will be toll-free, irrespective of the network they originate on,” explains Massel.

Consumers also stand to benefit from regulations relating to SMS-based content subscription services. “Providers will not be allowed to sign a consumer into a subscription-based service unless the consumer subscribes via a premium rate shortcode.

“Any SMS-based advertisement they send you enticing you to respond will have to be sent from a premium rate shortcode so that consumers are not misled under false pretences,” he notes.

The regulations also allow for the implementation of tariff controls, adds Massel. Certain number ranges will be classified as cheaper calls and others will be classified as more expensive.

“Having two clear bands, excluding toll-free and premium-rate, will help remove the current situation that has arisen where consumers have no idea what the cost of a call is before dialling,” he says.

Parle predicts that consumers may grumble at the changes initially, and for a few weeks may fumble when trying to make a call, but will soon take the changes on board. There is also a chance that shares in media companies and PBX maintenance companies will become hot items, he concludes.

Telecoms costs still constrain BPO | ITWeb

By Nicola Mawson, ITWeb senior journalist.
Johannesburg, 9 Jun 2010

The cost of telecommunications in SA is still too high, says the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector. This hampers its competitiveness, despite the promise of cheaper connectivity through new undersea cables.

Seacom landed last July, and the Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System (Eassy) should be up in August. The West African Cable system is also due to arrive soon.

However, the cables have not significantly forced down the cost of connecting internationally, says umbrella body Business Processing enabling SA (BPeSA).

Acting CEO Bulelwa Koyana says the increase in bandwidth should have reduced costs for players in the sector that use voice over IP to connect internationally. However, the reduction in costs has not taken place as the industry had hoped.

A few years ago, the BPO industry, through the Department of Trade and Industry, applied to Telkom for a concessionary rate. However, this bid was abandoned after it was decided this would be anti-competitive and would be thrown out by the competition authorities.

To read more click on the link above.....

New Icasa chair will face political challenges | TechCentral

President Jacob Zuma is expected to appoint a chairman to the Icasa council within the next few weeks to replace outgoing chair Paris Mashile, whose five-year term expires at the end of this month. It’s a decision that will reverberate in the telecommunications industry for years to come, says a leading consultant.

BMI-TechKnowledge MD Denis Smit says it’s important Zuma, in consultation with communications minister Siphiwe Nyanda, picks a strong and capable person to lead the regulatory authority for the next five years.

Zuma’s choices are somewhat limited, though. The Icasa Act requires him to pick the next chairman from the existing crop of councillors. But there are a few strong potential candidates the president could choose.

Smit says whoever gets the job will have a number of challenges to deal with the moment they walk into Mashile’s soon-to-be-vacated office. “And a lot of these are very political in nature,” Smit says.

To read more click on the link above....

Icasa under fire over spectrum auction | TechCentral

A top regulatory expert has lambasted the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) over its planned auction of spectrum for wireless broadband services, saying the process is deeply flawed.

Dominic Cull of Ellipsis Regulatory Solutions says there are a number of serious flaws in the process of licensing spectrum in the valuable 2,6GHz and 3,5GHz bands.

Cull’s concerns should be taken seriously, especially given the strategic economic importance of the frequency in question. The mobile operators, for one, stand to make billions of rand from selling services in these new bands.

There’s likely to a particularly wild scramble for spectrum in the 2,6GHz band, where operators will be able to build networks of national scope.

Click on the link above to read more....

Vox takes on diginet | ITWeb

By Candice Jones, ITWeb online telecoms editor
Johannesburg, 3 Jun 2010

With individual number portability a reality, local alternative operator Vox Datapro is taking aim at Telkom's leased-line customers, by releasing its Zeppelin product.

Vox's new offering targets the higher end small and medium-sized business, which Vox Datapro MD Gary Sweidan says will provide an alternative to traditional leased-line solutions, like diginet, at a fraction of the price.

Zeppelin is essentially a 4Mbps wireless solution over microwave technology, and allows for both voice and data. “It's a point-to-point (P2P) solution, and the offering uses a licensed spectrum band,” explains Sweidan.

Traditionally, P2P offerings in businesses come at a hefty price. However, as dedicated services, there is very little contention on the lines, and interference and downtime is expected to be minimal.

To read more click on the link above......

MTN spends R500m on network upgrade | ITWeb

By Candice Jones, ITWeb online telecoms editor
Johannesburg, 31 May 2010

MTN, Africa's first global sponsor of the Fifa 2010 Soccer World Cup, has spent close to R500 million upgrading its network in preparation for the soccer spectacular, which kicks off next week.

Speaking at the MTN media forum this morning, MTN CTO Sameer Dave explained that the company's investment only covers specifications for the World Cup, and not the entire network. The entire network investment for this year will be R4.1 billion.

Dave says that, over the past two years, MTN has implemented “super” coverage for the stadiums. Each of the stadiums will house around 22 base stations, have 38 cells or point-of-radio contacts, and will be fed by 6km of fibre.

To read more click on the link above..........