The Department of Communications (DOC) will up its definition of broadband, as 256kbps is considered too low.
Speaking at the Southern Africa Telecommunication Network and Application Conference (Satnac) conference, deputy minister of communications Obed Bapela says government's current definition of broadband of 256kbps is too low and this will be changed to a minimum speed of 5Mbps.
He says this is part of the department's move to review SA's broadband policy. The department has instructed officials to construct a Cabinet memo so that the change can be made.
Bapela says the initial definition was based on the one prescribed by the International Telecommunications Union. “But technologies advance. You cannot be an economic enabler if you sit at 256Kbps.”
Huge implications
“I agree 256kbps is not anywhere near enough, 5Mbps is much more acceptable. It is a great development,” says Strategy Worx MD Steven Ambrose.
He adds that the implications of such a change would be big, since currently ADSL premium is 4Mbps, which would then be too low to be called broadband.
“Also the majority of current 3G connections would also not qualify. The main issue here is how this will be enforced, and by when.”
Hampering goal
At the time, Ambrose said the penetration goal was unrealistic.
Ambrose said the problem was in the broadband definition given by the department in its broadband policy, which was “an always available, multimedia capable connection with a download speed of at least 256Kbps” within two kilometres between homes.
By that definition, SA is already close to 100% penetration, said Ambrose.
Ambrose now says there still needs to be far greater clarity on what 100% means and what the exact definition or criteria are.
“I still think that it is extremely ambitious to aim at that level of penetration by 2020, rather they should focus on quality and access mechanisms rather than some definition of how many people would be potentially connected.
“An example of this is to create and facilitate some sort of universal fibre to the premises project with Telkom or whomever.”
Share
