![\"Amith](\"http:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Amith-Maharaj.jpg\")
<\/a>Amith Maharaj<\/p><\/div>\n
Asked why there appears to be such a large lag between acquiring sites (4,000) and commissioning them (1,500), Maharaj said its a difficult road.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo put up a site, firstly there has to be backhaul,\u201d Maharaj said. This means ADSL or fibre, he explained.<\/p>\n
Then to get the service activated you have to co-ordinate with the owner for a suitable time to install the lines and wireless equipment.<\/p>\n
Maharaj said the challenge is that restaurants are always busy and having ladders standing around is a difficult thing for them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe other complication is getting the fibre to some of these places as well,\u201d Maharaj said.<\/p>\n
However, once it is installed, Maharaj said they operate a sophisticated network that\u2019s monitored end-to-end. This means they know when a Wi-Fi access point goes down even without it being reported.<\/p>\n
Using Telkom Mobile\u2019s Wi-Fi<\/h3>\n
To use Telkom Mobile\u2019s free Wi-Fi, users SMS the word \u201cfree\u201d along with their email address to 32707. This SMS costs R1. You will then receive a reply with an access code and a PIN number.<\/p>\n
According to Telkom Mobile, only one Wi-Fi voucher PIN code shall be provided to the requesting MSISDN (cellphone number) per day.<\/p>\n
In an FAQ issued by Telkom Mobile, the operator explained that users are allocated 60 minutes of consecutive access and that the free hour cannot be broken into shorter periods.<\/p>\n
Acceptable use policy<\/h3>\n
The FAQ also warns that users can be suspended for abusing the free Wi-Fi.<\/p>\n
Questioned about this, Maharaj said that they don\u2019t foresee that they will have congestion issues in the immediate future, implying that they do not foresee having to invoke their fair use policy.<\/p>\n
Maharaj said that they have deployed high capacity access points and use fibre backhaul at some of the sites.<\/p>\n
However, they have disallowed adult content on the Wi-Fi network, he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe prevent adult content from being accessed as far as possible,\u201d Maharaj said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to lead in data\u201d<\/h3>\n
\u201cFrom a data perspective we have the whole gambit now,\u201d Maharaj said, pointing out that in addition to a conventional mobile data network they also have an LTE-based fixed wireless network and now an extensive Wi-Fi network.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo it\u2019s a case of driving sales now and getting uptake,\u201d he added. \u201cWe want to lead in data.\u201d<\/p>\n
This article was originally published on MyBroadband.<\/a><\/h5>\nMore on Telkom<\/h3>\n
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