Johannesburg, 23 May 2007
The State IT Agency (SITA) this morning announced it will deploy a R454 million next-generation network (NGN), which will replace the current government common core network (GCCN).
The state-owned agency will upgrade government`s common core network to provide multimedia services to meet user demand, which has grown 150% year-on-year since the GCCN was first installed, says public service and administration minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi.
The network - said to be the biggest public sector NGN deployment in sub-Saharan Africa - is to be built through a partnership with Neotel, Business Connexion (BCX) and Cisco. It is expected to go live in October, she says.
Fraser-Moleketi says BCX`s role is to install the network, migrating from a Nortel network to a Cisco network. The BCX contract is worth R76 million, excluding maintenance costs. Maintenance requirements were built into this contract, she adds.
The Neotel contract, which involves the provision of bandwidth connectivity, is worth R378 million. This week ITWeb exclusively reported on the Neotel portion of the contract. The full contract for Neotel and BCX will run for five years.
It was announced Neotel`s high-capacity links will connect SITA`s key sites in major cities and towns across SA, with nearly 700Mbps of transmission bandwidth. This is nearly twice the bandwidth SITA procured in the past.
Telkom in the cold
SITA COO Noedine Isaacs-Mpulo says Neotel was awarded the tender due to its offer to provide "bandwidth on demand" at 8.5 times less than the next bidder.
Fraser-Moleketi says Neotel was able to commit to going live within 90 days of construction, something fixed-line operator Telkom was unable to do. While Neotel is new in the market, it has experienced staff that can deliver quality services, she notes.
She adds the award of this contract to Neotel does not mean Telkom is going to be left out in future in favour of Neotel. Government already sources a number of services from Telkom and will continue to do so.
Lessons from eNatis
Fraser-Moleketi says government departments learnt a number of lessons from the recent problems experienced by the widely-criticised electronic National Traffic Information System (eNatis). Those issues will be taken into consideration in the deployment of this network, she explains.
Isaacs-Mpulo adds government departments will migrate gradually from the GCCN to the NGN, and there will be no interruption to services.
The new network is being deployed in parallel to the GCCN, ensuring a smooth transition, she says. Additionally, the entire network was simulated in a Cisco laboratory to ensure the design is workable.
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