Short-listed bidders will soon begin deploying demonstration networks as part of the Joburg Broadband Network Project (JBNP), which is part of a strategy to turn Johannesburg into a "digital city".
The 11 successful applicants for the estimated R500 million project are: Altech, Dimension Data, Ericsson, Goal Technology Solutions, MTN, MWeb/Tellumat, Neology, Telkom, Transtel, Sentech and Vodacom.
The JBNP is envisaged to run off a mix of telecommunications technologies. The city owns infrastructure to provide a telecoms platform, as well as a private telecoms network licence. A private sector partner will develop solutions around this infrastructure.
Douglas Cohen, project consultant for ICT sector support at the Department of Economic Development, previously said the short-listing process was delayed due to the ICT industry's overwhelming response to the tender. The City of Johannesburg said it received 25 applications for the project.
Cohen says the next step is for the short-listed companies to build demonstration networks that showcase the features of their solutions.
"What is important is that the city is looking for a demonstration of the technology. The city is looking to fully investigate newer areas such as powerline technology and they would form a key part of the demo phase."
The communication providers need to show the city what they promised in their proposals, he says.
He adds that the city will meet with the short-listed organisations to discuss the demonstration process and issue terms of reference. However, he did not indicate when this would happen.
The communications providers will fund the three-month demonstrations, Cohen says, adding that no sites have been selected yet.
Cohen says companies that are successful in the network demonstration process will be asked to respond to a request for proposal (RFP). Following that, the city will select its private partner(s) for the broadband network project. The final RFP is planned for early 2008.
He previously warned that, while the City of Johannesburg has adopted an aggressive timeline for the project, it will be 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, he said.
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