Transcript Document

Update on NREN
developments in South
Africa
Progress and Challenges in Building National
Research and Education Networks In Africa:
A View from the Field
Philadelphia, 18 September 2005
Duncan Martin
CEO of TENET
Thank you to…
Internet2
for organizing this special meeting in
collaboration with IDRC, Network Start-Up
Resource Center, Partnership for Higher
Education in Africa
 For inviting me to participate

Carnegie Corporation of New York

for the grant to Internet2 that covered the
costs of my coming here
Tertiary Education Network of South Africa
2
What’s meant by:
“Research and Education
Networking”?
Tertiary Education Network of South Africa
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In the developed world:
ensuring that advanced networking traffic
is not disabled by congestion from
commodity-type traffic
developing next-generation networking
and applications in research and higher
education.
(Extracted from Internet2’s standard MoU with
international partners)
Tertiary Education Network of South Africa
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In Africa, south of the Sahara:
securing affordable Internet access for
universities and research institutions
special “holy cow” deals
 relaxed VSAT license conditions

enabling participation in collaborative
international research projects.
Tertiary Education Network of South Africa
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The TENET network
Inter-connects 100 sites of 40 institutions
165 Mb/s aggregate connection b/w
105 Mb/s dedicated Internet connection
via SAT-3 submarine cable
 tunneled connection to Géant

Provider/operator is TELKOM SA

Configured as a VPN within TELKOM’s
MPLS-enabled national IP network
Entirely paid for by user institutions
Tertiary Education Network of South Africa
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What’s changed since
the Internet2 Spring
meeting?
Tertiary Education Network of South Africa
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Awareness and resolve have
reached critical mass
Govt. determined to force telecom costs down


Even Pres. Mbeki has said so
TELKOM has reduced some prices
Independent Regulator


has criticized TELKOM’s broadband offerings
will regulate accordingly
Inter-country comparisons galore
Government intends to create and fund a
gigabit NREN

TENET is assisting
Tertiary Education Network of South Africa
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Second National Operator (SNO)
Shareholders’ agreement signed

Tata Communications (India) in control

PSTN license imminent

First service delivery in 1Q2006?
Questions about

access to submarine fibre

effect on the prices of basic services
Tertiary Education Network of South Africa
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Regional developments
Failure to improve connectivity to U of
Swaziland
SPTC (Swaziland) not willing to reduce
cross-border half-circuit charges
 TELKOM SA not willing to take an initiative

SARUA Fibre Study
Southern African Regional Universities Assn.
 Funded by IDRC and World Bank Institute
(Americo Muchanga)

Tertiary Education Network of South Africa
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TENET developments
Internet2 MoU to be signed today


Thanks to Heather Boyles, Ana Preston
Details of connection being finalized
First conversations with IEEAF
Participation in performance monitoring


SLAC Pinger beacon site
NLANR AMP site
IPv6 tunnel broker commissioned


/32 announced to OCCAID, Real
two sites have active connections and projects
IRC server commissioned
Tertiary Education Network of South Africa
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Tertiary Education Network of South Africa
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