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I.T. Tech


In 2010 the total number of internet users exceeded 5 million for the first time.This means that 11 % of the population has access to the internet with 89 % of the population not having any form of access to the internet.
It is estimated that by 2015 there will be 55.5 million cellular subscribers.lt is interesting to note the difference in the number of people that have subscriptions to cellular networks vs the number of people that have connections to the internet. A number of factors can be concluded from this :

  1. Since there are more cellular subscribers than the total population, significantly more than 11% of the population can indeed afford a
    basic internet service as the cost of mobile internet is far cheaper compared to that of airtime.
  2. The mobile internet mass market has not yet been penetrated
  3. Under 9 % of cellular users are utilizing the internet through GSM/3G/HSDPA

Why merge from Cellular GSM to mobile Internet ?

  1. Communication is key
  2. Internet communication is far cheaper and more efficient than Cellular communication
  3. Mass deployment to undeveloped areas is much cheaper, faster and scalable
  4. Mass distribution of Information through the internet is free unlimited education for the entire population
  5. For a lower cost, communication is extended to include multimedia entertainment, video streaming and better voice quality
  6. High level Education can be offered on a massive scale for free to the mass market by means of a relatively small government subsidy.
  7. Voice calls are free. The concept of airtime does not exist. Communication is unlimited for a set low fee.
  8. Broadcast national television on a large scale, keeping the service affordable the whole population.

The first point above concluded that internet penetration in the South African mass market is inherently restricted.This can be attributed to the following factors

  • The current GSM backbone infrastructure in south Africa is not sufficient to satisfy the mobile internet demand
  • The Nature of GSM is not technologically suited to implement large scale Data networks. The nature of data network requirements and

Digital Communications in South Africa. USSAC communication software has evolved rapidly in the past 5 yearsf first GSM specifications were established in 1990)

  1. The main supply of internet bandwidth into south Africas telecoms backbone is not sufficient to supply demand. Although many new
    under sea cables have been developed, causing a significant cost in the cost of international bandwidth, South Africas inland data cabling systems can not technically supply inland users with cheap fast broadband.
  2. The main telecommunications backbone of South Africa operated by Telkom supplying the GSM networks and the countryinternet access is unable the sustain market penetration greater than the current figures.
  3. The current inflated cost of Internet in South Africa, due to the pure technical inefficiencies of the Major telecoms backbone ,is a major deterring financial factor to the mass market.
  4. There is currently only one major telecoms operator in south Africa.

The operation and maintenance of data telecommunications networks requires highly specialized technical personal.Thereis currently a shortage of these skills in the developing and existing telecoms providers in South Africa.

The following challenges can be addressed by introducing a fast, cheap, highly scalable technology. The leading edge technology designed to cater for the increasing need for digital communication in undeveloped mass markets is 4G.WiMax is considered for the factor 4G technology. The establishment of South Africa's first 4G telecommunications network would introduce the following benefits.

  • Rapid deployment and establishment of Internet access points in all areas of south Africa
  • Establishment of high speed, reliable Internet connections to corporate sectors such as banking that rely critically on telecoms to function
  • Rapid cost effective deployment of internet to the entire education system in South Africa without the need of computers
  • Establishment of Volp networks, enabling all cellphone calls between users in South Africa to become free. There are no longer any charges for call phone calls within the United States due to the establishment of 4G VoIP enabled service providers such as Clearwire and Vorizon.
  • Establishment of telecommunications backbone that can achieve speeds not technically achievable by any telco providers in SA currently.

Digital Communications in South Africa. USSAC

•    The long range, high speed nature of 4G means that any geographic region can be supplied with a high quality chap internet communication service.