The Joburg Broadband Network Project (JBNP) has been delayed by about a month, owing to the "overwhelming" response to the request for information issued by the City of Johannesburg.
The city received 25 responses from companies wanting to participate in the project, which is estimated to worth about R500 million. The delay has also been compounded by the string of public holidays in April.
As a result, says Douglas Cohen, project consultant for ICT sector support at the Department of Economic Development, a shortlist of respondents will be delayed until next month. Those on the shortlist will be chosen to build demonstration networks to pilot technology solutions for the broadband network project.
In a letter to respondents, announcing the delay, the city advises that a terms of reference document, to guide the demonstration networks, is currently being developed. "It is expected that a briefing session (the date will be advised) will be held to discuss the terms of reference, including the evaluation criteria applicable, prior to constructing the demonstration networks," the letter states.
Following the building and evaluation of the demonstration networks, the city will draw up a shortlist of respondents for a request for proposals (RFPs), says Cohen.
But he warns that, while the City of Johannesburg has adopted an aggressive timeline for the project, it will be very thorough and careful when considering the RFP shortlist and ultimately announcing the winning bidder. This is to avoid a "Cape Town situation" - where the city is embroiled in a legal battle over its wireless broadband network project, stemming from technicalities in awarding the project to a consortium.
Smart city
The JBNP forms part of Johannesburg's strategy to move to a "smart city" concept, running off a mix of telecommunications technologies. The city, says Cohen, owns infrastructure to provide a telecoms platform, as well as a private telecoms network licence. It is this infrastructure that it plans to bring to the table for a private sector partner to develop solutions around.
A special purpose vehicle will most likely be established to facilitate ownership of the network, Cohen said earlier, adding that the exact project value has not been finalised. More clarity will likely emerge once the shortlisted companies have deployed their demonstration networks.
The city is looking at investing R100 million to fund the project, in exchange for R400 million from a partner. More clarity on the figures will be available once the demonstration networks have been deployed and the city is able to decide which mix of technology it will seek to use, Cohen explains.
Some of SA's major telecoms players are understood to have expressed interest in the project, including the likes of Telkom and Sentech.
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