Fixed-mobile is DECT in drag

Johannesburg, 31 Jul 2001

The Department of Communications says it did not expect to cause confusion with the use of the term "fixed-mobile" in the policy directions released last week.

[VIDEO]Cellular operators, politicians and assorted industry watchers were taken aback by the definition of fixed-mobile in the policy, which seemed to indicate that Telkom, the second national operator (SNO) and third national operator (TNO) would be allowed to encroach on the territory of MTN, Vodacom and Cell C.

"Fixed mobile means a service that will be provided by the PSTN [public switched telecommunications network] licensees by means of a communication device in a static or mobile environment, using fixed or mobile infrastructure or a combination, or any technology enabling such service to be provided," reads an explanation from the Communications Ministry.

But speaking on the first day of the African Communications and Technology (ACT) summit outside Pretoria today, Department of Communications director-general Andile Ngcaba said fixed-mobile was intended to replace DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Technologies).

[VIDEO]"Here is a mobile phone, you can use this mobile phone in Cape Town, in Durban, anywhere," he said. "GSM facilitated that. The same platform can be used for a limited mobility."

He added that fixed-mobile would be limited to small geographic areas, perhaps as large as a suburb, with Telkom, the SNO and TNO supplying telephones that are able operate anywhere in the suburb using a standard GSM platform.

"Let me repeat, cellular will have its own licence and it is separate from the fixed-mobile licence," he said. "These are two different licences. They should not really be seen as one, but the technology platform can be the same."

[VIDEO]He said that DECT technology was no longer in general use, and that GSM had become cheaper because of its massive worldwide penetration. The concern is to give consumers access to the cheapest available technology, and to give operators the opportunity to use any relevant technology to roll-out services. Ngcaba said it would be ludicrous to expect the new operators to string copper cable all over rural villages and under-serviced areas.

"I don`t think it would be fair to anybody," he said.

Industry watchers have suggested that the department use the term "fixed-wireless" to prevent confusion, but Ngcaba said the term would not be correct, as fixed-mobile is not simply concerned with replacing last-mile cable with radio transmitters. "We need to allow a certain level of mobility; it cannot be fixed to a place," he said.

[VIDEO]Operators, analysts and investors have been clamouring for clarity on fixed-mobile. JSE-listed M-Cell, which is a probable bidder for a fixed-line licence and is also the parent company of MTN, lost R6 billion in market capitalisation last week. Dealers say the sell-off resulted from a lack of clarity in the market about what the implications were for M-Cell subsidiary MTN.

The M-Cell share lost 16.4% between Wednesday and Friday`s closes. It ended the week trading at R14.50, having opened last Monday at R17.75.

Although the share recovered slightly yesterday, it was trading at R14.20 in early afternoon trade today, 50c or 3.4% lower than yesterday`s close.