ADSL made easier

By Christelle du Toit for Telkom
Johannesburg, 23 Nov 2007

As of January, Internet service providers (ISPs) and value-added network services (VANS) providers will be able to troubleshoot their own Telkom ADSL lines.

Telkom`s Broadband Service Assurance Solution (BSAS) will enable ISPs to be the primary supporter of ADSL lines to their customers, with Telkom providing secondary assistance.

BSAS will offer ISPs and VANS the capability to:

* Check DSLAM port availability
* Check special restrictive resources
* Verify ADSL port status
* Check broadband status of distribution point
* Perform synch tests
* Compile synch statistics
* Perform port resetting and recreation
* Perform real-time testing of DSLAM ADSL port synchronisation with customer ADSL modem

According to Telkom, the solution will also speed up its delivery of new ADSL lines, as wholesale ADSL fault reports currently enter the same value chain used to deliver new installations.

From September 2006 to September 2007, Telkom experienced a 76.2% growth rate in the take-up of its ADSL lines.

Building bridges

ISPs and VANS have traditionally had a tumultuous relationship with Telkom, often complaining of long lead times to install ADSL lines.

Derek Hershaw, MWeb GM for operations, says: "Historically the roll-out of ADSL services in SA has been slow and there is growing pressure on Telkom to address this as the demand for broadband services increases.

He explains: "MWeb is currently in discussions with Telkom on this very issue, with a view to improving the overall service delivery associated with the provisioning of ADSL."

MWeb did not want to comment on any aspect of the negotiations until it has concluded its talks with Telkom.

Alan Bacher, manager of access solutions at Internet Solutions, says if it pans out as planned, the Telkom solution will be a "win-win" situation.

"At this stage, it can take anywhere from a week or two, to six months and even a year to get an ADSL line installed through Telkom," says Bacher.

However, he says the service side of ADSL lines is even more problematic, as ISPs` engineers currently have no insight into Telkom`s internal processes.

"Without access to their exchanges, we are very much blind," he says. "This could be real empowerment for our engineers and it`s putting the onus back on ISPs, freeing up the Telkom call centre space."