Passing the 2010 ball

Nicola Mawson,Damaria Senne and Bandile Sikwane

Johannesburg, 05 Feb 2007

SA's bandwidth plans for the 2010 Soccer World Cup and Infraco's role are expected to be revealed on Friday when president Thabo Mbeki makes his annual address to the nation.

Meanwhile, none of the key players seem to have a clear 2010 bandwidth plan they can outline.

A Department of Communications spokesman says it cannot comment on SA's plans to increase bandwidth until after this address, as Mbeki is expected to make some pronouncements around the matter.

World Wide Worx MD Arthur Goldstuck estimates SA needs at least two terabits a second by the time 2010 rolls around. BMI-TechKnowledge senior telecommunications analyst Richard Hurst says the country could need between 1.2 terabits a second and two terabits a second.

SA will have access to a total of 890Gbps once the Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System (Eassy) cable is up and running. This includes full capacity of both the South Atlantic 3 (SAT-3) and eastern Eassy cables.

Not my problem

However, the 2010 World Cup Local Organising Committee is confident SA's bandwidth requirements will be met in time for the games. IT manager Zakes Msizi says Sentech and Telkom will provide the required bandwidth and the two institutions are upgrading their infrastructure.

However, Sentech was unable to provide clarity on whether SA will meet the international bandwidth challenge presented by the 2010 games. COO Frans Lindeque says Sentech's role in providing broadband infrastructure for the 2010 games only relates to wireless redundancy from the stadiums, surrounding areas and international broadcast centres (IBCs).

Telkom is expected to play a large role in ensuring there is ample capacity on the fibre connections between the stadiums and the IBCs, he says. The fixed-line operator also has a key role to play in providing international bandwidth through its rights to the SAT-3 cable, he notes.

Telkom was not immediately able to comment, but indicates it would do so at a later stage.

Lindeque is confident SA will extend its capacity on time. "The ICT sector has the least problems when it comes to 2010," he says.

To the rescue?

The Department of Public Enterprises is expected to provide clarity on what role Infraco will play in SA's future bandwidth needs when it briefs the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee in mid-February.

Ministerial spokesperson Gaynor Kast says Infraco will provide overall support for the 2010 Soccer World Cup tournament, as well as the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project. Kast says Infraco has sufficient bandwidth to meet both the needs of 2010 and the SKA.

Neotel is pursuing multiple approaches, including trying to terminate Telkom's hold on the SAT-3/SAFE cables, as well as taking part in Eassy and improving the international services available to SA.

"A key element in our strategy is to leverage the position and global capabilities of VSNL, our strategic equity partner," it says.