State signal provider Sentech is still in discussions with government over the financing of a R1 billion broadband project.
Portfolio manager of PR and external communications Dr Pranill Ramchander says Sentech is at an advanced stage of negotiations with government over funding of the broadband network.
Some R1 billion is required for this network, which aims to take communication services to the underserviced areas in SA. Ramchander says the company has had discussions with government around this issue, and is now negotiating the funding structure of the financing.
Government is funding Sentech's national wireless network roll-out as part of its Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative of SA. The initiative aims to remove barriers to growth, boost economic output to 6% a year by 2010, and halve poverty and unemployment by 2014.
Sentech chairman Colin Hickling writes in the company's latest annual report that it "urgently needs funding to develop its broadband wireless network in order to ensure it remains competitive".
"The company has been, and continues to, consider a range of funding options, including state and private sector funding," he said of the broadband project.
Minister of communications Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri has also highlighted the need for government to invest in broadband infrastructure if the country is to meet its economic growth target, states Sentech's 2006 annual report.
"Sentech, the minister said, would form the core of a national wireless broadband network that would be used for socioeconomic development goals. She also said this network would be expanded beyond its current footprint and would be used to carry voice telephony."
In May, she told Parliament that government would expedite discussions to find an appropriate funding model for Sentech. This model, Hickling writes, will take into account the fact that the company provides both a public and private service.
"Lack of funding is still a considerable challenge to the company. By virtue of its state ownership, management is not always able to react to commercial opportunities as quickly as its competitors in the private sector."
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