Africa's broadband redefined

Broadband in Africa should be redefined, as it cannot be considered the same the world over, local industry insiders say.

A number of speakers at the recent ITWeb Broadband conference, held in Johannesburg, said broadband in SA, the rest of Africa, and the rest of the world, does not mean the same thing.

Robert Wuestenenk, senior manager for broadband networks and customer solutions at Ericsson said: “Broadband needs to be redefined for Africa.

“We can't adopt a European broadband model, because Africa is Africa. I get annoyed when overseas companies come to Africa and push European solutions and models on these markets,” stated Wuestenenk.

He noted that people have to be realistic about what technology and broadband SA and the rest of Africa's markets can absorb.

According to Wuestenenk, the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) and the Department of Communications (DOC) still define 384Kbps as broadband locally. About two years ago, he noted, ICASA said anything above 125Kbps was broadband.

Wuestenenk is adamant that Africa must have its own definition of broadband from where it can set a milestone to reach higher speeds and capacities.

Meanwhile, the DOC is in the process of redefining SA's definition of broadband. While industry insiders support this, they have their own ideas on what broadband means.

Often what South Africans consider broadband Internet access is very different to what developed nations call broadband. The DOC stated, in its draft broadband policy this year, that “there are different viewpoints both locally and internationally on the definition of broadband”.

Developed nations with vast broadband infrastructures, healthy competition, and established telecoms regulatory environments see broadband speeds of up to 10Mbps for consumers, whereas locally, the maximum speeds are 4Mbps, with Telkom's ADSL solution.

In light of this, what the rest of Africa calls broadband, compared to what South Africa calls broadband, also differs.

Says Andre Wills, MD of Africa Analysis: “We can't get strict on the definition of broadband, because if you get 3.5G in most African countries, it is considered broadband.”

While the DOC draft broadband policy does not offer any figures associated to South African broadband speeds, it does offer a minimum requirement.

“The definition of broadband varies between 128kbps and 10Mbps in different countries, but for SA broadband will be interpreted as an always available, multimedia capable connection,” the DOC policy states.

Essentially, the department says a local broadband connection must be capable of running triple-play, or voice, data and audio-visual content.

The policy furthermore states that broadband access will be divided into two categories, namely basic and commercial broadband. Basic broadband is the minimum service a citizen should have access to, and likely to be slower than the top-end of services available in the marketplace. “The minimum service will be defined in the national strategy on broadband and will be amended as required,” according to the draft policy.

The DOC's policy is in line with the International Telecommunications Union's (ITU's) concepts around broadband. The union says the actual definition of broadband will change over time as technologies get better.

Commercial broadband is defined by the DOC draft policy as all broadband services available in the marketplace and will in general include several premium offerings that will far exceed the performance of basic broadband services.

The ITU standardisation sector defines broadband as a speed higher than 2Mbps while the ITU development sector defines broadband to be 256Kbps, according to a report on the ITU's Web site.

As a result of the lack of fixed infrastructure and the proliferation of mobile broadband across the African continent, speeds are difficult to compare, as fixed-line broadband speeds still trump that of mobile broadband.

Industry watchers say the local definition should be based on the major access technology available in each country.

Long-term evolution (LTE) is generally considered faster than WiMax; however, it is still more expensive to roll out and has seen slower uptake across the African continent.

Mobile 3.5G broadband speeds are set between 3.6Mbps and 7.2Mbps, WiMax up to 100Mbps (depending on distances) and LTE also reaching speeds of up to 100Mbps.

According to Justin Spratt, GM for WiFi at Internet Solutions, broadband must be seen from a needs perspective for various countries and markets. “Broadband is a western construct and it implies video and rich audio traffic to run over it. This is irrelevant for Africa, because any connectivity counts for Africa,” he says.

“What is important is being connected to the Internet and the global economics that defines it, even at low throughput rates. Any kind of connectivity will change the macroeconomics of the nation.”