3. The SKA, ICT access, and social dynamics in the Karoo area
3.6 Responses to ICT Interventions
Understanding the role of private sector ICT actors sheds light on local perceptions and social dynamics. Firstly, public perceptions are characterised by a lack of trust in SARAO and commercial service providers’ relationship. Reductions in access to commercial providers are attributed by local communities to interventions by SARAO. In 2009, MTN signal was lost across Brandvlei and surrounding areas, spurring local communities’ negative perceptions.
The role of tendered ICT contractors is also salient. In 2014, a contract was awarded15 for making provision for 300 stations to be installed. Research revealed differences in perception about these installations, with different facts reported by the SARAO and local farmers, respectively.
In contact, farmers held the following perceptions of the new infrastructure:
At the end of the tender period (two years), 176 installations were reportedly established, some outside of the originally defined geographic area:
■ The farming community already has access to a WiFi system through HantamNet that is cheaper than the proposed new product.
■ Top-up data is too expensive for the community.
■ Agri-workers can only obtain access to the service if the landowner subscribes to the service. Access for agri-workers through installing a building or shed close to the primary phone is not seen as sufficient.
12 Butler (2018: p. 112)
13 Butler (2018: p. 111–112); See also Sondlo (2016).
14 SKA SA (2016: p. 7)
15 Bid awarded with specification of services, online at
https://www.sarao.ac.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/ba_ska_n0001_0004_2014.pdf
■ The dependency of the agri-worker on the landowner is seen as unfair. Agri-workers cannot afford the service and are therefore dependent on the landowner for access.
By the end of 2019, the service provider had installed 277 of the 300 units.16 However, they also had a 40% cancellation rate (111 contracts) of this service during the same period.17 In the consultation between ASSAf and the LAG, users complained about poor service and the absence of intervention by SARAO to assist.
Another potential solution explored by SARAO was a trunked radio connection through a tender awarded in 2016 to ALTECH ALCOM MATOMA, a division of ALTECH RADIO HOLDINGS (Pty Ltd)18. The farming community also did not respond well to this initiative. The issues raised include:
■ Agri-workers would not be able to use the system on a pay-as-you-go basis and will be dependent on the landowner to use the service.
■ Agri-workers would, in most cases, not obtain a device.
■ Restrictions would be placed on the number of devices that can be made available to a particular farm (one for the landowner and one for the agri-worker). The farm owner would have an option to buy additional radio devices at the bid price if more were needed at the farm.
■ End-users would cover the operational costs. The number of users would thus determine the fixed costs per user. The small number of users would not be able to maintain the system in a cost-effective manner.
■ The service would be restricted to mobile voice and limited data.
■ PTT (Push to Talk) communication was considered impractical for contacting users unfamiliar with this mode of communication.
■ Area coverage would be restrictive.19
Notably, the information submitted to the panel by SARAO differed substantively from the information gained from farmers, among other things:
■ 370 VSAT units have been installed as of August 2020. In a recent cancellation report produced by VOX at SARAO’s request, 85 contracts had been terminated – with a small fraction being as a result of poor service (as indicated in the notice of cancellation). The top three reasons for cancellation were: 1) Service no longer required; 2) Bad debt and 3) Relocation;
■ Pay-as-you-go will be available on the mobile system;
■ Mobile devices will be made available to agri-workers on a per-farm basis;
■ The radio network runs on a subsidised basis, with end-users paying market-related costs and SARAO subsidising the difference (therefore, a small number of users would not impact the costs incurred by the end-user).
The divergence between the perceptions of farmers and the information provided by SARAO raises three points: 1) further research would be required to establish the state of play in the field, 2) there is a gap in communication between the two groups, and 3) the status of ICT infrastructure has become politicised in the public sphere.
16 Information supplied by the SKA SA.
17 Information supplied by VOX: In 2015: 28, 2016: 39, 2017: 7, 2018: 14, and 2019: 23.
18 Bid awarded with specification of services, online at https://www.sarao.ac.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/ba_ska_n0004_0004.pdf 19 Copy of Telecommunication specialist’s investigation into the effect that SKA’s RFI restrictions has on the community’s communication
Perhaps the most exciting and promising ICT interventions have emerged from collaborative efforts by farmers to develop and implement their own private communication systems.
Two systems have been established: one in the Brandvlei region (HantamNet) and one in the Carnarvon region (Telkom broadband). These allowed farmers to secure connectivity through a process that they could control.
Table 7: Private sector ICT solutions
Service provider HantamNet Telkom broadband
Economic model Non-profit Non-profit
Operations The entire Hantamnet network consists of 65 high sites, servicing approximately 265 farms or clients over a geographical area of 60 000 - 65 000 km2.
Farmers collectively extended the current HantamNet service to a broader area by erecting towers at the cost of R60 000 per tower. The connection is then distributed via 10 antennas to cover 68 farms over an estimated geographical reach of 180 km2.
Two Telkom broadband registered lines serve this section of the farming community. The connection is distributed via antennas to cover 12 farms over an estimated geographical reach of 60 km2.
Cost Monthly contract service:
R250 – 40 GB;
R350 – 60 GB;
R535 – 100 GB.
Data supplied in the Swartkop settlement is available on a pay-as-you-go basis at R20 per GB for 30 days.
Uncapped Internet at R500/month (non-profit service).
Number of individuals benefitting
Over 100 individuals use the HantamNet supported service that is utilised by the broader Brandvlei community.
Swartkop have 30 users per month, down from 50 registered cellphone users in 2015.
12 households.
Average monthly data usage (upload and download)
Between 60 GB and uncapped.
Swartkop users range from 2 – 6 GB/
month.
1 TB.
Period of the availability of services
Brandvlei – since April 2012 Swartkop – since November 2017
Since 2010.
Reason for establishing the services
Need for agricultural, business and personal use.
In the Swartkop settlement, it is currently the only means of communication.
Cancellation of other Telkom services.
Cellular signal declining and erratic.
Given the key characteristics of a local agency, proven effectiveness, and alignment with the expressed needs of farmers, it is arguable that the Hantamnet model could provide
valuable insights into the way forward for ICT interventions in the Karoo area. The extension of similar networks, owned, operated, and controlled by farmers, would cultivate autonomy, local capabilities, and effective ICT solutions.