Unbundling the local loop opens opportunities for enterprise development in rural areas, because community members can get involved in maintaining the copper network, says Cell C.
The company was speaking during an Independent Communications Authority of SA hearing into local loop unbundling (LLU). The debate is being held over three days and wraps up tomorrow.
Cell C's executive head of regulatory affairs, Mothibi Ramusi, said the potential benefits of unbundling include making it possible for rural-based communities to become involved in looking after the network.
Ramusi explained there is an opportunity for local community members to take over and own exchanges and maintain copper links to benefit a whole village. He cited the example of a funeral parlour that used to be a Telkom exchange and post office, surrounded by broken copper wires.
Instead, such situations can be used to develop enterprises and expand broadband access in more rural areas, noted Ramusi. He added this will help meet the Department of Communications' goal of universal access by 2020. “This is an opportunity.”
Telkom's underused, or broken, infrastructure can be taken advantage of to provide services, such as video-on-demand, to rural areas, he said. “This is an enterprise development initiative that can transform this country big time.”
Senior manager of regulatory Harrish Kasseepursad said there needs to be an audit of Telkom's exchanges and related infrastructure as there is not enough information about this.
Kasseepursad said there is an absence of verifiable information such as the status of the network, and the number of exchanges and where these are located, which makes it difficult to determine if unbundling is feasible.
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