FIFA assured of 99.99% uptime

By Staff Writer for Telkom

Johannesburg, 23 Apr 2008

Government has guaranteed FIFA 99.99% network availability, with no single point of failure for the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

This is according to Southern Africa Telecommunications Association (SATA) chairman and Telkom chief of global operations Thami Msimango, speaking at the opening of the 28th SATA conference.

Telkom was appointed to provide fixed-line connectivity between the 10 stadiums selected for the games and the international broadcast centre (IBC).

"We have been entrusted with the task of providing the fixed-line infrastructure that will make it possible to broadcast the soccer action to a global audience, hungry for high-definition TV," he said.

According to Msimango, Telkom will also provide the infrastructure to support FIFA's event management systems, volunteer centres, headquarters, hotels and other media centres. "This speaks to absolute network resilience. In essence, planning, engineering and the deployment of the network is where Telkom's strength will shine through."

Last year, the fixed-line utility detailed plans for upgrades to ensure 2010 mandates were met, including its new-generation network (NGN) and backbone infrastructure revamps.

Telkom's interim results for the six months ended 30 September 2007 show it spent R2.647 billion on its NGN during the six months ending 30 September. It was expected to spend R7 billion on fixed-line capital expenditure in the six months ended 31 March 2008. Those results are not yet available.

In November, Telkom reported an increase in its ADSL footprint and, at the time, had 2 501 digital subscriber line access multiplexers (DSLAMs). A DSLAM is a network device, located near the customer's location, which connects multiple customer digital subscriber lines to a high-speed Internet backbone line.

The utility deployed 52 metro Ethernet sites in Gauteng and the Western Cape, and grew its national and local transport network by 167 nodes. The company's network bandwidth potential grew by 1.2Tbps.

Valued input

While 2010 is not on the agenda for the SATA conference being hosted by Telkom, in Sandton, from 23 to 25 April, Msimango pointed out that the World Cup should have some bearing on the conference proceedings.

SATA is a regional body for fixed and mobile telecommunications operators and other ICT service providers within the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Its aim is to coordinate the development of ICT networks and services that are responsive to the diverse needs of commerce and industry in support of the SADC regional socio-economic development programmes.

"We at Telkom derive great value from being part of SATA, which offers a unique vantage point of the challenges and opportunities on the ICT landscape in sub-Saharan Africa, and an outstanding opportunity to tap into the collective expertise of our peers in the region," said Msimango.