Sentech bullish on 2010 readiness

By Damaria Senne, ITWeb senior journalist

Johannesburg, 20 Sept 2006

Business opportunities exist for the local ICT sector to take part in the project management of telecoms infrastructure roll-outs in preparation for the 2010 Soccer World Cup, said Sentech CEO Sebiletso Mokone-Matabane, at a media briefing yesterday.

Mokone-Matabane, who did a presentation on Sentech's readiness for the 2010 Soccer World Cup, noted that SA already has adequate physical telecoms infrastructure, through contributions by Sentech, Telkom and Neotel.

"We are ready today, so the issue of being ready for 2010 does not arise," she said.

However, she added Sentech has already begun building a digital infrastructure and demonstrated high definition TV in a number of venues, to be used for the 2010 Soccer World Cup tournament.

It is in the implementation of such infrastructure that project management opportunities exist, coupled with maintenance opportunities after completion, she said.

"What still needs to be done is to ensure that we have enough bandwidth for host cities," she said.

Sentech is developing a broadband wireless infrastructure to address the broadband challenge. However, the organisation is not planning to hire a large number of staff to do the job, so many of the functions will be outsourced, Mokone-Matabane explained.

Provision of content

"It would be useful to have project managers who also have insight into the ICT sector," she said. "There are also opportunities in the maintenance of the infrastructure following the soccer tournament."

In terms of the provision of content during the tournament, provision should be made to ensure that people in rural communities, who may not be able to afford individual TV sets, can view the games in groups, she said.

The expanded telecoms infrastructure also present opportunities for writers and producers to produce additional content post-2010, Mokone-Matabane said.

The press conference was held as part of a Swedish Trade Council meeting held in Sandton, yesterday, which explored opportunities for partnerships between South African role players in the 2010 Soccer World Cup and representatives from Nordic business communities, which include Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Denmark and Norway.

Speakers from other sectors, including construction and transport, noted preparations for the soccer tournament were on track and a number of tenders would result from the process.