WAPA

The following goals have been identified by the WAPA management committee and will be WAPA’s main focus in 2010:

1. Spectrum: Light Licensing Strategy ; Getting spectrum allocated for
use by WAPA members

2. Awareness: Promoting Wireless ISP services to the wider public ;
Roadshows to attract more members

3. Self-regulation: High Site Training and Enforcement

4. Services to members: National coverage map and area list; Quarterly
newsletters; Vendor sponsorships

5. Co-operation with the ISPA on events and activities; collaboration on
regulatory issues

6. Membership Growth: Goal of 100 members by June 2010

Wireless networks are popping up all over South Africa, with an estimate of 500-800 unlicensed networks out there at present.

WAPA understands that many of the wireless service providers are small and it could be argued that getting licenced is a costly operation for a small business but the new licensing framework is very clear about the need for an ECNS license to operate network infrastructure.

The Wireless Access Providers’ Association (WAPA) believes that it is in the industry interest that all service providers are properly licensed and can assist with this process by applying to ICASA on their behalf for the required licensing needed to provide wireless access services.

WAPA currently has 69 members, of which 5 are NPO’s. 2009 saw a 75% growth in membership, with 29 new members being signed up, some of whom were already licenced. WAPA has so far assisted with 22 licence applications, with 8 submissions completed, 11 still in process, and 3 on hold.

Once WAPA receives the new membership application, the licence application is submitted to ICASA within a few days of receiving all the necessary information and documents. According to regulation, ICASA has a total of 60 working days to consider the licence application, following which the applicant is deemed to have been registered. WAPA is concerned that ICASA is taking longer than the ECA stipulates and have communicated this to ICASA.

WAPA’s current fee of R2 500 (excluding VAT) for a class ECS and ECNS application for new members is set to increase to R3 500 (excluding VAT) as of 1 March 2010. The increase is attributed to delays in the awarding of licenses by ICASA, resulting in a substantial increase in the administration process.

WAPA advises that unlicensed wireless access providers make use of the window period before the 1 March 2010 increase in fees. Enquiries can be directed to info@wapa.org.za or 082 458 1656.

The 2010 Management Committee was elected at the 2009 WAPA AGM on the 4th of December at Asara, Stellenbosch.

Photos of the event

Elected 2010 Management Committee:

* David Jarvis
* Eugene van der Merwe
* Henk Kleynhans
* Justin Spratt
* Nicola Smith
* Leon Botes

WAPA will be hosting its Annual General Meeting on Friday, the 4th of December, from 14:00 – 17:00, on Asara Wine Estate in Stellenbosch.

The event is open to members only. There will be giveaways sponsored by our equipment vendors, as well as discounts offered to all members attending.

On the agenda are activities accomplished in 2009, as well as goals and focus areas for 2010. We will present our Light Licencing strategy and the Open Spectrum Alliance will be represented by Steve Song. The new Management Committee for 2010 will also be elected.

All WAPA members are most welcome and we look forward to seeing you there. If you have not received the invitation formally via our members’ mailing list, please RSVP asap.

It’s the third time lucky, perhaps, for ICASA, as it makes another attempt to publish a workable set of quality of service standards, as required by section 69 of the Electronic Communications Act 2006.

These regulations, setting out the minimum standards for end-user and subscriber service charters, came into force on the 8th of September, 2009. The regulations have twice previously been published and after an Inquiry into whether the existing regulations should be amended, repealed and rewritten, the outcome was published together with the new set of regulations:

http://www.ellipsis.co.za/end-user-and-subscriber-service-charter-regulations-2009/

The problem with the regulations are that most of its obligations, sourced specifically from old Mobile Network Operator (MNO) licences issued under the Telecoms Act, have very little relevance at times to anything else, and are now intended to cover the entire industry from fixed DSL to hotspots to VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) to FWA (Fixed Wireless Access), etc.

This one-size-fits-all approach is not a good idea, as it leaves a lot of room for future disputes, which in turn is not good for consumer protection (assuming that consumer protection is the intention of the regulation).

Furthermore, in many ways, Fixed Wireless Access is not like GSM / MNO. The Wireless Access Providers’ Association (WAPA) is concerned that the subscriber service charter was designed for MNO, but now seems to be forced on WAPA members who don’t use the same technologies.

It may be that differentiating between broad categories of service is problematic for ICASA, or that it is in fact not very concerned with the FWA market, and in not understanding our industry as well as we do, the question is raised whether the FWA market should self-regulate with the support of ICASA. We know what our technologies are realistically capable of.

WAPA as a collective represents the second biggest fixed connectivity provider in SA. WAPA membership, currently comprising of over 60 service providers and providing services to an estimated 50 000 consumers, is focused on using open standard wireless technologies.

WAPA member technology is the logical choice for under-serviced areas and has a proven track record in these areas. WAPA also works with registered equipment suppliers to promote the enforcement of type approval regulations by such suppliers as well as its members. Their Code of Conduct focuses on wireless activities, an enforcement process, certification and training and WAPA members also have a forum for sharing knowledge and resolving technical problems.

With the support of ICASA, self-regulation is the best way forward for the FWA market, with WAPA being ideally positioned to be an interface between the government regulator (ICASA), network operators, service providers and consumers.

A new Spectrum Analyser supporting 1 MHz to 9.4 GHz is now available to WAPA’s Johannesburg membership. The SPECTRAN® NF-5030 & HF-60100 V4 will be kept at Scoop’s Johannesburg office.

This particular Spectrum Analyser:

1. has a high sensitivity (-155dBm) and low Noise Floor, which is advantageous to have for long range measurements and/or when the receive signal is weak.
2. supports narrowband signals and takes into account the modulation scheme of the signal: Wifi / WiMAX, Video signals, etc.
3. has an 80 times faster sampling time than the average hand held spectrum analyser.
4. has a vastly improved “spurious free dynamic range”
5. has improved filters and excellent bandwidth resolution which is important for distinguishing signals on adjacent channels.
6. has a faster battery charging than previous models.

Please note that use of the spectrum analyser requires that you have attended a WAPA spectrum analyser course. You can contact WAPA to apply for borrowing the unit.

The Wireless Access Providers’ Association (WAPA), sent out an advisory to its membership today, advising members to stop using 5600 – 5650 MHz spectrum because of interference with C-band weather radar systems.

This advisory follows an investigation by the Open Spectrum Alliance (OSA) into spectrum which may be feasible to demonstrate an industry self-regulation model through lite-licensing spectrum for terrestrial point-to-point wireless links in the 5.9 – 6.1Ghz range.

In discussions with the South African Weather Service, OSA found that wireless access providers are currently causing interference with C-band weather radar systems.

C-band weather radar is used for measuring rainfall, flood prediction, aviation safety, storm tracking / prediction, civil and industrial disaster mitigation as well agricultural and environmental management.

WAPA and the OSA would like to encourage more transparency in the use of frequency spectrum in South Africa. Spectrum is a national resource and it is in the interest of all citizens that spectrum be used as efficiently as possible. There is a need for greater public awareness and education around spectrum resources in South Africa.

Spectrum has gone “from coal to gold” in the last few years. With 300 new ECNS licensees, many of whom will be providing fixed wireless access services, national spectrum resources will be under added pressure. Positive dialog, cooperation and a new approach to spectrum management is needed.

Open Spectrum Alliance partners currently include the ISPA, WAPA, The Shuttleworth Foundation and 24.com. Simply stated OSA is a grouping of parties with an interest in seeing more bits moving: wider network coverage, more connected citizens and more online transactions.

The 10th of June, 2009, marks the first meeting of the Open Spectrum Alliance (OSA), a multi-disciplinary grouping of parties with a shared interest in working towards greater efficiency in the allocation, assignment and use of radio frequency spectrum in South Africa.

The OSA workshop will include guest speaker Steve Song, from the Shuttleworth Foundation, an overview of the current status of RF spectrum regulation in SA by WAPA Regulatory Advisor Dominic Cull, and an overview of Spectrum challenges in South Africa by Ronnie Seeber from Motorola.

WAPA and the Shuttleworth Foundation are founding members of the OSA, but the OSA is looking to rapidly grow support for progressive spectrum assignment models. Please get in touch with WAPA if your organisation would
be interested in supporting the OSA initiative.

WAPA is looking to employ or contract somebody who can help with technical and wireless operations management. This person must be neutral (not affiliated to a network operator) and independent. At the moment it’s a part-time position and focused on the Western Cape area.

Position: Operations Manager, part-time
Office location: Cape Town
Reporting to: WAPA Exco
Permanent / Contract: Negotiable, 5 days a week, half-day, 8:00 to 12:00
Required Start Date: ASAP
Renumeration: In the range of R5 000 per month, depending on experience
WAPA will also provide a mobile phone and petrol allowance

Summary of position: As WAPA’s Ops Manager you will be involved in all technical areas of running a non-profit industry representative body. You will need to coordinate and cooperate with members and partners. Candidates should have a strong wireless networking background and should be passionate and pro-active about improving the state of wireless networking in South Africa.

Responsible for:
* Highsite management policies
* Enforcement process
* Code of conduct
* Certification and training
* National coverage map

Must:
* Be Independent (neutral)
* Have own car and driver’s licence

Skills and knowledge required:
* Interference mitigation
* Wireless equipment, antennas, RF planning
* Internet, email and PC skills
* Technical writing skills

Personal Attributes:
* Good listener
* Integrity, Energy, Intelligence
* Excellent communication and writing skills
* High attention to detail
* Self motivated quick learner
* Proactive, problem solver

Bonus Attributes and skills:
* Interest in the telecommunications regulatory environment
* General interest in technology and internet services
* Training background

Please contact WAPA if you are interested in the position. We’ll respond and ask for your CV. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

WAPA is proud to announce the results of the third annual WAPA industry survey. The first survey was conducted in November 2006 with the formation of WAPA and has been done annually in November since then.

WAPA as a collective represents the second biggest provider of fixed service telecommunication infrastructure in South Africa today as well as the second largest group of telecommunications licensees. Note that the figures below are only a snapshot of industry data collected from WAPA members.

WAPA estimates that there are over 700 wireless providers operating in South Africa, the majority of which are not yet WAPA members. WAPA estimates the total number of fixed wireless subscribers to be in the order of 60,000.

Summary of results:

• Date: November 2008
• Respondents: 23 WAPA members
• Total WAPA members: 44, 33% growth
• Fixed Wireless Subscribers: 12 841, 57% growth, estimated split: 62% consumer market, 38% business market
• Annual Revenue: R55m, 4% growth
• High Sites: 860, 10% growth
• Staff Employed: 375, 40% growth
• Schools and social responsibility projects: 329, 71% growth
• HDI/BEE status average: 44%, 76% growth

General observations:

The 2008 survey for the first time included Wifi Hotspot subscribers, estimated at 20 000+.

Total revenue grew conservatively even though total subscriber numbers grew by 57%. The majority of subscribers in this year’s survey is residential. This reflects a trend towards more cost effective access for consumers.

Coverage areas expanded with a steady growth in the number of high sites and there was impressive sustained growth in employment and social responsibility projects.

The WAPA membership made very good progress in meeting and exceeding ICASA’s HDI/BEE ownership guidelines.

The majority of WAPA members indicated that licenced or lite-licenced (shared) spectrum should be a strong focus area for WAPA in the next year. The membership also expressed strong interest in building a collective national coverage map.

The full survey results are available to WAPA members.