DataPro Group calls for clear timetable on local loop unbundling

The Alt-X listed DataPro Group, one of South Africa's leading alternative telecommunications operators, has welcomed government's announcement that local loop unbundling should be complete by November 2011 - but warned that without a clear timetable the process is certain to be delayed.

"We hope to see ICASA publishing a clear timetable for local loop unbundling by the third quarter of this year at the very latest," says Group Chairman Tony van Marken. "We all need to know exactly what milestones Telkom must reach and what the deadlines are. Most importantly, there need to be clear penalties for missing those deadlines."

Otherwise, says Van Marken, "we'll have the same story we had with the interconnection regime. Telkom will stonewall until the very last moment and the process will only start in 2011, instead of being completed by then."

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"If we were Telkom, we wouldn't do a thing about unbundling until 2010 at the earliest, and then make lots of excuses about how technically difficult it is," adds Van Marken. "Walking very slowly backwards, as Telkom has been doing for years, is an entirely rational strategy for a monopoly under threat. That's why ICASA needs to manage the programme of work very clearly and force adherence to a strict timetable. There needs to be a cost to dragging things out."

The pricing of access to local loop facilities is one of the issues that needs to be clarified well in advance, says Group CEO Douglas Reed. "None of the other players in the market can invest in facilities or developing services until there is a clear pricing structure from Telkom," says Reed. "If South Africa is to have any hope of actually seeing the benefits of unbundling by the end of 2011, we need to have our business plans in place several months in advance."