Subscribe

Appeals to Padayachie begin

By Leigh-Ann Francis
Johannesburg, 05 Nov 2010

Starved of clarity and leadership on key issues facing the telecoms sector, industry bodies have begun appealing their causes to newly-appointed communications minister Roy Padayachie.

The Wireless Access Providers' Association (WAPA) has called upon the new minister to urgently address the spectrum efficiency, spectrum recovery and smarter spectrum policies through the provision of new spectrum to wireless access providers in SA.

Henk Kleynhans, chairman of WAPA, says: “SA needs to play catch up with the rest of the world when it comes to licensing wireless spectrum, but it isn't too late.”

The first issue to be addressed, he advises, is freeing up white space, which sits in the regulated sections of wireless access provisioning as it can significantly improve service delivery, foster innovation and provide better quality wireless access to all South Africans.

According to Kleynhans, white space is the unused spectrum that sits between TV channels. “It is considered prime spectrum for offering wireless broadband services. because it can travel long distances and penetrate through walls; it is like Super WiFi,” he says.

Kleynhans argues that various lobby groups, such as the Open Spectrum Alliance, have been advocating the use of white spaces for a number of years, with little success. He notes that, although technology has previously been a major hurdle, advances have made access to the spectrum more feasible.

With little progress in this area, WAPA has sent an open letter to the new minister, appealing to him to prioritise the issue. Kleynhans notes that one of the main challenges in resolving this issue would be political buy-in.

High hopes

The industry has welcomed Padayachie, who was redeployed into the hot seat at the beginning of this week, after president Jacob Zuma shuffled his Cabinet, and axed Siphiwe Nyanda. Padayachie is well known to the ICT sector, having served as deputy communications minister from 2004 until 2009.

Sharon Horton, an independent industry observer, says Padayachie's appointment is important as he led the Pricing Colloquium in 2005 that ultimately led to the liberalisation of the market as it is today.

"Padayachie was very vocal about telecommunications pricing and he worked very hard to ensure that prices did come down. However, he was sidelined somewhat at the time, through no fault of his own. He was always known to be a very hard working deputy minister," she says.

Horton comments that Padayachie made himself known to the ICT sector, and was of the view that industry and government were not adversaries, but should work together.

Related story:
Padayachie takes on the challenge

Share