![The Internet The Internet](http://a.fsdn.com/sd/topics/internet_64.png)
![Technology Technology](http://a.fsdn.com/sd/topics/technology_64.png)
South Africa's Telco Industry Calls For Tech Firms To Help Fund Infrastructure (reuters.com) 19
South Africa's telecoms industry body is pushing for digital content and service providers to help pay for the roll out of network infrastructure because they generate a huge part of the internet traffic. From a report: The Association of Comms and Technology (ACT) CEO Nomvuyiso Batyi said that the revenues generated by over-the-top (OTT) platforms and the continued success of the OTT model was dependent on the availability of high-quality, reliable and efficient network infrastructure. So "what we're saying is that the OTTs should contribute towards the network upgrades, the network building," she added. OTT platforms or services deliver digital content such as video, audio and messaging directly to consumers over the internet. "Fair share" arrangements ensure that OTT providers contribute to the costs of building, maintaining, and upgrading the infrastructure that supports their business.
raison d'etre (Score:5, Insightful)
They do contribute (Score:3)
It's called "monthly access fees" or whatever legalese is used in the service contracts.
Shouldn't periodic expansions and upgrades be considered the cost of doing business?
Re: (Score:2)
It depends if you think that internet access is a utility like electricity, i.e. that it's so essentially it should be cheap and available to everyone.
If so, clearly someone has to pay for the updates, and it can't be just the end user or it won't be affordable anymore.
That's basically the reasoning in the EU. Big internet companies make vast profits from it, so they should pay a little back to keep it cheap and good quality for the citizens who they profit from.
WTF (Score:1)
I say go back to your good buddies in China that you've made your bed with and let them build it for you. Turn your back on the west but beg for help now.
"Fair share" (Score:1)
The battle cry of the perennial freeloader.
Zombie Multicast? (Score:3, Interesting)
I like how the service providers are just flooding their routers with content for no reason and their paying customers aren't requesting it and receiving it.
"I know, we'll make somebody else pay for what we want!" - every socialist ever
Re: (Score:1)
South Africa will probably collapse in the next two decades. As slowly ineffectual as they are, the leading ANC (African National Coalition) party aren't the worst choice. The ANC are slowly loosing popularity to more extreme parties and as thing
Re: (Score:2)
It's not like Zimbabwe was an exception on the continent where this sort of shit is a norm when an outsider isn't forcing a different outcome.
Just like US slowly leaving European defense is slowly leading to conflicts among the old fault lines.
Geography is destiny.
South Africa is in trouble (Score:4, Informative)
Pretty sad.
two can play that game (Score:2)
in exchange for providing investments towards telecom infrastructure, content providers should demand funds to pay for the equipment that the telecom customers use. it is only fair.
Let's do it the other way around (Score:2)
Nobody wants an internet connection without some services to use and websites to visit, so how about we impose an extra tax on telcos to fund the tech bros instead?
Double-Dipping Ain't a Good Look (Score:1)
This is not unique to South Africa (Score:2)
Network providers in other countries are also attempting to get OTT providers to pay for "transit" across their networks to their own customers.
https://www.lightreading.com/b... [lightreading.com]
A general discussion about OTT providers in the context of carriers:
https://carritech.com/ott-tele... [carritech.com]
And a brief discussion about paying for transit, and partitioning the internet:
https://bgp.tools/kb/partition... [bgp.tools]
Re: (Score:2)
And a contemporary response to network providers wanting their "fair share": https://techcentral.co.za/andi... [techcentral.co.za]
Does the government need to manage the funds? (Score:2)
A country destroyed (Score:2)
Since it is South Africa what it actually means is the money bucket is empty therefore we need new suckers to fill it so we can all drive new Mercedes and build big mansions again whilst the countries infrastructure gets even worse. You can 't even call South Africa a 3rd world country as anything in Asia with that name is now so far ahead of SA in infrastructure and services it's laughable.
Get your house in order first. (Score:1)
I'll be over here in a developed country, pointedly *not* holding my breath.