INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Cabling
POWERED BY
Open access making
progress in South Africa,
says ISPA
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C
ommunities across South Africa
are increasingly insisting on open
access fibre optic cable installations
which provide a neutral platform for ISPs to
compete with each other. “They are doing this because they recognise
that open access fibre networks provide the
best of high-quality, affordable connectivity
for consumers while increasing the value of
property in the estate or community.
That’s the word from South Africa’s Internet
Service Providers’ Association (ISPA) which
says elected representatives of gated
communities, estates and business parks
are gradually adopting a hard line with fibre
providers; some of whom still refuse to do
business openly and transparently. “It is imperative that communities choose
open access providers and that clauses to
this effect are always inserted in any written
agreements with planned fibre providers.
“There’s a clear trend towards homeowners’
associations, body corporates, residents’
associations and property developers
rejecting any potential fibre installation
that does not allow for multiple Internet
service providers to compete for owners’
and tenants’ business,” said ISPA chairman
Graham Beneke.
www.intelligentcio.com
“Consumers should be free to choose who
they buy Internet access or data from and
this is firmly in line with stated Government
policy. In October 2016, Government
outlined the right of consumers to choose
their service provider as a key requirement
of the National Integrated ICT Policy
White Paper.
“It requires fair and sustainable service-based
competition which will increase consumer
choice (of service providers and of services),
reduce costs and increase innovation.”
Not all networks want to provide a
platform for competition and do not want
competition at the services level.
ISPA’s view is that this is not in the best
interests of consumers and needs to be
addressed to reduce the cost to communicate,
poor service levels and a lack of innovation.
It adds that vigorous competition in the
services layer is imperative for increased
innovation and value for money.
“Network deployment agreements that
deny subscribers the choice of service
provider represent a disservice to that
community where the network is to be
deployed and denies them their right of
choice,” said Beneke. n
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