The Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) on Wednesday published a framework for the unbundling of Telkom’s fixed-line local loop of copper-cable infrastructure into homes and businesses. It has proposed a phased introduction of unbundling, which will unfold over a period of years.

Icasa chairman Stephen Mncube delivered the following statement (slightly abridged) at a press conference at the company’s Sandton offices:

Local-loop unbundling is an intervention that offers significant advantages to operators and consumers However, it also involves significant challenges for operators, especially the incumbent.
The existence of an access-line deficit is a significant obstacle to the introduction of fixed-line local-loop unbundling.
The authority will therefore take a phased approach to the introduction of local-loop unbundling.
As a first step, the authority will undertake public consultation process to address access-line deficit recovery scheme. This will commence in February 2012.
The authority will engage with industry to ensure price of IP Connect [the way third-party Internet service providers connect into Telkom’s network] is reduced. It is expected this will be with effect from 31 March next year.
The authority will engage with industry to ensure a true bit-stream product is introduced by 1 November 2012. Bit-stream is generally considered the first step of local-loop unbundling and was requested by a number of stakeholders.
In order to facilitate the introduction of bit-stream, the authority will establish an industry working group to address technical issues, including establishment of an ordering system specification mechanism. This will convene starting in February next year.
The authority will conduct a regulatory impact assessment on the cost and benefits of the fixed-line loop, sub-loop and shared-line forms of local-loop unbundling commencing in mid-2012.
Thereafter, depending on the outcome of the regulatory impact assessment, the authority will conduct market review on fixed-line access market and introduce supplementary local-loop unbundling regulations.
The authority will undertake an inquiry into unbundling of wireless access networks.