STAATSKOERANT, 24 JANUARIE 2014 No. 37261 only started operations in 2006. Infraco, a wholly state-owned company, was licensed to provide wholesale services. The biggest municipalities have acquired class licences and deployed infrastructure for selfprovision. Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban started the trend that is now popular with other municipalities. There are a number of other infrastructure companies that have started operations providing fibre optic infrastructure to licensed operators. 5.3.2 Fixed Market Dynamics According to a BMI-T study commissioned for the fixed-market sector, South Africa is characterised by stagnation. There has been a decline in fixed connections as more and more customers substitute fixed services for mobile services. Fixed-line penetration grew from 9,2% in 1993 to 10,7% in 1998, but since then it has steadily declined to 7,9% in 2012. This decline is expected to continue as the uptake of fixed lines decreases. The fixed-line broadband market show signs of stagnation. Research also indicates that the cost for broadband packages is higher than the cost of mobile broadband. There are less than a million ADSL subscribers. The revenues of the fixed-line sector also indicate stagnation. At an infrastructure level, the gap remains in local access networks. International connectivity is provided by three submarine cables. The national long distance network covers 50 000 kilometres and there are significant metro-area networks. It is significant that today 84% of South Africans reside within 10 kilometres of a fibre node. The available infrastructure can be leveraged to connect all South Africans to modern communications infrastructure and services.The regulator has consistently dealt with the wholesale side of the cost to communicate. The deployment of fixed broadband infrastructure to close the access gap will require significant investments in the fixed-line environment. Regulatory certainty is necessary to draw the level of investments required. 5.3.3 Mobile There are four operators in the mobile market. Vodacom and MTN were licensed in the early 90s as new entrants in the then state monopoly environment. Cell C was licensed in 2001 as part of the introduction of new players. Telkom Mobile came about after the sale of Telkom shares in Vodacom. In addition to the four licensed operators, Virgin Mobile started as a Mobile Virtual Network Operator in 2006. 5.3.3.1 Mobile Dynamics The Mobile sector has shown consistent growth over the past 10 years. According to BMI-T report of 2013, the mobile sector has achieved 136% penetration and is well poised to play a much more significant role in providing mobile broadband services to a majority of South Africans. Research indicates that this is a global phenomenon as mobile technologies mature to offer services that rival fixed-line services. Some operators have complained about the roaming rates that are imposed on new entrants if they want to use the infrastructure of established operators. Research indicates that the price South Africans pay for services are high, compared with other markets. The Mobile Termination Rates are also high by international standards even 39 This gazette is also available free online at www.gpwonline.co.za 43