The Department of Communications (DOC) will spend R2.2billion in the 2009/10 financial year, with R548 million earmarked for ICT infrastructure development. The lion's share of the DOC's expenditure - R1.3 billion - has been set aside for ICT enterprise development.
ICT enterprise development encompasses the oversight and management of “government's shareholding interests in public entities, in a manner that improves the capacity of the state to deliver on its mandate and support the speedy attainment of national strategic goals and priorities”.
These would include state-owned enterprises such as Sentech, Broadband Infraco and submarine cable projects like Uhurunet.
According to National Treasury's 2009 expenditure report, a major part of the department's spend on ICT infrastructure development involves the 2010 Soccer World Cup. The DOC notes that technical specifications for ICT infrastructure for the event have been finalised and signed off between itself, Fifa and the Fifa Local Organising Committee.
“Telkom and Sentech have also completed their design and implementation plans for the infrastructure. Service provider contracts have been concluded with Sentech and Telkom, and the implementation of both the satellite and fixed-network connectivity is on track,” states the expenditure report.
The DOC's allocations for the implementation of 2010 ICT infrastructure are expected to decrease, as this phase of the project nears completion. Thus, allocations are expected to decrease to R450 million in 2009/10 and to R150 million in 2010/11 in the ICT infrastructure development programme.
Previously, in the 2008/9 financial year, the DOC allocated an additional R600 million for a last-mile access network between 2010 stadiums and the Telkom national network.
In terms of funding of state-owned signal distributor Sentech, the DOC has allocated R100 million to the company for 2009/10 for ICT infrastructure development - R100 million less than it received last year.
Broadcast centre
Sentech is to play a key role in the provision of satellite connectively to serve as a redundant feed to Telkom's optical fibre for the 2010 World Cup project.
Furthermore, the DOC says the refurbishment project of the international broadcast centre, formally launched in April 2008, is on track for the handover to Fifa in January 2010.
“An adequately equipped model of the international broadcast centre will be established at Coca Cola Park, in Johannesburg, for the 2009 Fifa Confederations Cup.
“The department conducted an analysis of the preparations and budgets of host stadiums for the provisioning of their basic versus overlay IT and telecommunications infrastructure requirements in the second quarter of 2008/09. The technical and funding requirements for basic IT and telecommunications infrastructure for host stadiums have also been established.”
The DOC also revealed that, to ensure the operational readiness of 2010 ICT infrastructure, the department established a national telecommunications infrastructure committee with Fifa and the Local Organising Committee. “The purpose of this structure is to monitor and report to Fifa on the progress of ICT infrastructure upgrades.”
A 2010 legacy plan, which details how specific ICT projects developed for the event will benefit the country afterwards, was also developed and approved in 2008, the DOC says.
However, none of the 2010 stakeholders were available to provide details of the legacy plan this morning.
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