It seems that the current high prices paid for internet connections and data transfers in South Africa will be with us for some time to come.

Rebecca Harrison reports from JHB

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa is looking for new ways to boost its international bandwidth to help slash sky-high tariffs for high-speed Internet access, a top government official said on Monday.

Deputy Minister of Communications Radhakrishna Padayachie told an Internet conference the existing SAT-3 submarine cable linking West Africa to the rest of the world and a planned cable around the east of the continent were insufficient to meet the broadband requirements of Africa's biggest economy.

"There are plans to look at investing in other options and to eradicate the problems of international broadband," Padayachie told the conference. He gave no further details.


South Africa relies mainly on the SAT-3 cable for international connectivity but the cable is controlled by state-controlled fixed-line operator Telkom, which consumer groups accuse of overcharging customers.

African countries are trying to ensure that the planned EASSy cable linking South Africa to Sudan via the east of the continent will not be controlled by a small clutch of companies, but this project has been blighted by delays and squabbles.

Padayachie said South Africa was still committed to EASSy.

Consumer groups say South Africans pay some of the world's highest phone and Internet tariffs, which inflate the cost of doing business, deter investors and impede the roll-out of communications to the poor.

IT entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth -- the first African in space -- said South Africa must find new ways of accessing bandwidth for high-speed Internet, either by laying another cable or building a satellite.


"I have watched the development of EASSy and while I think it is very important to bring the rest of the continent with us...I don't think that over the next 5 years South Africa's broadband needs should be held hostage to a complex international negotiation process," he said.

Shuttleworth -- who joined other international experts to advise President Thabo Mbeki on technology issues this weekend -- said that after years of poor performance, the government must now deliver on technology.

"The department has to be judged in the next two years in terms of execution. There is every reason to be unimpressed to date," Shuttleworth told Reuters on the edge of the conference.

Business and consumer groups have accused South Africa of dragging its feet on communication issues. A second national fixed-line operator was launched last week after a four-year delay but Telkom still has a monopoly on the so-called local loop network into homes and offices, and on the SAT-3 cable.


Esther Dyson, a U.S.-based venture capitalist who is also on Mbeki's panel of advisors, told the conference South Africa had spent too much time holding meetings but failed to make technology more accessible for its people.

"There is not enough of a sense of urgency (within government), there is not enough ambition to go and do these things."


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