A plan by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) to conduct a survey on the impact of load-shedding on the ICT sector has been met with enthusiasm by telecom giants who say they won’t hold back on their horror stories.
The survey is expected to be followed by an inquiry and possibly new regulations aimed at easing the burden of load-shedding on the sector. Mobile network operators, particularly Vodacom and MTN, have spent billions of rand in recent years to ensure network availability during load-shedding, as the demand for data soars during blackouts.
MTN South Africa’s chief of sustainability and corporate affairs, Jacqui O’Sullivan, said the company will submit a response to Icasa as MTN continued to invest in backup systems that would not be required under normal conditions.
“Our network resilience is impacted by load-shedding, with a significant impact from theft and vandalism during bouts of load-shedding. This has been reported expressly and substantially for several years already.
“While MTN has taken steps to increase security and modernise and replace power infrastructure, the continued load-shedding does decrease the life expectancy of power equipment like batteries. At the same time there is a significant increase in operating costs.”
This is an important process as it also aims to introduce regulatory relief measures to offset the unprecedented burden load-shedding has imposed on technology-dependent businesses such as ours
— MultiChoice
She said the costs were increased by the need for additional fuel, and security that may not have been required in stable grid and socioeconomic conditions.
Last year, load-shedding caused extensive damage to ICT infrastructure and forced companies to set aside millions for items such as diesel for alternative energy during extended power cuts.
A Vodacom spokesperson said the cellphone network hoped the inquiry would help the authority understand the adverse impact load-shedding has on the performance of the network.
“We hope that these insights will persuade the authority to reconsider some of the stringent compliance requirements and provide relief for operators to allow them to prioritise network resilience across the country,” the spokesperson said.
Pay TV operator MultiChoice said Icasa's “proactive approach” was a valuable opportunity to contribute insights into the practical impact of load-shedding on our business”.
“This is an important process as it also aims to introduce regulatory relief measures to offset the unprecedented burden load-shedding has imposed on technology-dependent businesses such as ours.”
MultiChoice said load-shedding affected the ability of subscribers to watch content and lowered levels of customer activity, resulting in lower subscription revenues and hitting profits.
Icasa acting chair Yolisa Kedama said the inquiry would seek views on the regulatory relief measures it could consider for alleviating load-shedding's impact on the electronic communications, broadcasting, and postal services sectors.
In November, load-shedding escalated to stage 6, leaving households and businesses without electricity for hours at a time.
Liquid Intelligent Technologies South Africa CEO Deon Geyser said load-shedding had a huge impact on the ICT sector. The transmission of information and data over the internet was key to business and economic growth.
“Load-shedding has had immense and dire consequences for the sector, impacting the availability and reliability of telecommunication networks and adding costs to operators in the sourcing of alternative power and the maintenance and safety of critical ICT infrastructure,” Geyser said.
He said Liquid Intelligent Technologies welcomed Icasa’s inquiry and the opportunity to participate in the exploration of measures to alleviate its impact for the broader good of the South African economy and social stability.
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