Related Articles
Top Stories
May 23 2012 09:47
Western investors must realise SA does not need their money as it can now turn to fellow Brics members for funding, says ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe.
May 23 2012 08:10
Several parties, including government, have launched a Constitutional Court appeal against an interdict temporarily halting the e-toll project, Outa says.
May 23 2012 18:03
Facebook and banks are being sued by Facebook's shareholders, who claimed the defendants hid Facebook's weakened growth forecasts ahead of its initial public offering.
Cape Town - Legislation paving the way for much cheaper broadband internet access is likely to be approved in the National Assembly on Wednesday.
According to a memorandum attached to the Broadband Infraco Bill - up for debate on Wednesday afternoon - the high broadband costs in SA compared with international counterparts have been investigated.
It revealed that connectivity providers other than Telkom have a cost structure where up to 80% of costs comprise those attributable to Tier 1 national backbone connectivity and Tier 3 international connectivity, both of which are supplied by Telkom.
The logical conclusion is to intervene to address the national backbone and international connectivity cost structures.
This is based on the assumption that if these costs are addressed, Tier 2 (the local metropolitan area network and last mile) connectivity providers will quickly pass this on to the market as a result of competitive pressure.
Government intends expanding the availability of broadband access to underdeveloped areas, thereby ensuring that the bandwidth requirements for specific projects of national interest are met.
To achieve this, the Minister for Public Enterprises will acquire shareholding in Broadband Infraco (Proprietary) Limited from Eskom Holdings Limited.
The Bill also seeks to create flexibility for funding and private sector involvement by providing for the possibility that Infraco may be converted into a public company.
Public companies are generally recognised as the optimal corporate form to access capital markets and enable future private sector investment, where necessary.
Thus, the bill provides for transferring Infraco shares and Infraco interests from Eskom to the state, licensing Infraco under the Electronic Communications Act, and converting Infraco into a public company with share capital.
In terms of the bill, the state will provide capitalisation for Infraco to the amount of R975m.
- Sapa