Chapter 01 · 2006–2012
Breaking the bandwidth bottleneck
Between 2006 and 2012 South Africa gained new international capacity and new ways to distribute it. Submarine cables added routes to Europe and India, a national research network connected the universities, and commercial LTE began to reach ordinary users. This chapter sets out those changes and what each one did and did not do.
Key figures
These three figures do not share a basis. The first two measure individuals aged 15 and older; the third is the design capacity of a cable. Check the labels before comparing them.
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Individuals aged 15+ with internet access
15%
2007 · South Africa · percent of individuals aged 15+
A survey figure for individuals aged 15 and older. It cannot be placed alongside the household percentages used elsewhere on this site.
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Individuals aged 15+ with internet access
33.7%
2012 · South Africa · percent of individuals aged 15+
Drawn from the same survey basis as the 2007 figure, so the two can be compared with each other.
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SEACOM design capacity
1.28 Tbps
2009 · South Africa to Europe and India · Tbps (design capacity)
The design capacity published for the cable, not a measurement of the traffic it carried.
The routes out
The three cables serving South Africa in this period and the dates each entered service. Capacity figures are design figures published by the operator, not measurements of traffic carried.
Scroll the chart sideways, or open its data table below.
SAT-3 was already in service before this period. SEACOM and WACS added routes on different coasts. These dates record entry into service, not retail prices.
Sources: Government Communication and Information System SAnews
View data table: Submarine cables serving South Africa, 2006–2012
| Measure | Value | Year | Unit / population | Place | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SAT-3 | In service before 2006 | Before 2006 | Entry into service · Infrastructure | West coast | Government Communication and Information System SAnews |
| SEACOM | 2009-07-23 | 2009 | Entry into service · Infrastructure | East coast | Government Communication and Information System TENET SEACOM |
| WACS | 2012-05-11 | 2012 | Entry into service · Infrastructure | West coast | SAnews |
What happened
A network for universities
TENET and the CSIR signed a collaboration agreement in January 2008 to deploy and operate South Africa's research and education network. SANReN's national backbone was commissioned in December 2009 as a 10 Gbps ring connecting seven cities, and metropolitan fibre rings in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban were fully commissioned by 2010.
This network served universities and research institutions rather than the general public. It gave those institutions high-capacity links several years before fibre became common in homes.
Sources: TENET
More than one route
SEACOM went live on 23 July 2009. The South Africa Yearbook described it as a 17,000 km cable linking Southern and Eastern Africa with Europe and India, landing at Mtunzini, with a design capacity of 1.28 Tbps. The West Africa Cable System was formally launched on 11 May 2012 and added a route on the west coast.
Neither cable is evidence that retail internet became cheap. What they establish is that South Africa gained substantial new capacity and a second geographic route to Europe.
Sources: Government Communication and Information System SAnews
Faster mobile internet starts to spread
Vodacom launched a commercial LTE service on 10 October 2012, initially through 70 sites in Gauteng. Its integrated report records 601 sites by 31 March 2013.
LTE offered greater capacity and speed than the 3G services already in use. This closes the first period: international links were expanding at the same time that faster access was beginning to reach users through mobile networks.
Sources: Vodacom Group
Milestones, 2006–2012
The main infrastructure events of the period, with the organisations involved and the source for each.
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Research network
TENET and the CSIR sign the SANReN agreement
TENET and the CSIR signed a collaboration agreement in January 2008 to deploy and operate South Africa's research and education network.
Why this matters: It separates the history of research networking from ordinary retail internet. Universities needed high-capacity links for teaching, science and international collaboration before most homes had fibre.
Sources: TENET
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Submarine cable
SEACOM goes live
SEACOM went live on 23 July 2009. The South Africa Yearbook described it as a 17,000 km cable linking Southern and Eastern Africa with Europe and India, landing at Mtunzini, with a design capacity of 1.28 Tbps.
Why this matters: South Africa gained a major international route in addition to SAT-3. The company's stronger claims about resulting price reductions are recorded as company-reported and are not verified independently here.
Sources: Government Communication and Information System TENET SEACOM
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Research network
SANReN national backbone commissioned
SANReN's national backbone was commissioned in December 2009 as a 10 Gbps ring connecting Pretoria, Johannesburg, Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Gqeberha, East London and Durban.
Why this matters: Universities and science councils held high-capacity national links at a point when fibre was still rare in homes.
Sources: TENET
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Research network
Metropolitan fibre rings fully commissioned
Metropolitan fibre rings in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban were fully commissioned by 2010.
Why this matters: Research traffic could move at high capacity within the major cities as well as between them.
Sources: TENET
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Submarine cable
WACS formally launched
The West Africa Cable System was formally launched in South Africa on 11 May 2012. Broadband Infraco held 11.4% of its total capacity.
Why this matters: A second geographic route to Europe added both capacity and resilience. An internet connection depends on more than the last cable entering a house.
Sources: SAnews
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Mobile network
Commercial LTE service launched
Vodacom launched a commercial LTE service on 10 October 2012, initially through 70 sites in Gauteng. Its integrated report records 601 sites by 31 March 2013.
Why this matters: LTE offered greater capacity and speed than the 3G services already in use. Faster access was beginning to reach users through mobile networks rather than fixed lines.
Sources: Vodacom Group
Sources
- Government Communication and Information System South Africa Yearbook 2009/10: Communications Publication: · Accessed
- SAnews West African Cable System formally launched Publication: · Accessed
- Statistics South Africa Millennium Development Goals: Goal 8 Report 2015 Publication: · Accessed
- TENET Part II: Connecting universities, collaboration with government and developing IT capacity in higher education Publication: · Accessed
- Vodacom Group Integrated Report for the year ended 31 March 2013 Report page 27 Publication: · Accessed