Licensed telecommunications operators interested in gaining access to Telkom’s “last mile” of copper-cable infrastructure into homes and businesses have been given insight this week into how the industry regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa), intends facilitating this.

Icasa on Wednesday published draft local-loop unbundling (LLU) regulations – called the “bitstream and shared/full loop access regulations” – in the Government Gazette that set out how operators will be able to access the last-mile infrastructure of Telkom and other fixed-line providers.

It appears from the draft regulations that Icasa intends offering two types of access to unbundled telecoms facilities: “bitstream” access (a type of network interconnection) and a more comprehensive form of unbundling in the form of shared/full loop access.

The draft regulations seek to facilitate the conclusion of agreements between telecoms licensees for leasing facilities “with reference to the local loop”. They set out timeframes and procedures to be followed by the parties seeking to enter into agreements. They also set out how disputes will be settled.

For bitstream access, the draft regulations state that infrastructure licensees must provide points of interconnection in their core networks as well as related co-location space and associated support systems to ensure effective functioning of the points of connection.

For shared/full loop access, licensees must also provide a point of interconnection at a “hand-over distribution frame” adjacent to any “main distribution frame” or equivalent piece of infrastructure designated by Icasa.

Any request for leasing of bitstream or the shared/full loop and associated electronic communications infrastructure must be in writing and include the date of the request, the telecoms facilities seeker’s technical requirements and physical parameters, and the type of facilities being requested. The facilities provider must respond to a request within seven days of receipt of a request and the parties must finalise the facilities-leasing agreement within 45 days, or up to 60 days if both agree to a longer period.

A request for access will be deemed technically and financially feasible if the licensee on which the request is being made provides the same or a similar service to itself or entities under its control. Disputes over technical and financial feasibility will be determined by Icasa “on a case by case basis”.

An operator may also only apply fees to those seeking access to its facilities at levels that are “similar to that charged to itself or entities under its control”.

The company seeking access must also pay for any once-off capital equipment required to facilitate the provision of the requested services as well as any billing system-related costs.

An operator that owns a local loop must submit a standard price list to Icasa for the different forms of local-loop facilities provided and publish a standard price list on their websites. It must also submit a bitstream and shared/full loop access “master lease agreement” to Icasa within 45 days of the regulations coming into force.

Under a section on penalties, the draft regulations propose a fine of up to R1m for noncompliance. Icasa’s complaints and compliance committee may impose a higher fine of R2m.