Page 3 - EngineerIT May 2022
P. 3

FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK



                                  It’s great when government does



                                  something right!







                         ost of us are quick to judge decisions made by   Rwanda made a loss and failed to offer economical
                         government but we seldom acknowledge when   mobile rates. Mexico was another country claimed to
               Ma right decision is made. One such instance is       have introduced a WOAN successfully. It impressed
                the scrapping of plans to launch an open access network   former communications minister Siyabonga Cwele so
                (WOAN). Last month, cabinet terminated the controversial   much that he reportedly travelled to Mexico with a
                scheme first introduced years ago, in the belief that it would   South African delegation to meet with Mexican officials
                increase competition in South Africa’s mobile market.  to learn about that country’s experiences.


                The WOAN was, for almost a decade, long a key policy of the   The GMSA also wrote in its paper that the lessons
                ANC for South Africa’s telecommunications industry. While   from these countries that failed with their WOAN

                opposed by the industry, government was determined to   implementations should serve as examples to other
                create the WOAN as a platform for smaller players to get   countries thinking about going this route. They
                access to the mobile telecoms market.                highlighted the real challenges of an SWN or WOAN.
                                                                     They are a wake-up call to those regulators who look to
                Many workshops and briefings were held to convince the   them as an alternative to tried-and-true approaches to
                industry. Although reluctantly accepting a comprise, no   network deployment.
                industry player came forward with a concrete proposal or an
                offer to run the WOAN.                               Earlier this year, the Mexican company operating the
                                                                     WOAN filed for bankruptcy. This appears to have been
                In December 2019, the Global Mobile Suppliers        a wake-up call for our government as shortly after that,
                Association (GSMA) published a white paper, warning   cabinet decided to drop the WOAN plans. We should
                that wholesale open access networks are perhaps not the   recognise them for making the right decision.
                solution they are claimed to be. The paper asserted that
                the goals are often ambitious when governments want to   There are many interesting articles in this edition of
                build a single wholesale network (SWN) or a wholesale   EngineerIT. Enjoy our e-book version or download the
                open access network (WOAN) instead of relying on     PDF version to read later and share with your colleagues
                competing mobile networks to deliver mobile broadband   and friends.
                services in their country.
                                                                     We welcome your comments, articles and news item
                Citizens are promised better coverage, more competition   contributions. Email me at hansv@nowmedia.co.za
                and as a result, more affordable prices. However, turning   or call me on 082 781 4631. I look forward to hearing
                this vision into a working reality with an impact that goes   from you.
                beyond what traditional networks can achieve, is difficult.
                Government, in its arguments about why South Africa   Best wishes
                needed a WOAN, often cited the successful implementation   Hans van de Groenendaal
                of a WOAN in Rwanda and Mexico.                      Editor



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