Information & Communications Technology

Sharing the internet with the world

Served by its internet subsea cable from Europe, SEACOM has progressively expanded its fibre network in South Africa since Is South Africa ready behind in the information management and 2009. This includes key routes for 5G? communications space. SB We’re in the initial Within South Africa, it’s been widely linking Johannesburg and Cape Town implementation stages. publicised that the major cellular network with Kimberley, Bloemfontein and As in the rest of the world, providers are carrying out 5G trials. To

Durban. Alastair Currie speaks to 5G is an essential platform effectively roll this out will require a costly

Steve Briggs, chief sales and for realising the Fourth investment in new infrastructure. According marketing officer, about Industrial Revolution. That in to estimates, this will require an increase evolving trends. turn has significant geopolitical in the current base station densification and economic implications, since by a factor of five to achieve the same no one wants to be left amount of coverage provided by 4G.

My view is that the market has a way to go before the full logistical implications of a 5G roll-out are understood in practice. A prime example is the issue of who owns, controls and manages radio frequency spectrum allocations.

You could use the current spectrum allocated, but that would just increase the need for more base stations. So, you need a different set of spectrum frequencies to make 5G optimal.

Essentially, there’s plenty of spectrum available within designated narrow and broadband spectrums. It comes down to their allocation, and the optimisation of these scarce resources for the greater good of the country and the industry. In other parts of the world, like the UK and USA, for example, there’s a transparent and open market for the buying and selling of spectrum. In South Africa, the regulatory allocation of spectrum is more complex, and is shaped by policy considerations such as improving competition, driving down data prices, and encouraging new entrants.

So, 5G in South Africa is coming, but it will depend on myriad factors that will influence its speed of implementation.

How will 5G developments influence SEACOM’s business model?

5G is all about much larger and faster data capacities. The final signal will be transmitted from a radio tower, but the bulk of the 5G network will depend on high-speed fibre. This is where SEACOM comes in, since we’re a fixed-line business.

How do we make data more affordable in South Africa?

Prepaid mobile data is the most common way South Africans access the internet. Due to the way this is priced, however, it makes prepaid mobile far more expensive compared to users on data contracts.

There are a host of factors that influence pricing, including policy and regulation. From a pure economics perspective, though, it’s clear that running communication services via fibre is more cost-effective than transmitting via a multitude of towers. So that should help to bring down the price.

The game changer is getting more fibre out to where it’s really needed, and finding the right access mechanism, which is probably Wi-Fi. This can bring down data costs for the vast majority. A remarkable example is Project Isizwe’s unlimited Wi-Fi for R5.00 a day campaign. Project Isizwe is a SEACOM corporate social investment partner. There’s no question that Project Isizwe has transformed many lives, rolling out this initiative to urban, peri-urban and remote rural areas. Having uncapped internet access for the whole day for R5.00 makes the impossible possible. Children can study, the unemployed can search for work, and new online jobs can be created.

Steve Briggs, chief sales and marketing officer, SEACOM

What are the key trends that will shape the ICT sector in 2021?

Addressing inequality in the digital economy is foremost. Another key trend are the measures needed to improve cybersecurity. At SEACOM, we have a security product set that assists customers in countering cybercrime threats.

We’ve just launched a whole new product suite known as DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) Mitigation. Massive data scrubbers housed at SEACOM’s network access points in Europe will be able to keep SEACOM customers’ data traffic secure from cyberattacks.

Is the private and public sector in sync when it comes to ICT?

To fully leverage the benefits of our digital world, we need to promote more of a free market approach that encourages local and foreign direct investment.

From our side, SEACOM is committed to presenting the best possible value proposition for our customers. From Q3 2021, this will include Point of Presence connections in Port Elizabeth, East London and George, effectively making the digital economy more accessible to the Eastern and Southern Cape.