Local-loop unbundling will only benefit rich people in urban areas, Cosatu affiliate the Communication Workers Union warned at public hearings on the process on Tuesday.

“Who will benefit? The rich, most probably white, urban population that resides in the suburbs,” union representative Vulture Ntukuli told the council of the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa). This, coupled with the “risk” the process posed to “national security”, meant Icasa should halt its plans that would open Telkom’s copper local loop to competitors.

“After considering the fact that the majority of South Africans won’t benefit, the only option is [for there to be] no local-loop unbundling because we are looking at the threat to job security,” Ntukuli said.

“[Unbundling] can only be supported if and when the network is accessible to the majority of South Africans,” he said. “At least 60% penetration of fixed lines is required before any local-loop unbundling should be considered.”

In addition, unbundling posed a “risk to national security” because more service providers accessing Telkom’s network would result in “greater risk”.

The union expressed concern that the process would lead to “massive job losses” at a “financially unstable” Telkom and would not benefit “black people in general and Africans in particular” who did not have access to fixed lines.

“We think it’s high time the country at large came up with different methods to give access to the rural areas and townships, because if you look at the [government-built] houses in townships, currently there is no infrastructure,” says Ntukuli. “Now it’s just about competition. It’s just about the urban areas. We must be innovative to find ways to get into the rural areas. We say no to local-loop unbundling.” — Duncan McLeod, TechCentral