SA's second-largest cellular operator, MTN, says local loop unbundling (LLU) should not include mobile or wireless networks because it is not legally or technically possible.
Graham de Vries, GM of regulatory affairs, says the network cannot be isolated in terms of a last mile, and there are no breakout points. “It's more like the last hundred miles than a last mile,” he says.
De Vries was presenting the operator's submission at public hearings convened by the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) into LLU. The hearings will aid the regulator in determining a framework for freeing the last mile, which it has to publish next month to meet its deadline.
ICASA published a discussion document in June, and invited written comments until the middle of last month.
LLU has been on the cards for the past decade, but has yet to become a reality in SA. Freeing up access to the last mile is vital to stimulate competition, aid economic growth, and push down the cost of communications.
Councillor William Stucke says unbundling applies equally to any form of technology, copper-based or other types of local loops.
Unbundling the mobile aspect is an “afterthought”, argues De Vries. “Mobile should not be included in this fixed local loop unbundling process.”
De Vries says the technology has not been designed in a way that would allow mobile or wireless to be included in such a process. In addition, the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act does not allow for mobile to be unbundled in the same way as the copper link, he says.
“There is no such thing, at least in the mobile space, as wireless LLU.”
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