Building a next-generation network using long-term evolution (LTE) technology is a “no-brainer” for telecommunications company iBurst and its parent Wireless Business Solutions, says WBS CEO Thami Mtshali.

He explains the company already has a comprehensive backhaul network in place, with many of its base stations connected to fibre-optic lines supplied by partner Dark Fibre Africa, as well as a customer contact centre and access to submarine cable infrastructure.

WBS also has access to valuable chunks of radio frequency spectrum in the 1,8GHz and 2,6GHz bands, which it has used to offer services using its proprietary “iBurst” technology as well as WiMax. It has access to a telephone number range and interconnection agreements with the major operators.

The company surprised the market on Monday when it said it would build an LTE wireless broadband network by mid-2012. LTE is the successor technology to the mobile broadband networks deployed by the country’s mobile networks and is sometimes controversially referred to as a fourth-generation (4G) system.

“We’re not starting from scratch,” Mtshali says. The network roll-out will be funded through a combination of debt and equity.

He says the company has already signed an agreement with a supplier for the LTE network but won’t say who is providing the equipment. “We don’t want to give away all our secrets now.”

What he will say is that the network will be fully mobile and offer both voice and data services.

WBS hopes to extend the LTE network into outlying areas, but Mtshali says this plan will be largely dependent on the company getting access to the so-called “digital dividend” spectrum below 900MHz. This spectrum should be freed up for telecoms when television broadcasters migrate from analogue to digital terrestrial TV.

Mtshali says WBS has access to spectrum in the 400MHz band — a legacy of its past contract to provide the network for the National Lottery — but he says LTE equipment is not currently available for this band. He adds that WBS may opt to install older, third-generation mobile technology in this band in the interim.

The company has not ruled out working with any of the bigger mobile operators in building its LTE network, though MTN recently scotched rumours that it was in serious discussions with WBS.

WBS has been somewhat hamstrung by its use of the proprietary iBurst technology. Mtshali says the company has had to rely on one supplier and a limited number of available access devices.

He adds that it has no plans at this stage to switch off its iBurst network in favour of LTE. “Some users will prefer to stay on iBurst,” he says. — Duncan McLeod, TechCentral