“If Section 63 of the CPA is deemed by the Commission to be applicable to the payment in advance for data and other electronic services, we predict that it will have the effect of driving up prices considerably. This at a time when both consumers and businesses need all the help they can get,” says ISPA joint chair Marc Furman. “Such a move would also have the effect of hampering the vital drive to create jobs and increase broadband penetration.

World Bank research has shown that in emerging countries there is a direct correlation between broadband penetration and gross domestic product. It is research like this that lies behind the July 2011 compact between the ICT industry and government to work together to achieve 100% broadband penetration by 2020.

The CPA was promulgated in April 2011 with the aim of providing South African consumers with a solid legislative framework that protects their rights against unscrupulous vendors. Section 63 regulates when various types of prepaid certificates, cards, credits, vouchers or similar devices expire. The prepaid device expires only when its full value is redeemed, or after three years if the full value is still not redeemed. Until the full value of the prepaid device has been redeemed, the unredeemed portion remains the property of the purchaser.

ISPA contends that Section 63 only applies to transactions in which some form of actual prepayment device (“prepaid certificate, card, credit, voucher or similar device”) is issued by the supplier. Payment in advance for bandwidth does not fall under Section 63 because there is no prepayment device which “holds” the value to be exchanged for services in the future. Rather, it is a simple payment in advance for future access to services, which is specifically excluded by section 63(1).

“In fact, once a consumer buys the bandwidth, it is immediately available for consumption and no further ‘device’ is needed to gain access to it,” says Mr Furman.

ISPA notes that if Section 63 of the CPA is deemed to be applicable to the payment in advance of data and other electronic services, it would imply that it could be applied to all payments in advance. For example, could a consumer who paid for parking in advance roll over the days she did not use the parking bay in one month into the following month?

“Internet service providers offer a variety of data bundles and it is up to consumers to choose the one that mirrors what they will use. The price is obviously linked to the amount of bandwidth the customer commits to purchase in the course of the month,” says Mr Furman.

ISPA urges ISPs to spell out the contractual details of each data bundle very clearly to consumers, explicitly stating when data does not roll over from month to month.

“Applying Section 63 of the CPA in this way to bandwidth would actually have the unintended consequence of disadvantaging consumers rather than protecting them,” Mr Furman concludes.

ISPA has run JINX since 1996 and the Cape Town Internet Exchange (CINX) since 2009. The organisation is currently selecting the company that will host the Durban Internet Exchange, DINX. This infrastructure has an enormous positive impact on the consumer’s Internet experience, although most South African Internet users are unaware of its existence.

Said Marc Furman, co-chair at ISPA: “The ISPA INXs have provided massive benefit to service providers, network operators and consumers over the years. They keep Internet traffic within the country, which results in faster response times between ISPs and reduces the congestion on international links.

“By connecting to these exchanges, network operators are also able to keep their costs down, which in turn enables them to provide their services to end-users at a lower cost. The growth we have experienced over the years across these exchange points has been staggering.”

One principle that ISPA has embraced since 2009 is that the exchanges should be open for non-members as well as members to streamline the exchange of traffic to the benefit of the entire industry. As such, even incumbent network operators are allowed to peer using the INX infrastructure.

The exchanges also give members a great deal of freedom in choosing who they peer with and how they do so. Although ISPA operates high speed switches at each exchange, INX users are not obliged to connect using the public switch fabric. They may run private links between their equipment at the exchange instead of using the ISPA switch.

“We take a hands-off approach to how ISPs and operators exchange traffic at each exchange. Most participants peer freely with everyone else connected to that INX but they are not obliged to do so. Some of the participants choose to only exchange traffic with a limited number of other parties,” said Furman.

Furman noted that the INX infrastructures in Johannesburg and Cape Town have enjoyed runaway growth in the past few years. More than 30 ISPs now connect to JINX and exchange more than 2.5 Gbps of traffic at JINX during peak times. CINX today handles more than 500 Mbps of traffic from 16 peering ISPs during peak times. With a sharp rise in mobile data usage and rapid growth in voice-over-IP traffic, traffic volumes at the exchanges will continue to grow sharply in the months to come.

This is the finding of the latest series of tests that ISPA has undertaken to ensure that all its members are reacting quickly to abuse reports they receive from other ISPs and the public.

The ISPA code of conduct demands that all members have a working, actively monitored abuse address to which customers, other ISPs and Internet users can report issues such as spam and phishing. The organisation regularly tests its members’ compliance with this clause of the code.

Testing is done by sending test messages to members’ registered abuse addresses, and tracking the responses. When these test messages bounce back or receive either no response or a slow response from the ISPA members concerned, those members are deemed to be non-compliant with the association’s code of conduct. A lack of a registered abuse address is also a violation of the code of conduct.

ISPA takes the fight against spam and phishing very seriously because they result in a higher cost base for ISPs and higher costs, security risks and a degraded experience for the end-user.

According to the code of conduct, ISPA members must not send or promote the sending of unsolicited bulk e-mail and must take reasonable measures to ensure that their networks are not used by others for this purpose.

They must also provide a facility for dealing with complaints regarding unsolicited bulk e-mail and unsolicited commercial communications, originating from their networks. They are also required to react quickly to any complaints they receive.

The results of the most recent test show a dramatic improvement in the responsiveness of ISPA members to complaints sent to their abuse addresses. Fifty percent of ISPA members responded within one hour to abuse reports, compared to 37% towards the end of 2010.

Some 63% responded within five hours (48% in the previous study) and in total, 71% had responded to the test emails. The final total was actually a 76% response rate (119 of ISPA’s 156 members) because 10 members registered a failed delivery and 27 simply did not respond to the test.

Only one percent of members had no registered address compared to 11% the last time compliance testing was done.

Brooks said that the regular compliance tests that ISPA undertakes help to keep members on their toes. The few that have still not fully complied with the Code’s prescriptions around abuse reports have been warned that they are not meeting ISPA’s requirements and asked to boost their service as soon as possible.

Working abuse addresses are global best practice and are expected from all ISPA members. ISPA will keep monitoring all members in the months to come to ensure that they deliver the level of service the public and industry deserve.

Marc Furman of Internet Solutions (IS) and Jaap Scholten of eNetworks will lead the management committee as joint chairs, while Mike Silber of Liquid Telecom is the treasurer.

Other members of the management committee include Graham Beneke (Neology), David Gentleman (Enyuka Internet Access), Rob Hunter (Neotel), Jenny King (e-Schools Network), Ant Brooks (Future Foundation), Wilmari Hannie (MWEB Connect), and Elaine Zinn (Future Foundation).

Said Furman: “We thank members of the management committee for the previous year for their service, particularly those that are stepping down. The management committee this year will follow the course they have plotted towards a more competitive telecoms market in line with ISPA’s mandate from its members.”

Scholten added that many of the regulatory building blocks for the South African Internet industry’s growth are now in place, but that ISPA will continue to lobby government, regulators and the telecoms industry to create a market that is fair and transparent to all Internet users and providers.

This year, ISPA will continue to push for ICASA to resolve the last few remaining roadblocks to a truly competitive industry, including the delays holding up the spectrum allocations needed for wireless broadband services as well as the slow pace of local loop unbundling.

The organisation will also continue to work with international ISP associations and local stakeholders to address global issues such as spam and child porn. Helping to nurture black-owned technology enterprises and supporting technology training in South African schools will also be priorities.

Formed in 1996, ISPA has historically served as an active industry body, facilitating exchange between the different independent Internet service providers, the Department of Communications, ICASA, operators and other service providers in South Africa.

Applying for ISPA membership is as easy as logging onto http://www.ispa.org.za/apply.

She has just won a Stars in Education award, an annual accolade for the unsung heroes of South African education awarded by publisher and multi-media communications firm Argo.

Stars in Education is an annual competition which recognises the achievements of teachers who have created a ‘bright spot’ story in the often dark landscape of education in South Africa.

Ragophala, from Pula Madibogo Primary School, in Limpopo, was earlier this year identified by ISPA as the teacher who best used her newly-acquired computer skills for the benefit of her community after participating in ISPA’s ‘Train the Teacher’ initiative.

Ragophala won the Stars in Education award for turning a former dumping site into a centre for orphaned and vulnerable children that features food gardens, a poultry farm, a herbal garden and other facilities. She also organised computer training for 25 community members to learn to draw up budgets.

“I am honoured to receive this award so soon after the recognition from ISPA,” Ragophala. “It is thanks to the support from the community that I have been able to achieve so much this year. It is wonderful to see so much support for the work we are doing at Pula Madibogo Primary School from the rest of country.”

Fiona Wallace Chairperson of ISPA’s Teacher Training working group, said: “We are thrilled that Mrs Ragophala has received more recognition for the excellent work she is doing for her community. It is through the efforts of dedicated professionals like her that we will be able to address the daunting social and economic challenges we face in South Africa.”

ISPA recognises the growing need for computer skills training, and the importance of computer-literate teachers. The Train the Teacher initiative was established in December 2001. To date, ISPA has successfully trained 2238 educators at more than 250 under-resourced and rural schools nationwide.

ISPA has set up a non-profit Section 21 company with the support of UniForum SA, WAPA and ISOC-ZA called IDEA (Investing in the Development of Enterprise Advancement) as well as a beneficiary fund called the Foundation for Internet Development.

These two entities will enable ISPA members to donate time, money and skills towards enterprise development and socioeconomic development.

They will be able to contribute towards the growth of black-owned ICT businesses through these vehicles in a manner that will benefit their broad-based black economic empowerment scorecards.

Said Jenny King of ISPA’s eDev Working Group, “ISPA is deeply committed to the growth of entrepreneurial Internet businesses in South Africa, particularly those owned by black-owned entrepreneurs. Through these new vehicles, we hope to seed the next generation of BEE technology entrepreneurs while helping our members to meet their scorecard targets.”

The Foundation for Internet Development is ready to start facilitating and accepting enterprise donations from ISPA members and is currently in the process of building its website.

ISPA members can support both projects through rendering professional services for free or at discounted rates as well as by donating money to the beneficiary fund. The Foundation will in turn make financial contributions to qualifying enterprises through grants, interest-free loans or minority equity investments. Any assistance provided by members will be claimable against a BBBEE scorecard for both Enterprise Development and Socioeconomic Development.

Ms Ragophala from Pula Madibogo Primary School in Limpopo was amongst eight finalists identified by ISPA as having best utilized their newly-acquired computer skills knowledge for the benefit of their communities after participating in ISPA’s ‘Train the Teacher’ Initiative.

The 10^th Anniversary of this initiative also saw two new awards presented for the first time. Fiona Wallace, Chairperson of ISPA’s Teacher Training Working Group, presented Sonnyboy Baloyi with the Trainer of the Year Award while Barbara Heron of Parktown Boys’ High School in Johannesburg, and Mmipe Mokgehle of Toronto Primary School in Limpopo, were named as ISPA ICT Champions.

The awards formed part of iWeek, South Africa`s premier Internet industry event, which ran for most of last week. The award winners received prizes such as laptop computers, Blackberry smartphones and all-expenses paid attendance at key IT conferences, boosting both their opportunities for personal advancement and their ability to offer training to their learners.

Recognising the growing need for computer skills training and the importance of computer-literate teachers, ISPA established ‘Train the Teacher’ in December 2001. To date, ISPA has successfully trained some 2238 educators at more than 250 under-resourced and rural schools nationwide.

The annual ‘Super Teacher of the Year’ Award invited educators to compete with projects through which they are promoting and developing computer skills in their own schools and communities.

Twenty-six projects were registered for the competition in the first phase of the awards. Each project was assessed according to the teachers’ use of newly-acquired computer skills in their own teaching practice as well as their use of their skills for the benefit of their colleagues, learners or wider community.

The seven Super Teacher of the Year finalists were Thembi Mathobela, Adelaide Madiba, and Alpheus Mogashoa, all from Toronto Primary in Limpopo; Phuti Ragophala of Pula-Madibogo Primary in Limpopo; Maoto Setaole of Mountainview Senior Secondary School in Limpopo; Judi Le Roux of Coffee Bay Christian Comprehensive School in Eastern Cape; and MJ Poopedi of Thokgwaneng Primary School in Limpopo.

ISPA’s Teacher Training programme this year has received support from a growing list of sponsors including Uniforum SA, MTN Business, Internet Solutions, Adept Internet, eNetworks, MWEB, Neotel, Avuxeni Computer Academy, Future Foundation and Switch Telecom.

These candidates will attend an awards ceremony held at iWeek, South Africa`s premier Internet industry event, on Thursday, 22 September where the Super Teacher of the Year will be announced.

In recognition of the 10th anniversary of the teacher training initiative, ISPA will also be recognising the 2011 Trainer of the Year, as well as three exemplary ICT Champions in South African schools.

The Super Teacher of the Year competition forms part of ISPA`s “Train the Teacher” project.The winners stand to earn prizes such as laptop computers, Blackberry smartphones and all-expenses paid attendance at key IT conferences, boosting both their opportunities for personal advancement and their ability to offer training to their learners.

Recognising the growing need for computer skills training and the importance of computer-literate teachers, ISPA established Train the Teacher in December 2001. To date, ISPA has successfully trained some 2238 educators at more than 200 under-resourced and rural schools nationwide.

The annual Super Teacher of the Year Award invited educators to compete with projects through which they can promote and develop computer skills in their own schools and communities.

Twenty-six projects were registered for the competition in the first phase of the awards. Each project was assessed according to the teachers’ use of newly-acquired computer skills in their own teaching practice as well as their use of their skills for the benefit of their colleagues, learners or wider community.

The finalists are Thembi Mathobela, George Mokgehle, Nthole Adelaide Madiba, and Alpheus Mogashoa, all from Toronto Primary in Limpopo; Phuti Ragophala of Pula-Madibogo Primary in Limpopo; Setaole J Maoto of Mountainview Senior Secondary School in Limpopo; Judi Le Roux of Coffee Bay Christian Comprehensive School in Eastern Cape; and MJ Poopedi of Thokgwaneng Primary School in Limpopo.

Said Fiona Wallace, Chairperson of ISPA’s Teacher Training Working Group: “Congratulations to these finalists, who are all applying their ICT skills training in innovative ways that are bringing real benefits to their communities. It is gratifying for us to see through the awards how Train the Teacher is helping teachers to develop their personal and organisational skills, knowledge and abilities. ”

ISPA’s Teacher Training programme this year has received support from a growing list of sponsors including Uniforum SA, MTN Business, Internet Solutions, Adept Internet, eNetworks, MWEB, Neotel, Avuxeni Computer Academy, Future Foundation and Switch Telecom.

Broadband Infraco joins a group of major industry players who are sponsoring the iWeek conference, which is co-hosted by Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA) and Uniforum SA, administrators of the co.za domain. The Diamond Sponsor is MTN Business, MTN’s business channel. Other sponsors are Vox Telecom, Liquid Telecommunications Operations SA, Avuxeni Computer Academy, Ad Dynamo, MWeb Business, NetDay Association, Switch Telecom, GTA and the Wireless Access Providers’ Association.

“Industry support of this kind indicates the importance of the conference as a vehicle for bringing the Internet industry together to explore challenging issues,” says Ant Brooks, general manager of ISPA. “This year’s conference is especially rich because we will also be celebrating several milestones: the 10th birthday of both the conference itself and the Teachers’ Training Initiative as well as ISPA’s 15th anniversary.”

The overall theme of the conference will be “How does the Internet change societies?” Confirmed speakers include David McClure, president and CEO, US Internet Industry Association on how the Internet has changed in 2011; Mxit’s Juan du Toit on why social networks represent the Internet’s largest impact on humankind; Lt-Col Juliette Whelpton of the SAPS on computer criminals of the future; School 2.0 activist Maggie Verster on how to turn Teachers 1.0 into Teachers 3.01; Ramy Raoof, online media officer at Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights on the Internet’s role in improving human rights; and Steve Song, founder of Village Telco, on Africa’s wireless future.

iWeek 2011 will take place on 21-23 September 2011 at the Royal Elephant, Eldoraigne, Centurion in Gauteng. “Thanks to our generous sponsors, entrance to the conference is free—but space is limited,” says Ant Brooks. “However, space is limited, so it’s essential to register now at www.iweek.org.za/registration.”

About Broadband Infraco

Broadband Infraco (Proprietary) Limited (’’Broadband Infraco”) is a new state owned enterprise (SOE) in the telecommunications sector, intended to improve market efficiency in the long distance connectivity segment by increasing available long distance network infrastructure and capacity to stimulate private sector development and innovation in telecommunications services and content offerings, as well as to provide long distance national and international connectivity to previously underserviced areas.

Website: www.infraco.co.za

Specifically, the legislature should retain the clauses that require marketers to get explicit ‘opt-in’ from consumers before sending them electronic marketing messages.

ISPA notes the claim that a strict opt-in approach would result in a loss of jobs in the market sector. However, the automated nature of sending email and SMS spam means that this claim holds no water. The cost of delivering bulk unsolicited email messages is carried not by spammers, but by ISPs and the recipients of spam. Email spam raises the costs of Internet services to the consumer and affects the profitability of the ISP business.

The Association said that laws such as the Consumer Protection Act and the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act in their earlier drafts demanded that companies get permission from consumers before sending them marketing material using electronic channels such as email and SMS.

However, the laws were finally passed with much weaker ‘opt-out’ provisions following aggressive lobbying by the direct marketing industry. These softer clauses have not proven to be in the interest of consumers, said Ant Brooks, General Manager at ISPA.

Brooks noted that an opt-in approach to regulating marketing communications means that companies may only contact customers with whom they have an existing relationship, or who have given permission to be contacted.

Opt-out marketing means that companies may contact any consumers and makes consumers responsible for notifying companies that they do not wish to be contacted. Consumers must either opt-out with each company individually or sign up for a national ‘do not contact’ register. This is clearly a flawed approach.

ISPA is sympathetic to the need for companies to be able to market their goods and services to customers using electronic channels, but remains firm in its conviction that the cost and inconvenience of unwanted commercial messages outweighs its benefit, said Brooks.

Brooks added that the most important voice in the “opt-in” versus “opt-out” debate is one that is largely being ignored: that of the consumer.

“ISPA believes that most consumers would prefer a strict “opt-in” approach to automated marketing tools such as bulk email and SMS,” he concluded.

As such marketing companies should not be permitted to “spam” large numbers of customers without their permission. ISPA urges lawmakers to take the needs of the public into account when debating the Protection of Personal Information Bill.