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Standard terms and conditions apply and can be viewed at www.telkom.co.za. E&OE. Deal valid until 31 October 2016 or while stocks last. Out-of-bundle rate of R0.29 per MB applies. LTE and LTE-A subject to coverage and infrastructure availability. *Night Surfer data only available on ÂŽ LTE and LTE-A network between 12am & 7am.
WELCOME This is the first ever MyBroadband magazine, which is published as part of the annual MyBroadband Conference. The conference has shown exceptional growth over the last 12 years and we like bringing something fresh to every event.
In this edition we showcase many of the companies that partnered with MyBroadband to make this our biggest event yet. We also look at some of the pressing issues in the telecommunications and broadband market in South Africa. The global telecommunications market is changing rapidly, with voice revenues under pressure and data growing fast. South Africa is no exception, but it has a big challenge – spectrum. With the slow progress on spectrum assignment and digital TV migration, local mobile operators are struggling to meet demand with the spectrum they have. There is a glimmer of hope with the regulator pushing ahead with its spectrum auction plans, but we have learned not to be too optimistic in an ever-changing political environment. Sticking with broadband, Jan Vermeulen takes a stroll through history to see what has happened in the uncapped ADSL market over the last seven years. We also look at Telkom’s recent launch of its 4.5G network, Neotel’s journey over the last 10 years, and how the MyBroadband Conference has changed over the last decade. I hope you enjoy the first edition of the MyBroadband magazine and I look forward to building on this foundation in our next edition.
Cara Muller
MyBroadband Publisher
PUBLISHER DESIGNER EDITOR
Cara Muller Ebbie Swart Kevin Lancaster
CONTRIBUTORS
Jan Vermeulen, Vicky Sidler, Reshaad Sha, Rudolph Muller
I hope you enjoy the first edition of the MyBroadband magazine and I look forward to building on this foundation in our next edition - Cara Muller, MyBroadband Publisher
ADVERTISING
Mariaan Scott
PUBLISHED BY TEL: WEB: ADVERTISING
MyBroadband Studio +27 (0) 12 687 5159 studio.mybroadband.co.za mariaan@mybroadband.co.za
OCTOBER ‘16 ISSUE I
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CONTENTS
OCTOBER 2016
FEATURED ARTICLES
CONNECTING COMMUNITIES 13
FTTH, OR SHOULD WE SAY FIBRE-TOTHE-CAMERA? 15-16 05-06 // TELKOM UNVEILS 4.5G MOBILE TECHNOLOGY AT SATNAC 2016
VUMATEL OFFERS FIBRE FREEDOM 17
FIGHT AGAINST CYBERCRIME 19
MOBILITY MADE SIMPLE 07-08 // NEOTEL 10 YEARS YOUNG IN THE “AGE OF THE CUSTOMER”
21
FIGHT FOR SPECTRUM IN SOUTH AFRICA 23 -25
MYBROADBAND CONFERENCE THROUGH THE YEARS 09-10 // VODACOM BROADBAND CONNECT FIBRE POWERS AVAYA’S LOCAL LEARNING
26 -28
SUCCESS AND FAILURE OF UNCAPPED ADSL IN SOUTH AFRICA 29
11-12 // SOUTH AFRICA’S QUEST FOR SMART CITIES
OCTOBER ‘16 ISSUE I
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Brian Armstrong // Telkom COO
TELKOM UNVEILS 4.5G MOBILE TECHNOLOGY AT SATNAC 2016 The annual Southern Africa Telecommunication Networks and Applications Conference, known as SATNAC, took place last month at Fancourt in George under the theme “Broadband Evolution – Unlocking the Internet of Things”. Various access network technologies were discussed at the conference, including “Unlocking the Fibrenet of Things” and “Getting 5G ready - Understanding 5G as an agile Software-defined Network Infrastructure for IOT Applications”. In line with this theme, Telkom launched South Africa’s first 4.5G mobile network at SATNAC 2016. On its journey to 5G, Telkom deployed an LTE three-downlink component carrier (3 CC DL) network at Fancourt. The network deployed is a commercially-live, carrier-aggregated 3G and LTE network supporting newer-generation commerciallyavailable devices. Brian Armstrong, Telkom’s Chief Operating Officer, emphasised that this is not a demonstration network
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and that it is the first one deployed by the company in this configuration. This technology remained in operation at Fancourt after the conference.
LTE-A, the operator’s intention is to start enabling carrier aggregation across frequency bands as part of the evolution towards 4.5G and 5G networks.
“Using commercially-available devices, Telkom demonstrated bandwidths in excess of 260Mbps to smartphones - which shows our commitment to implement newer standards and technologies once they become commercially available,” said Armstrong.
“4.5G is a natural evolution of the 3GPP standards and enables operators to protect their investment by using existing infrastructure and spectrum to offer higher data rates and an improved user experience using commercially-available devices,” said Armstrong.
Telkom demonstrated bandwidths in excess of 260Mbps to smartphones - Brian Armstrong, Telkom’s Chief Operating Officer Although LTE carrier aggregation has already been deployed in Telkom’s mobile network since the launch of
TELKOM COO
Brian Armstrong
Telkom Chief Operating Officer
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TELKOM RAMPS UP FIBRE FOOTPRINT TO REACH MORE CUSTOMERS Vumatel CEO Niel Schoeman said: “We welcome Telkom Retail as a new service provider on the Vumatel network and believe their depth of experience in this industry will certainly benefit the consumer. ”
The fibre industry is highly competitive and we have seen an accelerated roll-out of fibre networks across the country Attila Vitai // Chief Executive Officer, Consumer, Mobile and Small Business at Telkom
Telkom’s Retail and Consumer division announced in June that it will leverage open access fibre from network provider Vumatel to complement its extensive fibre network footprint to reach even more consumers in more areas across South Africa. Telkom has made significant progress in separating its various business units to best serve its various customers. Through Telkom’s wholesale network provider, Openserve, Telkom already has the most extensive fibre network footprint in the country with access to over 81,000 homes passed. Openserve remains committed to its 2018 goal of reaching one million South African homes. “The fibre industry is highly competitive and we have seen an
accelerated roll-out of fibre networks across the country. While Openserve holds the lion’s share of the national fibre footprint, there are currently areas not covered by their fibre network. To this end, it makes commercial sense to leverage the networks of other open access fibre network providers to ensure that our customers in these areas can be served immediately,” explained Telkom Retail CEO Attila Vitai. “Through Vumatel’s fibre network, we will offer our products and services to our customers in over 21 new suburbs across Gauteng. This is a clear demonstration of Telkom’s commitment to meeting the demands of our customers in new and innovative ways,” he added.
- Attila Vitai, Telkom Retail CEO “In future, Telkom will consider the commercial viability of dealing with other network infrastructure providers to reach even more areas across South Africa with our high-speed fibre offerings,” said Vitai. “Leveraging infrastructure from various open access network providers is a steep change in how we previously procured our network requirements and is consistent with the ideals of functional separation between Telkom’s wholesale and retail business units,” he concluded.
MORE INFORMATION To find out more about this solution, visit www.telkom.co.za
OCTOBER ‘16 ISSUE I
IN
VALU E
PARTNER WITH NEOTEL TO PERFECT YOUR BUSINESS PERFORMANCE VATION O N
N SIB ILIT Y
AG ILITY
PO S RE RELIA BILITY For over 10 years Neotel has inspired thousands of businesses to perform outstandingly by providing state-of-the-art ICT solutions. Partner with Neotel to transform your business today.
10 YEARS YOUNG Switch to Neotel
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www.neotel.co.za
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NEOTEL 10 YEARS YOUNG IN THE “AGE OF THE CUSTOMER” Neotel is celebrating its 10-year anniversary in 2016, and according to Kennedy Memani, Director in Charge of Neotel, an obsession with satisfying the needs of its customers sits at the heart of Neotel’s success. It also remains the driving principle for a future in which the power of the customer is growing ever stronger. “For 10 years, satisfying our customers’ ongoing quest to leverage next-generation technology for competitive advantage has become our mission. We believe by continuing with this approach we will make our customers and ourselves successful, and help to grow the ICT industry in South Africa,” said Memani. He added that Neotel’s nextgeneration network coverage is both a source of pride and a crucial differentiator for customers who are keen to benefit from the advantages that only super-resilient, converged solutions can bring. Neotel has invested over R7 billion in infrastructure, with 30,000 kilometres of national backbone fibre network now connecting the top 40 cities and towns in South Africa. The operator has over 10,000 kilometres of fibre in South Africa’s metros to reach customers. With fibre on both sides of the road,
Neotel’s network in the country’s major cities directly connects over 5,000 businesses and passes close to 100,000 addresses. It has also rolled out fibre-to-the-curb in 12 central business districts across South Africa.
For 10 years, satisfying our customers’ ongoing quest to leverage nextgeneration technology for competitive advantage has become our mission - Kennedy Memani, Director in Charge of Neotel Neotel’s network is one of the largest Ethernet networks in Africa and the first to be certified as fully MEF compliant. Its high-performance core fibre network is highly resilient thanks to multi-path local and international redundancy, resulting in 99.999% availability. From a customer’s point of view, that means less than four minutes of core network downtime per year.
Neotel is especially proud of its international connectivity, leveraging more than 350,000 kilometres of international fibre and a global Tier 1 ISP network to serve customers in 200 countries and 300 cities worldwide from South Africa. Neotel has fullyredundant backhaul fibre to the landing stations of all five international submarine cables serving South Africa, and is a participant in all of these cable systems as an owner or landing partner. “Our Data Centres are enterprise-grade with full carrier diversity and access to the best network connectivity in the country. Anchor tenants include major carriers, ISPs, enterprises, and international service providers. Neotel’s Data Centres are the highest power density facilities in SA, offering physical hosting, virtual hosting, and cloud services with comprehensive security features,” said Memani. The quality and extent of Neotel’s next-generation infrastructure has enabled it to become a leader in innovative and cost-effective ICT services and solutions. This includes being the first to market with Tier 1 IP transit, SIP-based Voice Services, Metro Ethernet services, and openaccess cable systems.
OCTOBER ‘16 ISSUE I
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VODACOM BROADBAND CONNECT FIBRE POWERS AVAYA’S LOCAL LEARNING CENTRE BENEFITS OF VODACOM BROADBAND CONNECT FIBRE
• High Speed and High Capacity • Reliable Connectivity • Flexible Range of Service Plans • Customised Service Support Model • Easy Scalability, Rapid Provisioning
Avaya is a leading business communications provider, offering global solutions and technologies for customer and team engagement, unified communications and collaboration, contact centre and customer experience management, and networking. Skills transfer is an important component of Avaya’s offering and the Avaya Learning Centre hosts a wealth of content, learning tools, and resources to help its customers and business partners learn and gain knowledge. Here, the company’s technology labs play an important role. In recent years, Avaya has reduced the number of its technology labs - opting for a centralised and cost-effective deployment model. This centralised training hub model increased the
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reliance on connectivity.
high-quality
Internet
Avaya South Africa’s premises in Bryanston is the centralised training hub for southern Africa, and uses the UK-based lab remotely. Unfortunately, its ADSL connection did not suit the company’s needs. Distance and cable quality meant that Avaya’s ADSL connection allowed a maximum download speed of 6Mbps. The fact that it was an asymmetric connection meant that the upload speed was only around 1Mbps - not enough to support Avaya’s training labs which are hosted overseas. Avaya’s video and voice transmissions often experienced lag, or were poorer quality than what users expected. When this began to affect customer satisfaction scores, Avaya investigated
10 viable alternatives. The most attractive solution was introducing a fibre-to-the-business connection, which was well-suited to the business’s high-end media requirements. However, the price of a fibre connection was a big concern. Vodacom’s Broadband Connect Fibre solved all of Avaya’s problems by offering an affordable solution, which ticked all the boxes.
It provides a stable, symmetrical 15Mbps connection - with equal upload and download speeds which is suitable for real-time, highdefinition multimedia services. Vodacom’s Broadband Connect Fibre service offers Avaya over double its previous speeds, lowered the latency, and improved the stability of its connection.
Avaya South Africa’s ability to host training sessions for Avaya’s global OPCOs and has improved customer satisfaction scores significantly since its introduction.
MORE INFORMATION Find out more: www.vodacombusiness.co.za
Vodacom’s fibre service enhanced
Shameel Joosub // Vodacom CEO
OCTOBER ‘16 ISSUE I
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Reshaad Sha // Executive Director and Chief Strategy Officer at DFA
SOUTH AFRICA’S QUEST FOR SMART CITIES: TODAY’S JOURNEY INTO TOMORROW’S REALITY by RESHAAD SHA
In the past, the concept of smart cities may have been a lofty consideration for a Sunday afternoon, but smart cities are no longer a preference - they are becoming a critical necessity. This is due to the confluence of increasing urbanization, greater pressure being placed on the successful management of a city due to a rising population, and climate change. The latter in particular means that a city needs to have the ability to manage a sudden natural crisis, such as flooding, and be able to dispatch emergency and medical units without delay to save lives. Compounding matters is the fact that, according to Gartner, the digitization of IT is further forcing cities to adapt, and, like most businesses, have a digital strategy in place. Smart cities are far from a flash in the pan. According to Transparency Market Research, the global smart cities market is growing 14% at present and is expected to reach a value of $1,265.85 billion by 2019.
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BENEFIT BOUNTY The benefits of smart cities are wide ranging, affecting a broad spectrum of industries and making life easier for residents in a multitude of ways. Take, for example, the healthcare sector that could be positively impacted. Local and provincial hospitals currently deliver services in isolation, and patient records are not mutually accessible. Yet, in a smart city with integrated systems, standardised records will be available regardless of which hospital the patient visits. This process will provide better service to the patient and more accurate national health information to the relevant authorities. ICT research company International Data Corporation (IDC) notes that South Africa is the leader when it comes to smart city technology in Africa. All three of our biggest cities - Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban - have put into operation some variants of smart city solutions.
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The benefits of living in a smart city are plentiful, if the “smart” part is implemented correctly and the city is well managed. For governments it means that cities can be better monitored and looked after, and also improved. An example of this could entail a network of sensors being placed in the drainage system. It would be able to provide indications of where blockages are occurring, and during flooding, real-time information of where the biggest trouble spots are. Furthermore, through e-government initiatives, cities would be able to improve governmental processes for its stakeholders, including businesses and citizens. This includes many online services which could cut down on process cost and time. Examples of this includes SARS’s successful eFiling system, and the online application for car licence renewals or the registration of new businesses.
Smart cities are no longer a preference they are quickly becoming a critical necessity - Reshaad Sha, Chief Strategy Officer at DFA
Locally, service delivery stands to benefit significantly from having effective systems and processes in place. The implementation of the City of Joburg’s “load-limiting” smart meter is one such instance, enabling the power utility to better monitor
and manage electricity supply.
obstacle is the skills deficit.
During periods where the electricity grid is under pressure, households will be alerted to turn off highconsumption appliances to avoid full power cuts.
This is a particularly vexing hindrance to the advancement of smart cities nationally, requiring welltrained, tech-savvy individuals who understand and can use IT systems when under pressure. Unfortunately, this development of human capital does not happen overnight.
SMART CITIES EXPLAINED But what exactly is a smart city? In a nutshell, a smart city should provide the technology framework that enables its citizens, its resident businesses, its varied government and non-government stakeholders, and itself to be better served through the innovative use of information and communication technologies. Pervasive high-speed connectivity is the catalyst of and foundation for the development of a smart city. It is this connectivity that will enable effective data collection and analytics to ensure continuous improvement, along with the use of mobile technologies to reach every citizen in South Africa. In short, only once a comprehensive high-speed network is in place will our cities be in a position to address our unique challenges and become smart. However, this is only the first step, since the formation of a smart city requires a long-term urban plan. The reason for this becomes obvious when looking at the growth of the world’s urban population, which is set to increase from 54% to 66% between 2014 and 2050. South Africa’s major cities need to have a defined 20-to-40-year plan, coupled with a long-term vision to accommodate this projected expansion. OBSTACLES ON THE PATH A number of other challenges still stand in the way of smart cities becoming a reality in South Africa. Along with underdeveloped infrastructure, an even more troubling
LOOKING AHEAD Recently, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) launched the first global online community to encourage the development of smart sustainable cities. The aim of the portal is to assemble a community of experts to explore the factors that drive and impede the progression of global smart city development. The evolving South African citizen of the future will be highly knowledgeable and more tech-savvy than ever before. They will expect enhanced, highly-personalised service from cities, and will move between cities to get what they want. Cities, in effect, will become competitors for the top talent that, in turn, attracts businesses. To satisfy this new breed of citizen and so expand their tax bases, South African cities will have to see them as customers. This will require our cities to evolve considerably as they struggle to meet a new set of needs and to improve the quality of inhabitants’ lives.
CONTACT INFORMATION Find out more: http://www.dfafrica.co.za/
OCTOBER ‘16 ISSUE I
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CONNECTING COMMUNITIES AND SCHOOLS ACROSS SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Every child has the right to an education, and in today’s world a digital education is vital, opening up a wealth of new opportunities worldwide. However, across Sub-Saharan Africa a huge number of schools struggle to provide this level of education due to limited resources mainly access to broadband and power. In Sub-Saharan Africa, less than a third of the population have Internet access, and 38 million children are not in school. To bridge Africa’s digital divide and enable a digital future for all, Avanti Communications, a leading provider of Ka-band satellite data communications, recently launched the ECO initiative. The ECO initiative delivers high-speed satellite broadband to communities across Sub-Saharan Africa and promises to enable broadband access to schools that need it. ECO is designed to help solve the challenge of providing sustainable broadband connectivity to millions who live in areas beyond the reach of fixed or mobile broadband coverage across SubSaharan Africa.
Avanti Communications has already established a number of educational projects across Africa, most notably Project iMlango, which works alongside the UK’s Department of International Development (DFID) and the local Kenyan Government, delivering connected rural classrooms through high-speed satellite broadband. It has been deployed to schools across Kenya, benefiting 150,000 school children, 68,000 of whom are classed as marginalised girls. Another project, iKnowledge, focusses on equipping teachers with the ICT and digital literacy skills needed to bring the classroom into the digital era. The project, which is funded by the UK Space Agency’s International Partnership Space Programme (IPSP), has been deployed in 25 regions across Tanzania at 250 schools, and will train over 5,000 teachers and benefit 150,000 pupils. Some of the largest telecom and mobile operators across Africa have already pledged their support to ECO, which aims to deliver and sustain 500,000 connected communities across Sub-Saharan Africa by 2020.
ECO HOTSPOTS ECO grew from Avanti’s Project iMlango, and uses a combination of Avanti’s Kaband satellite connectivity, renewable energy, and Wi-Fi technologies to deploy connectivity. An element of the project is to provide sustainable, selffunded broadband to schools to enable the children to access the latest online e-learning and educational content directly from the classroom. Broadband provided to the schools is subsidised by the funds from high-speed community Wi-Fi hotpots which local community members can access at affordable prices.
The ECO initiative delivers highspeed satellite broadband to communities across SubSaharan Africa Community members can download the ECO App, which is designed to enable users to buy broadband credits to gain access to the Wi-Fi connection. Users are given the choice to purchase the credits by using mobile wallets such as M-Pesa on their smartphones, as well as trading credits peer-to-peer, allowing the unbanked users to take advantage of this initiative and benefit from the Wi-Fi hotspots. The App also enables broadband credits to be traded from local merchants, promoting entrepreneurship.
JOIN THE INITIATIVE Find out more: www.avantiplc.com/eco
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Connectivity that drives economic and social growth for schools, communities and businesses across Sub-Saharan Africa
Enabling a digital future for all
Join the initiative, find out more
www.avantiplc.com/eco
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FIBRE-TO-THE-HOME, OR SHOULD W by MARCO DE RU, MiRO CTO // This buzzword has been going around for the last 18 months and is sure to be the future in fixedbroadband connectivity and the successor to the old faithful, now ancient, copper DSL networks. When looking at the type of active equipment and the capital expenses associated with fibre-to-the-home (FTTH), it’s quite clear why this type of network roll-out has been mostly reserved for the JSE-listed telcos in South Africa. Without the advantage of economies of scale, it’s virtually impossible to make financial sense out of this broadband medium as a “to-the-home” service. Based on asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) technology, FTTH uptake has been very successful in some popular residential areas, but coverage is still very limited. To stimulate the advancement in bringing reliable Internet connectivity to South African households, we at MiRO have done the groundwork in making FTTH accessible to the small-to-medium size wireless Internet service providers (WISPs).
These companies have been the centre of Internet connectivity in underserved areas and have come to the rescue of many unconnected businesses and households over the last decade. One of our main goals with bringing FTTH technology to WISPs was to supply quality, reliable products at a fraction of the traditional equipment price. To do this, we decided to stick to what we know best, Ethernet
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networks, and this is where the real magic happens - EPON (Ethernet passive optical networks) are the next best thing since outdoor wireless. EPON brings the benefit of having a point-to-multipoint fibre network without the high capital expenses associated with ATM networks, making this technology ideal for fibre roll-outs with a budget.
TWO BIRDS WITH ONE STONE Not only can EPON be used for costeffective last-mile FTTH networks, it’s also the ideal medium for an estate security backbone. Integrators can use this high-capacity network in conjunction with their IP cameras and Ethernet-based perimeter control hardware with ease. The standard EPON network is a thing of simplicity.
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WE SAY FIBRE-TO-THE-CAMERA?
For more product information email: sales@miro.co.za or marco@miro.co.za
It all starts with an optical line terminal (OLT) at your control room/ server room. The OLT receives the incoming connectivity either through a long-haul fibre termination or through a high-capacity wireless link. The OLT then distributes the available bandwidth over the outgoing PON ports (up to 16 x 1Gbps ports). It is after the breakout from the PON ports where the real benefit of passive fibre can be seen. Unlike traditional active
fibre, where a 1:1 ratio per port is the only option, the split ratio on EPON can be anything from 1:1 up to 1:64.
to-point fashion unnecessary. This saves you time and minimises capital expenses.
At the end the fibre connects directly into an optical network unit (ONU) which converts the optical signal into a digital Ethernet signal. This means you can connect up to 64 houses, businesses, or any other Ethernet device (like IP cameras) to a single PON port - making the need for multiple fibre cable runs in a point-
Combining our wireless, EPON, IP Surveillance, and Video Management Software, you can build a state-ofthe-art residential security platform with high scalability, reliability, and redundancy without ruining your budget.
OCTOBER ‘16 ISSUE I
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Niel Schoeman // Vumatel CEO
VUMATEL OFFERS FIBRE FREEDOM Vumatel has established itself as South Africa’s favourite fibre-to-thehome (FTTH) provider. It is the proud pioneer of FTTH and is moving this country forward by connecting South Africans to the information economy at speeds of up to 250-times the current average broadband speed. In the past two years, the company has connected 40 suburbs to fibre, employed 550 people, and indirectly created 5,000 jobs through deployment activities. Vumatel strives to provide residents with an abundance of choice at affordable rates, and in doing so has completely disrupted the fixed-line telecommunications industry. Its open-access model allows Internet service providers to compete freely over the infrastructure, creating positive competition, driving down the cost of fibre broadband, and increasing product choice and variety for the consumer. Vumatel recognises that there is a tangible need for a future-proof technology that will support the growing demands for Internet speed and capacity, and firmly believes that future-proof technology is fibre. Vumatel is building a brighter future one suburb at a time, and has connected 50,000 homes to highspeed fibre broadband.
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One of the few providers in the country to build a buried Active Ethernet network, Vumatel is able to create a network that is scalable, flexible, and easy to operate. The Active Ethernet network is delivered over a point-topoint fibre topology that ensures the resident’s experience is guaranteed, and that there is ample capacity and flexibility to easily introduce new products and services to consumers that will be required in the future.
The company aims to connect 60 schools to free 1Gbps fibre by the end of 2016
an estimated 50,000 pupils and educators. In its typical maverick style, Vumatel challenged other infrastructure providers and service providers to do the same - and has since seen other players starting to provide the same benefit to schools. The company is immensely proud of the Schools Project. Vumatel builds its network in partnership with the communities and suburbs in which it operates, and believes that this project is one way in which communities can collectively benefit from having Vuma Fibre in their suburb.
The provision system is automatic and state-of-the-art. It makes the consumer experience slick, and it makes it easy for service providers to launch new products and services. In addition to connecting residents to world-class fibre infrastructure, Vumatel launched the Schools Project this year - connecting almost 30 Primary and High Schools to free 1Gbps fibre. The company aims to connect 60 schools to free 1Gbps fibre by the end of 2016, touching the lives of
WHO IS VUMATEL? Vumatel is an infrastructure provider, not a service provider. We build the network and allow Internet service providers (ISPs) to compete for your business over the network.
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ASSISTING YOU IN THE FIGHT AGAINST CYBERCRIME As cybercrime rises and cybercriminals find new ways to gain access to corporate infrastructures in all industries, organisations are often at a loss about what to do. New software vulnerabilities are found daily, web application attacks leave websites vulnerable, and viruses become increasingly silent and stealthy.
Telspace Systems aims to make your company or organisation as unattractive to cybercriminals as possible
Often, the simplest things such as weak passwords and uneducated staff can be the cause of a company’s entire infrastructure being compromised.
The good news is that there is help available. Telspace Systems aims to make your company or organisation as unattractive to cybercriminals as possible – while keeping your sensitive financial and client data safe. This is done in a variety of ways, including attack and penetration testing, web application assessments, vulnerability assessments, training, and keeping your company constantly safe with a month-to-month service level agreement. ATTACK AND PENETRATION TESTING The objective of this service is to identify and report on security vulnerabilities on a wide level to allow the client to close the issues, raising the level of their security protection overall. WEB APPLICATION ASSESSMENTS Telspace’s manual web application assessments identify and report on security issues related to online website applications. These are usually coded in PHP or ASPX with MYSQL or MSSQL databases in the backend.
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The assessments make use of hands-on methods (not tools), and one or two security analysts are assigned to all new projects. Telspace Systems recommends a website assessment prior to the actual release of the website to allow clients to close serious issues preproduction. It is always better to be proactive about security, rather than reactive. VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENTS Telspace’s daily, weekly, or monthly vulnerability assessments are an extremely cost-effective way to identify and report on security issues contained in websites, applications, software, or devices that could potentially be subject to exploitation. TRAINING COURSES Telspace Systems also offers a range of training courses that have been presented all around the world, which include Ethical Hacking, Wireless Hacking, Web Application Hacking, VOIP Hacking, and Social Engineering. SERVICE-LEVEL AGREEMENT This agreement is perfect for those with smaller IT budgets, or larger corporates which would like to maintain the work that was done as part of a larger vulnerability assessment. A company can use consulting hours or days as required.
MORE INFORMATION // Find out more about Telspace: Phone: 010 590 6163 Email: sales@telspace.co.za Twitter: www.twitter.com/telspacesystems Web: www.telspace.co.za
Telspace Systems
IT SECURITY BUDGET NOT
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T: 010 590 6163 | admin@telspace.co.za | www.telspace.co.za | www.twitter.com/telspacesystems
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MOBILITY MADE SIMPLE Yes Telecom emerged in 2012, when it recognised that a particular value proposition was required in the market - a package with a device and a regular monthly amount of airtime or data, without a binding 12 or 24-month contract. With this need in mind, Yes Telecom quickly grew to be one of South Africa’s leading innovators in the sale of bundled offerings - mobile devices packaged uniquely with airtime or data, at greatly-reduced pricing. No binding contracts are required. The company approached the market through large retailers, independent resellers, dealers, as well as ecommerce. Yes Telecom’s CEO Steve Rodgers and COO Keshen Naidu provide some of the top executive guidance to the company, with over 30 years’ experience in the industry. They are well known within the GSM mobile cellular network operators and the fixed-line telecommunication market.
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Both offer a comprehensive suite of proven retail sales models and distribution models for businesses wishing to enter the lucrative market of cellular and telecommunications.
We want to put a Yes Bundled deal in the hands of every student, mother, father, or child that needs to be connected If you are looking to become a fullyfledged MVNO or corporate VAS provider - whether you are a national retailer, or chain store, or entrepreneur - Yes Telecom has the ability to provide you with an end-to-end solution, with an approach that is passionate and client-centric. With its core values being ‘service and respect’, ‘integrity and trust’, and ‘teamwork with accountability’, Yes
YES TELECOM Find out more about Yes Telecom at www.yestelecom.co.za
Telecom is focussed on creating real value for all its customers. “We want to put a Yes Bundled deal in the hands of every student, mother, father, or child that needs to be connected to the world without the burden of monthly payments for a contract,” said Steve Rodgers. With its “Mobility Made Simple” slogan, the company prides itself in offering service excellence and unique value to its sales channels and customers, in a simple and effective way. Yes Telecom would like to thank Telkom for its long-standing partnership, as well as ZTE for its further commitment and direct support to Yes Telecom in South Africa. “We look forward to growing our market share, our logistics distribution, our unique market-leading offers and our sales channel partnerships over the next few years,” said Klee James, Yes Telecom Business Development Manager.
yes
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23
THE FIGHT FOR SPECTRUM In September, the price of mobile data grabbed headlines with the successful #DataMustFall campaign, which formed part of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Telecommunications and Postal Services’ two-day hearings into data prices in the country. COST OF DATA
After the hearings, the authorities sent a strong message to the mobile operators: Cut your mobile data prices, or we will do it for you. Mmamoloko Kubayi, chairperson of the portfolio committee on Telecommunications and Postal Services, said the operators have a month to “get their act together”. “Either they trim data costs, or the National Assembly will order them to do so. Operators can individually restructure their data plans between now and November, or wait for our recommendation when we would make a pronouncement on what should happen with the high data
prices,” said Kubayi. While consumers will always welcome lower prices, it can have unintended consequences, like network congestion and poor coverage. Unless there is a good incentive for the mobile operators to improve their networks, they will limit their network investments, which will negatively affect the performance and reliability of mobile broadband in the country.
The biggest problem, however, is the lack of spectrum Vodacom and MTN are currently investing billions into their networks each year to ensure South Africans enjoy great coverage and the best possible speeds. This is taken for
granted by many consumers, but it is by no means guaranteed. If the money dries up, the reliability and performance of these networks will quickly deteriorate. To achieve much lower data prices, the cost to roll out and upgrade mobile networks in South Africa has to be reduced. The weak rand, for example, means that the cost of network equipment – which is imported and paid for in US dollars – has increased by 40% in recent years. The struggle to get the necessary approvals to roll out physical infrastructure like cellular towers and fibre networks is another burden on mobile operators. LACK OF SPECTRUM
The biggest problem, however, is the lack of spectrum. With no additional 4G spectrum, Vodacom, MTN, and Cell C are forced to re-farm their existing spectrum to roll out LTE and LTEAdvanced networks. Without more spectrum, mobile operators also
24 have to build more towers to create additional network capacity. These costs are ultimately passed on to consumers in the form of higher data prices. If the assignment of additional spectrum will result in better, faster, and cheaper mobile broadband services in South Africa, why has it not been done yet? The simple answer is incompetence from the Department of Communications (DOC) and the Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services (DTPS). The process to assign more spectrum to network operators has been dragging on for a decade, with no end in sight. The spectrum debacle is further complicated by continued delays in migrating to digital TV, which will free up valuable 4G spectrum known as the digital dividend. DIGITAL MIGRATION
To get a better picture of what an absolute mess the spectrum assignment process is, we have to take a trip down memory lane. Let’s start with the digital broadcasting migration process. The digital terrestrial television (DTT) migration project started in 2001, and in 2007 Cabinet approved a policy that set the switch-on date for South Africa’s digital TV signal for 1 November 2008. The analogue signal
would be switched off in November 2011. However, the process was dogged with problems, and the November 2011 deadline was missed. On 17 June 2015, South Africa also missed the International Telecommunication Union deadline to switch over to DTT broadcasting. Despite attempts to get the process back on track, South Africa’s digital migration remains stuck in court. These missed deadlines mean that very valuable digital dividend spectrum remains unavailable to mobile operators to roll out better 4G networks, which is costing the country dearly. SPECTRUM ASSIGNMENT
The spectrum assignment process, which is now handled by the DTPS, is equally messy. The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) started the process in 2006, but despite numerous hearings, regulations, and even invitations to apply, not much has happened until now. In July, ICASA surprised the industry when it issued an invitation to apply for high-demand spectrum with a plan to auction allocated bands in the 700MHz, 800MHz, and 2,600MHz ranges. The excitement was short-lived. In August, the
Telecommunications Ministry filed a lawsuit to block the sale of wireless spectrum by ICASA. The fight between the minister and ICASA on spectrum assignment is another stumbling block in the road of getting spectrum into the hands of those who need it the most – the mobile operators. It is the biggest resource which can be used to offer
Spectrum is the biggest resource which can be used to offer better broadband services for lower prices, but it remains wasted because of government incompetence better broadband services for lower prices, but it remains wasted because of government incompetence. It is high time that political differences and commercial interests are set aside, so that spectrum is given to companies that can use it to improve South Africa’s mobile broadband landscape.
CONTINUED...
26
THE MYBROADBAND CONFERENCE THROUGH THE YEARS The MyBroadband Conference grew from a small event in 2005 to the largest event of its kind in South Africa, with speakers and exhibitors from the country’s top IT and telecoms companies.
2009
2010
2011
2005
The first MyBroadband Conference – then known as the MyADSL/ BIT Broadband Conference – took place on 1 November 2005 at the University of Johannesburg. The event attracted around 100 delegates, with Vox Telecom CEO Douglas Reed, JAWUG’s Roelf Diedericks, Internet Solutions’ Alan Bacher, and Vodacom’s Jannie van Zyl speaking at the event.
2012
2006
In 2006, the event moved to Vodacom World and enjoyed generous support from Vodacom over the next few years. 2012
The last MyBroadband Conference at Vodacom World took place in 2012, where the event filled the venue to capacity – forcing a move to a larger venue the next year.
2013
2013
In 2013, the conference moved to Gallagher Estate, with Telkom as the headline sponsor. NOW
Since then, the MyBroadband Conference has shown tremendous growth and now attracts over 3,000 executives and IT professionals from around the country. Here is a look at how the annual MyBroadband Conference grew from a small, niche broadband event to the largest local broadband and telecoms event in South Africa.
2014 CONTINUED...
OCTOBER ‘16 ISSUE I
2005
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THE MYBROADBAND CONFERENCE THROUGH THE YEARS MYBROADBAND MYBROADBAND.CO.ZA
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OCTOBER ‘16 ISSUE I
29
THE SUCCESS AND FAILURE OF UNCAPPED ADSL IN SOUTH AFRICA by Jan Vermeulen
Uncapped broadband services in South Africa have a storied history, ranging from a soaring success to a catastrophic failure. MWEB is often credited as the pioneer of affordable uncapped broadband in South Africa with the launch of its uncapped ADSL packages in March 2010. The launch received mixed reactions from industry, with its competitors scrambling to emulate it, or saying that they didn’t believe it was sustainable. Those in the “unsustainable” camp were roundly criticised. Now, six years on, it is easy to show they were wrong. However, the people who cautioned that uncapped ADSL was not sustainable also delivered some warnings that were proven true. With the benefit of hindsight, an analysis of South Africa’s uncapped broadband history provides good lessons in not dismissing an expert’s opinion when they say something you disagree with. FROM 512KBPS TO 40MBPS, AND BACK AGAIN
Among the first things Internet service providers (ISPs) noticed was an increase in complaints from customers about poor speeds, even though ISPs had spare capacity on their networks.
Some of Telkom’s exchanges, it emerged, were not built to handle the sudden increase in ADSL traffic. Uncapped ADSL had unlocked latent demand that Telkom’s infrastructure couldn’t handle. Telkom upgraded exchange capacity where it believed it made sense to do so, but it had already made plans to roll out its network of multi-service access nodes. These street-side cabinets would enable 20Mbps and 40Mbps VDSL, and, Telkom said, get it ready to roll out fibre-to-the-home. An aging copper network was not the only challenge uncapped ADSL ran into. ISPs sometimes struggled to
MYBROADBAND MYBROADBAND.CO.ZA
ensure they had enough network capacity, in the form of Telkom’s IP Connect wholesale service.
We must just remember that disruption comes at a cost, and those advocating for rapid change should be sure they are willing to pay for it HONEYMOON’S OVER Besides the technical issues uncapped ADSL unearthed, ISPs also had to make money from selling the service if they were to continue offering it. Knowing the wholesale costs of providing the service back then, we calculated that a R200-per-month 1Mbps uncapped ADSL service would run at a loss if subscribers consumed more than 200GB on average per month. This was after we made generous assumptions about how much of its wholesale capacity an ISP can keep filled on average. Something that was great for broadband subscribers, but which made ISPs’ lives difficult, was Telkom steadily increasing the speeds of its low-end and mid-range ADSL circuits. ISPs couldn’t increase prices, and subscribers were expecting the speeds of their uncapped ADSL accounts to increase along with line speeds. This strained the capacity of ISP networks, while driving down the profit-making threshold on uncapped accounts. Something had to give.
UNCAPPED BECOMES SOFTCAP While a few ISPs had already adapted their fair use policies (FUP) to ensure the sustainability of their uncapped ADSL products, it is perhaps poetic that the original trailblazer bore the brunt of the backlash. During August 2014, MWEB sent warning letters to 3% of its subscriber base that it determined was in violation of its FUP. They must change their usage patterns or be throttled, the ISP warned. The backlash was swift. Subscribers were unhappy about the coming change, and even more unhappy that MWEB had not given them enough time to process cancellations. MWEB said it would measure your data consumption in a 30-day rolling window, then combine that with network performance factors to determine whether to implement its FUP. It would not say what those thresholds were, though, which subscribers didn’t like. Eventually, the ISP officially confirmed its usage thresholds after subscribers exchanged notes online to figure it out themselves. In the end, uncapped ADSL started to more closely resemble Telkom’s SoftCap product, which had already been in the market for years prior to the launch of uncapped. None of this should take away from the success of uncapped ADSL. It was nothing short of revolutionary for Internet users in South Africa. Just as uncapped ADSL was a gamechanger, lower mobile data prices will be too. We must just remember that disruption comes at a cost, and those advocating for rapid change should be sure they are willing to pay for it.
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