A terrestrial trunked radio (Tetra) network is one of the solutions T-Systems is eyeing to bring to the 2010 Soccer World Cup in SA, and will, over the next two months, formulate a business case for the possible supply of technology for the event.
"At the end of August or beginning of September, we will have a confirmed position for 2010," says Gert Schoonbee, GM for business development and strategy. T-Systems was closely involved with this year`s World Cup in Germany, where the multinational company`s parent, Deutsche Telekom, enjoyed global sponsor status.
T-Systems will finalise a business case for six possible solutions that it can repackage from Germany and make available for the 2010 World Cup, Schoonbee says.
Of these, the Tetra network is likely to have the widest impact on this county, which does not have a national Tetra strategy. Until now, Tetra roll-outs have been done on a fragmented basis, driven by provincial and local governments.
A Tetra communications network was established by the Cape Town municipality in 2001, and the South African Police Service is to receive a R506 million Tetra network in Gauteng next year, developed by Alcom Systems. But there is no indication that government is seeking to implement Tetra as a national communications network for local law enforcement and emergency services, as has been seen in some parts of Europe.
While T-Systems is mulling this technology for 2010, which has in recent times been touted as the ideal solution for security and safety at public events of the magnitude of the World Cup, Schoonbee explains deployment would depend on many factors, including the involvement of local stakeholders.
Different reality
"SA has a different reality to Europe and issues of sustainability and ownership, beyond the World Cup, would have to be looked at. Our advantage is that we can leverage lessons and experience from the World Cup in Germany, but we have to bring in the reality of local stakeholders and partners," he says.
During a visit to SA last year, Jeppe Jepson, vice-chairman of the European-based Tetra MOU Association, said host countries of major international sports events which require co-ordinated crowd-control strategies, have recently accelerated the roll-out of Tetra networks.
Tetra, he said, offers security and resilience that cannot be matched by any standard wireless network, and provides governments and their agencies with exclusive networks that do not compete for capacity with GSM systems.
"All major crowd-control situations around the world in the last five years have used Tetra networks, and Beijing is installing a network for the 2008 Olympics," said Jepson. He said a year ago, that SA would still have enough time to deploy a Tetra network before the World Cup, if government acted speedily.
Meanwhile, state-owned broadband provider Sentech says there are no plans for a national Tetra deployment. Spokesman Pranill Ramchander states Sentech is waiting for government to pass legislation for the company to become a Tetra network operator.
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