No broadband budget for SKA

Estimates indicate the bandwidth requirements will cost R80 million, says science and technology minister Naledi Pandor.

While science and technology minister Naledi Pandor previously stated SA would increase its venture in satellite and telescope projects, investments in high-speed communications bandwidth have not followed.

In a response to parliamentary questions, posed by DA shadow deputy minister of Science and Technology, Marian Shinn, on the communication bandwidth requirements for the Karoo Array Telescope (MeerKAT) and the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), the DST revealed it had not budgeted for this and was still sourcing funding.

SA is currently in a race with Australia to host the 1.5 billion-euro SKA radio telescope. Work on the SKA is due to start in 2013, subject to successful funding proposals. It will be constructed in a phased manner over seven years. Operations will start in 2015, provided a significant portion of the array has been commissioned.

Pandor said current estimates indicate the bandwidth requirements will cost R80 million, but there is no sign as to when tenders would be called for.

She also revealed the South African National Research Network (Sanren) has requested additional funding to connect the MeerKAT site to the network and no budget has been provided for the SKA bandwidth requirements. The MeerKAT conservatively needs a 10Gbps service, while the full SKA project needs in excess of 100Gbps.

“Sanren has budgeted for the termination unit capable of satisfying the SKA science and technology demonstrator, MeerKAT and the terminating unit located at the SKA office, in Cape Town. However, the budget did not include the optical fibre connectivity requirements between the MeerKAT site, near Carnarvon, and the Cape Town office, via the most suitable Sanren node located in Cape Town,” said Pandor.

Maximising investments

SA is home to the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT). Pandor noted the department would maximise the R10 million investment made in the telescope.

“SALT has undergone an extensive period of commissioning and analysis, which has revealed the need for corrective action with its very advanced optics. This is currently under way using technology not available when the project began, and should be completed before the end of the year,” said Pandor.

Sanren has commissioned Telkom to provide a 155Mbps link from Cape Town to SALT, which is part of the current Sanren budget. The link will be on existing Telkom optic fibre infrastructure. A feasibility study by Telkom was received at the end of August, after which construction started, with a completion date in December.

Researchers say the link will be sufficient for at least five years, after which the requirements will be reassessed. The connectivity between SALT and Cape Town terminates at the Centre for High Performance Computing (CHPC). The link from CHPC to the South African Astronomical Observatory will be completed as part of the greater Cape Town metropolitan municipality connectivity roll-out, the DST revealed.

“The delivery of data to the SALT partnership will be compromised if sufficient bandwidth is not available by the end of the year, and this would significantly impact the participation in the final commissioning stages by our international partners. This may also reflect negatively on SA's ability to host international infrastructure,” said Pandor.

Related stories:

• SKA race hots up
• MeerKAT takes shape
• DST looks to space

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