Somalia: anarchy, calls

Somalia has not had a recognised government since 1991. Not totally surprisingly, the country has a vibrant and unregulated telecommunications sector. According to a BBC report from 2004 some of the highlights of the Somali market include

• a three-day wait for installation of a landline;
• US$10/month for unlimited local calls (VAT is irrelevant, one presumes);
• 150Mbps Internet in central Mogadishu, 11Mbps wireless elsewhere.
  

All of this seems like science fiction to the hard-pressed South African consumer. In fact, National Geographic reports, earlier this year, that the waiting time for installation of a landline in the capital is now 8 hours. According to a World Bank report the number of landlines in Somalia had increased seven-fold in the period 1991 to 2002. Compare this to SA, where the number of landline subscribers has declined since 1995 in spite of an interventionist government, crocodile tears in Davos etc. Every African knows the immense entrepreneurial flair that pervades our continent but few Africans believe that we are blessed with particularly efficient or wise governments. Somalia shows how well things can work in Africa when entrepreneurs are in charge and not bureaucrats.

Power and "universal service"

A very persuasive posting by Russel Southwood of Balancing Act today points out that "universal service" agencies, who - according to the World Bank - are sitting on $4500m of unspent funds, should use this money to simply expand the power grid in rural areas, especially in Africa. According to Russel the cost of providing power generators for mobile base stations in areas where there is no or an unreliable electric grid, makes these base stations around 10 times more expensive than those in developed aread. SA's agency apparently has a new executive who is (sic) feeling the shoes of Ms. Cassandra Gabriel (Chairperson of the Board)... The only other item of news from 2007 on USA's homepage is about the relocation of offices in March - and one can only pray that the move went well. This agency is well placed, given the lack of action from the other regulators, to undermine the telecommunications oligopoly operating in South Africa. Will they?

Pylpunt en Pallo Jordan

Enkele weke gelede het 'n Internetsoektog my toevallig attent gemaak op die bestaan van 'n plek met die naam Pylpunt. Die soektog het verband gehou met iets in die omgewing en ek het vir die snaaksigheid na http://maps.google.com/ gegaan en die naam Pylpunt ingetik. Siedaar - dis 'n plek of kruising langs die N1, net noord van Pretoria, so 15km van waar ek woon. Waarom vind ek dit snaaks? Omdat ek skielik besef het hoe belaglik die politici van SA is indien hulle dink dat dit 'n magtige daad is om oorspronklik Afrikaanse dorpe herdoop na vlou moutbiere of vermeende Ndebele-opperhoofde. Amper al wat vir my eintlik saakmaak is of die plek se naam in die Google-databasis is. Die tyd toe dit primêr saakgemaak het hoe iets in 'n stowwerige lêer in Pretoria aangeteken is, is lankal verby. In die terminologie van Thomas Friedman, is ons politiese opperhoofde nog in die sfeer van die olyfboom (kleinlike stryd oor plaaslike kwessies) waar ek en Google in die sfeer van die Lexus (globale uitnemendheid en samewerking) is. Die Internet het veroorsaak dat Google en soortgelykes die databasis beheer en versprei en nie kleinlike burokrate nie. Wat 'n bevryding! En, sal die leser vra, indien 'n mens die voorgestelde nuwe naam vir die Jakarandastad (Snor City, Mor City) intik? Wel, dan wys GoogleMaps 'n gehuggie by Ghanzi, in Botswana.

SA beplan verbod op buitelandse selfone

Die meeste van ons ken die roetine wanneer die sitplekgordelligte afgeskakel word op 'n vreemde lughawe: die selfoon word aangeskakel, konnekteer aan 'n plaaslike netwerk wat dadelik 'n verwelkomingsboodskap stuur en 'n mens ontvang dadelik 'n paar SMSe van Suid-Afrika af en laat weet dat 'n mens veilig aangekom het. Dit is nou maar deesdae deel van die normale lewe - maar nie meer vir lank in Die Republiek nie. Net om besoekers, veral vir 2010, te laat besef dat Gauteng se lughawe (ek kan nou nie onthou wat ons die plek hierdie week amptelik noem nie maar ek verwys na die een net oos van Johannesburg) in Donker Afrika is, oorweeg die parlement in Slaapstad tans 'n Regulation of Interception of Communication Amendment Bill wat - onder andere - sal behels dat buitelandse selfoongebruikers eers hul identiteit, tuisadres endiesmeer aan plaaslike netwerke sal moet verklaar alvorens hul toegelaat sal word om in SA te swerf (Engels: roam), m.a.w. hul selfone plaaslik te gebruik. Indien dié wetgewing aanvaar word gaan duisende mense elke dag in SA arriveer en met skok agterkom dat hulle selfone, anders as in Namibië of Zimbabwe, nie hier werk nie. Soos ANC-LP Luwellyn Landers verklaar in Business Day:

Everyone who uses roaming in SA must register, otherwise there is no point to this legislation.

Presies!Ons kan òf die land in die oë van 6 miljoen of meer toeriste en sakebesoekers per jaar belaglik maak òf hierdie beheersieke wetgewing laat vaar.

Ek was nog in geen land waar my selfoon by aankoms nie gewerk het nie, maar dan het ek tot dusver lusoorde soos Mongolië of Irak vermy... Die voormalige Sowjet-Unie het natuurlik die registrasie van fotokopieermasjiene (ook uit die buiteland) vereis en miskien is sekere lede van ons regering hier weer deur 'n aanval van Sowjet-nostalgie geïnspireer.

Government chooses cellphone TV standard

The Financial Mail reports in its issue of 4 June on the pronouncement by Minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri that South Africa will have to use DVB-H standard for delivering television content to cellphone screens. One has to wonder why the government is involved at all in regulating a matter as trivial as the broadcasting of eGoli to the dinky little screen of some teenager's (who else will have the time to watch?) cellphone. But no, the government not only thinks that it should be involved in this highly trivial industry but that it will also make the wise decision, binding on all, on which specific protocols should be used for the transmission.

Of course, the government should to some extent regulate the use of common resources such as the radio frequency spectrum. But how, in philosophy or in fantasy, can one believe that the government should decide whether any part of that spectrum be used for cellphone television or for, say, wireless credit card processing?