There is little value-add for VANS when offering only WiFi as a service, as it is one of many means of accessing services being offered, says David Jarvis, UniNet Communications chief executive officer.
Jarvis was speaking this morning at the start of the African WiFi Conference, which is being held in Cape Town until the end of this week.
He says WiFi (wireless fidelity) should be seen as a technology enabler and range extender to existing VANS (Value Added Network Services).
"The delivery of services over access infrastructure, such as WiFi, offers VANS the opportunity to exploit the technology," Jarvis says.
Mike van den Bergh, chief executive officer of Gateway Communications, says the debate around the deployment of technologies such as WiFi is directly related to the shift in the telecommunications landscape and, particularly, exactly what VANS can or cannot do.
"The key to (market) success by the VANS will be a partnering approach based on maximum shared benefit in order to achieve goals," he says. "VANS is an interesting place to be."
Van den Bergh also asked the question: "Is the regulatory door opening or closing for VANS?" This, he says, is related to the confusion surrounding the announcement made by communications minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri in September last year, which was confused by her "press release" in January, which said it was not her intention to allow VANS to self-provide.
"Despite that confusion, the VANS market looks set to take off. Barriers to entry are quite low, however, the biggest input cost is that of bandwidth, especially broadband," he says.
Van den Bergh says Telkom is changing its pricing model from low monthly payments and high usage costs to higher monthly payments and lower usage costs.
"This may place an added barrier to entry in the market," he says.