9
Program Implementation
Telecommunications is a catalyst for socio–economic development. Lack of
service in the rural areas is hampering the development of those areas. The
people living in the rural areas are also desperately in need of telecommunications
services.
The rural telecommunications program shall be implemented in the most timely,
efficient and cost effective manner possible. The implementation of the program
shall also be in line with the envisaged further liberalisation of the
telecommunications sector.
9.1 Introduction of Competition
The implementation of the rural telecommunications program shall seek to
introduce competition in the provision of telecommunications infrastructure
and services. In line with current government procurement guidelines, an
open tender process shall be used to select the best service provider for each
rural license area.
9.2 Cost Effective Solutions
When rolling out telecommunication services, optimum network deployment
practices in the areas of economics, topology and environment conditions,
shall allow service providers to be more efficient and effective. In order to
achieve this, the principle of cost effective and logical technological solutions
shall be adopted. Associated technical and business plans shall make
economic sense and allow for the level of service the rural areas need.
Notwithstanding infrastructure exclusivity, the best approach to further
minimize costs is to leverage what is available and to share resources
wherever possible. The costs of providing separate infrastructure could be
prohibitive in the short to medium term. In order to reduce costs and to utilize
the scarce resources to their maximum capacity, it is recommended that
network infrastructure shall be shared where possible. A fair, equitable, and
transparent mechanism shall be introduced through licensing framework. The
rate structure for the rental of space on the infrastructure shall be prescribed
by the regulator.
In order to take advantage of global pricing and to minimize operations and
maintenance costs, only standardized solutions shall be acceptable. In
addition, there are physical infrastructure specifications that must be followed
to ensure the network is robust and operates with minimal down time. All the
Rural Telecommunications Strategy
26 October 2006
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