Telkom is being unfairly criticised for its line access charges, says Vodacom CEO Alan Knott-Craig.
He says deregulation in February provided an opportunity for mobile network operators to build their own infrastructures. However, they elected not to, because using Telkom`s infrastructures still proved more cost-effective.
Knott-Craig was addressing the alumni of the UCT School of Business in Sandton last night on the future of telecoms.
He highlighted the importance of competition in the industry and cautioned against penalising those who are successful.
"Dominance in a competitive industry reflects excellence," he said. "One who comes first should not be punished for doing well. If you abuse dominance, then you should be dealt with."
In view of this, Knott-Craig recommended "light-touch regulation", where regulation is used to create competition. Once that is achieved, a regulator would no longer be required except to administer the issuance of licences, spectrum and numbers.
"Successful regulators should all but disappear, not grow overly enthusiastic."
100% penetration attainable
On the state of SA`s cellular industry, Knott-Craig said SA had shown impressive market growth, with the current penetration level at 55%.
"We should easily reach penetration levels of 75%," he said, adding that he did not see the ambition to reach 100% penetration levels as unattainable.
"To say that everyone should have a telephone is no more extraordinary than saying that people should have access to water. A phone helps people to enter the economy. It provides them with a means of being contacted."
Knott-Craig pointed out that in order for these developments to take place, an enabling environment needed to prevail. He named four things that he believes fundamentally change telecommunications: investment, technology, competition and regulation.
"Always think about investment first," he stressed, adding that without investment, existing infrastructure will deteriorate and will have to be replaced.
He also cautioned against penalising investors for wanting to gain a decent return, over-regulation and changing the goalposts before returns are realised.
Investment also impacts technological development, Knott-Craig said, because without investment, there will be no funds to develop new technologies. If there are no new technological developments, the telecoms industry will stagnate.
Phones getting smarter
Knott-Craig predicated that in 10 years, cellphones will make many of the decisions that callers make today.
Among other things, they will decide which company`s network to use based on price, best quality, speed and other criteria that the user may have chosen.
Knott-Craig noted that people will not care which network they use, or what technology enables the communication to take place, as long it does the job.
As a result, "it will be difficult for network providers to market themselves".
Knott-Craig also predicted that users will no longer have telephone numbers in their current form.
"We will have numbers that do not identify networks, countries and cities," he said. The form of identification/address would be used for both voice and data communications, rather than having both a telephone number and an e-mail address.
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