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SA's broadband gets Google touch

Nicola Mawson
By Nicola Mawson, Contributor.
Johannesburg, 26 Mar 2013
SA is among the first countries to test broadband via television white spaces, says Luke Mckend, Google SA country manager.
SA is among the first countries to test broadband via television white spaces, says Luke Mckend, Google SA country manager.

Search giant Google is backing a trial that aims to explore whether television white spaces can be used to expand broadband access in SA's rural and underserviced areas, which will have a positive effect on economic growth.

Google's involvement follows its first trial in the US. It is now focusing on SA, where it believes that using television white spaces is the ideal technology for boosting broadband penetration in a country where only about 20% of citizens have Internet access.

Tertiary Education and Research Network of SA (Tenet) project manager Arno Hart says the technology trial "brings SA to the cutting-edge of innovation in terms of improving Internet connectivity and is a positive step towards bringing many more South Africans online". Tenet is one of the partners in the project.

Luke Mckend, Google SA country manager, says the trial is designed to help understand if the technology works in SA and, once done, information will be handed to the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA). He says this will help the regulator deliberate further on the use of the spare spectrum.

Mckend explains that the low frequency is ideal for the South African landscape, as it is suited to rural areas. He adds that there is sufficient evidence that being connected to the Internet adds value to people's lives and bolsters the economy. According to the World Bank, every 10% increase in high-speed Internet connections leads to economic growth of 1.3%.

New technology

The vacant frequencies in TV spectrum are desirable for wireless communications, with the potential to improve Internet connectivity in the developing world. Currently, almost 11.5 million South Africans have Internet access, according to World Wide Worx. Government wants to extend broadband to 100% of the population by 2020.

White spaces can pass through obstacles and travel longer distances, making the technology suited to expanding wireless broadband coverage in densely-populated urban areas and for providing low-cost connectivity to rural communities.

Partners in the trial, which will supply broadband to 10 Western Cape schools, include Tenet, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research's (CSIR's) Meraka unit, e-Schools Network, the Wireless Access Providers Association (WAPA), Comsol Wireless Solutions, and Google. It is supported by ICASA.

White space technology is gaining momentum around the world and, in the US, is available for licence-exempt uses. Globally, there is no regulation around the technology, which is still being explored. Regulators such as Ofcom, in the UK, are working to create new regulatory models.

The partners hope ICASA will use the trial results to start thinking about a model for SA, and that television white space can be used for mobile technologies without creating harmful interference with TV broadcasts.

Hooking up

The network will comprise multiple base stations at Stellenbosch University's Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, in Tygerburg, Cape Town, which will deliver broadband to 10 schools within a 10km radius.

Each school will be equipped with a receiver, which will allow the signal to be distributed via a modem.

The schools were selected based on proximity to the base station, local IT and network support, and other connectivity requirements. Each school will receive a dedicated 2.5Mbps service, with failover to ADSL to prevent downtime during school hours.

ICASA will be able to use the information gleaned from the trial in its deliberations around the digital dividend, says Mckend. The digital dividend is the space that will be freed up when SA finally moves to digital TV as the standard, DVB-T2, is substantially more efficient than analogue.

The country was meant to turn on digital television towards the end of last year, but this has been delayed. Turn-on is now uncertain, although mooted for some time this year, with turn-off anticipated about three years later, at which point the white spaces will be freed up and can be used for more channels and rolling out broadband.

Mckend says, as far as he is aware, SA is one of the first emerging countries to test white spaces for broadband. Trials have previously run in the UK and the US, which are different markets, he adds. Google supported its first white space trial in the US in 2010.

Google aims to conduct such trials in areas where they will have the biggest impact, although it does not currently have plans to go beyond SA. Mckend says, if there have been other trials globally, they can be counted on one hand.

Data boost

To prevent interference with other channels, the network uses Google's spectrum database to determine white space availability. To confirm results, the CSIR Meraka Institute will take spectrum measurements, and frequently report back to ICASA and the local broadcasters. The trial uses radios and software from Carlson Wireless and Neul.

The non-profit body, representing more than 150 independent wireless operators in SA, has sourced local vendors to deploy the network. Member Comsol Wireless Solutions is responsible for the installation, configuration and maintenance of the project.

WAPA says its participation in the trial marks the results of several years of lobbying for more progressive and efficient spectrum management in SA. Chairman Christopher Geerdts says the initiative increases the scope of what its members can achieve in terms of delivering broadband to rural areas.

Most of its members currently make use of licence-exempt frequencies in accordance with the ICASA Frequency Licence Exemption Regulations of 2008. It is, however, recognised that this is not a sustainable solution, given the increased pressure on these bands.

This trial is set to demonstrate that television white space spectrum represents an immediate win that can be taken advantage of by the regulators. Geerdts says: "WAPA looks forward to a greatly improved frequency regime which we can be proud that we contributed towards improving."

CSIR Meraka Institute manager Dr Ntsibane Ntlatlapa adds it could help bridge the digital divide as it transmits data over long distances without causing interference to primary users, which will open up access to underserved and rural communities.

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