This week’s landmark decision sees Internet providers wiring into development, writes Aspasia Karras
The South African Telecommunications Authority’s (Satra) pronouncement on Internet exclusivity this week has more spin-offs than the one that captures the popular imagination – the David and Goliath showdown whereby Telkom lost the exclusivity battle to the independent service providers.
Pinky Moholi, group executive for regulatory affairs in Telkom, argues that Telkom “believes the decision is based on a misinterpretation of its submission to Satra on this issue”. Telkom is taking legal advice on the implications of the pronouncement.
The Internet Service Providers Association (Ispa) was understandably delighted with the ruling, saying that “Ispa firmly stands on its belief that a free and competitive Internet industry is best for national growth”. But what is more important for South Africa is that Satra’s decision has managed to shift the focus from profit to development.
Satra has done this by taking three decisions. First, access to the Internet protocol will be supplied under a value- added network services licence rather than Telkom’s public switched telephone service licence. This means that Internet provision is not considered a basic service, and so falls outside Telkom’s five-year exclusive control over the provision of basic telephony. Second, the authority will oversee the establishment of a collectively owned but neutral peering point of exchange.
This is a physical exchange point allowing Internet networks to link up, bypassing international gateways.
Satra believes “this will keep South African traffic within the country and minimise the need for international bandwidth. It may promote the South African Internet industry globally. It will also make it a focal point for technical co- ordination to enhance stable open growth.”
The aim of the common peering point will be to complement rather than compete with services provided by constituent members of the Ispa. A third party contracted by the membership will provide the day-to day service and management. In some ways this may be the concession to Telkom’s interests in terms of generating income from Internet traffic.
But most important, Satra will create a regulatory environment requiring Internet service providers to contribute to the goals of universal service. Satra’s chair Nape Maepa said the decision was in the public interest and the regulator had sought innovative ways of ensuring that the rights and needs of South Africans were met.
Telkom, however, rejects the suggestion that its proposal would in any way jeopardise any South African’s constitutional right to information and education.
David Frankel, co-chair of Ispa and co- owner of The Internet Solution, says: “Satra’s ruling leaves the way open for the universal access issue to grow out of its current role as political football and become a reality.”
In its application to Satra, Telkom argued that it was in a much better position to provide universal service, particularly in the rural areas, as it could cross- subsidise the Internet points of presence because of its roll-out obligations under the Telecommunications Act.
It also maintained it would provide the access while other independent companies would provide the service – a complicated proposal, because as any Internet user knows, dividing the access from the service is virtually impossible.
A more convincing argument was made by Ispa, which is not only composed of profit- seeking institutions but also community- based ones, such as Sangonet and Bridges, which provide a subsidised, affordable and quality service and already grapple with the universal service issue as an integral part of their day-to-day business.
Hence Maepa’s belief that “the Internet has always been and continues to be an information service. The people in this country are entitled to equitable, affordable quality and universal service in respect of information. Our Constitution guarantees everyone access to information. We therefore need an environment that will permit an orderly exchange of traffic by Internet service providers within South Africa, as well as in sub-Saharan Africa, in the spirit of our deputy president’s vision of the African renaissance.”
But Moholi said: “In fact our sole motive in seeking exclusivity in network infrastructure provision, is based on our conviction that Internet access should be available to all, regardless of income level and location.”
Anriette Esterhuysen, executive director of Sangonet, South Africa’s only non-profit Internet service provider, which has been involved in electronic communications and development for more than 10 years, says they were particularly impressed by the fact that Satra acknowledged the vital role of the Internet as an information service.
The Internet ensures that remote areas are as up-to-date as urban ones, creating an unprecedented equality in a world where access to information means access to power.
However, Sangonet believes more needs to happen than just a commitment to these principles if the vision of an African renaissance is to be realised. “We look forward to Satra ensuring the creation of an enabling regulatory environment within which partnerships between the public and private sectors, and civil society organisations can work towards the establishment of universal access to Internet services in South Africa.”