Following discussions with the Internet Service Provider's Association (ISPA), Telkom today announced the participation of several of ISPA's members in its high-speed broadband pilot programme.
"We are happy to announce the participation of ISPs in the pilot. Our engagement with ISPA and their members was very constructive. We have agreed on key conditions that will ensure the original intent and timelines of the pilot are met," says MD of Telkom Wholesale and Networks Bashier Sallie.
Telkom unveiled the programme earlier this month, which will be piloted in five areas of three provinces in SA: Benmore Gardens, Fourways and Waterkloof, in Gauteng; Durban North, in KwaZulu-Natal; and Durbanville, in the Western Cape.
However, the fixed-line operator was severely lashed by ISPA when it initially announced that its high-speed broadband trial would be limited to its own ISP, TelkomInternet.
ISPA questioned Telkom's commitment to enabling fair competition in the market. "[It is troubling] that the majority of ADSL users in SA will not benefit from the technical and other insights obtained into high-speed DSL services," the industry organisation stated at the time.
In today's statement, Telkom announced that MWeb, Internet Solutions, WebAfrica and Cybersmart would, together with TelkomInternet, test broadband speeds of up to 40Mbps in areas where Telkom has deployed new-generation access network kits.
"This means that certain of the other ISPs' customers will now be eligible to experience the higher speeds for the duration of the pilot. The pilot will run until the end of January 2013," says Telkom.
Co-chairperson of ISPA Jaap Scholten explains that Telkom met with ISPA earlier this month to explain in detail what Telkom's objectives are in respect to the pilot, as well as to outline the exchange areas that would be covered by the pilot.
"A pilot sample was derived in order to meet the strict timelines, thus enabling Telkom to control and manage the pilot process.
"ISPA is very pleased that, at the end of this meeting, a 'win-win' outcome was achieved wherein four of our members will be participating in the pilot. Telkom is currently finalising the participating criteria with these ISPs," says Scholten.
Telkom's high-speed broadband pilot footprint spans 16 000 ports and aims to test the integration to IT BSS/OSS systems. The pilot will also serve to validate and test service fulfilment and assurance processes, assess field technical and operational readiness, and evaluate the customer experience at a set service configuration.
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