|


 











William Stucke
AfrISPA
ZAnet Internet Services
| allenges common to all ISPs
 Special | allenges faced by African ISPs
 Response to | allenges
 Relations ip wit Telco's
 Opportunities
 |
 

 
þ |ost of bandwidt & carrier services
þ |ontinual investment in infrastructure
þ Hig ly competitive market
þ Discretionary consumer & business
spending
þ Low margins
 

|




 
þ Telco monopolies ± uncooperative incumbents
þ Lack of competition among Telco¶s
þ Delays in supplying lines & carrier services
þ In ibiting Legislation
þ Extremely ig cost of international bandwidt
(pay for bot legs)
þ Hig cost of local carrier services
þ Distance from t e ³centre of t e µNet´
 

|




  


 
þ Lack of trust and cooperation among local
ISPs
þ Lack of local IXPs
þ |ost of imported i-tec equipment ± ig
taxation
þ Availability of imported equipment
þ Purc asing parity and foreign exc ange
restrictions and fluctuations
 

|




  


 
þ Lack of education among potential users ±
not only computer literacy, but literacy
itself
þ Limited tec nical capacity ± lack of skilled
engineers
þ Brain-Drain ± engineers get experience and
t en leave Africa for t e West
 ï

 |

 ATU
 AfrISPA
 Incumbent Telco¶s
 Joint Efforts
ï

 |


 
þ Improve legislation ± enabling, not restricting
þ Fully independent and powerful Regulators in
every country
þ Effective regulation of Telco¶s ± prevent abuses of
power
þ Introduce competitive Telco¶s
þ Don¶t c arge duty on imported equipment ± give a
rebate
þ Fully liberalise VoIP in all African countries
 




 Restrictions on w o can provide
international connectivity, and ow
 Restrictions on wireless local links
 Licensing of ISPs
 Restrictions on use of VoIP
 Restrictions on use of tec nology
 ï

 |

 
þ Foster ISPAs in all countries
þ Encourage building of local or national
IXPs
þ Training works ops
þ How to form an ISPA
þ How to build & operate an IXP
þ PAVIX ± to provide better connectivity
among IXPs in African countries
ï

 |
 !






þ Educate legislators and regulators
þ Enact enabling legislation / provide
regulatory dispensation to facilitate eart
stations for PAVIX
þ Dialogue wit incumbent Telco¶s
þ Improved and increased dialogue between
t e ATU and AfrISPA
 ï

 |

 "
þ Recognise ISPs are your best allies, not a t reat
þ Internet usage is an enormous force for economic
growt , especially in t e I|T sector, and Telco¶s
benefit directly from t is. Internet usage is still
growing at >> 50% per annum in Africa
þ For every $1 earned by an ISP from dial-up
customers, t e Telco earns $6 from call c arges,
plus line rental c arges from bot t e ISP p
t e
customer, w o frequently installs a first or second
line, or upgrades to ISDN or better
 ï

 |

 "
þ Over 50% of new leased line installations
are ordered directly or indirectly by ISPs
 VoIP allows far greater efficiency in local
and international carrier capacity usage,
w ic leads to revenue gain due to
increased traffic w ic gives greater
utilisation, rat er t an a direct loss of
revenue due to alternative supply
 ¢#


 Leapfrog t e West ± skip over t eir 15
years of development
 Implement World |lass networks now
 Gigabit networks rat er t an Megabit
networks
 PAVIX ± move t e centre of t e µNet to
Africa



$
#

%&


 $'
 ³IXP in t e sky´
 Four countries so far
 Satellite link in eac country, from eac
IXP, to a single satellite
 S ared infrastructure, s ared costs
 Direct connection between countries
 $'
 Eliminate uge International bandwidt costs
 Increase speed and capacity of African
communications
 Foster development of local content
 Foster intra-African trade, e-commerce, e-
medicine
 Peer as an equal wit USA, Europe
 Pay for only one alf-leg of international links