9 Program Implementation Telecommunications is a catalyst for socio–economic development. Lack of service in the rural areas is hampering the development of those areas. The people living in the rural areas are also desperately in need of telecommunications services. The rural telecommunications program shall be implemented in the most timely, efficient and cost effective manner possible. The implementation of the program shall also be in line with the envisaged further liberalisation of the telecommunications sector. 9.1 Introduction of Competition The implementation of the rural telecommunications program shall seek to introduce competition in the provision of telecommunications infrastructure and services. In line with current government procurement guidelines, an open tender process shall be used to select the best service provider for each rural license area. 9.2 Cost Effective Solutions When rolling out telecommunication services, optimum network deployment practices in the areas of economics, topology and environment conditions, shall allow service providers to be more efficient and effective. In order to achieve this, the principle of cost effective and logical technological solutions shall be adopted. Associated technical and business plans shall make economic sense and allow for the level of service the rural areas need. Notwithstanding infrastructure exclusivity, the best approach to further minimize costs is to leverage what is available and to share resources wherever possible. The costs of providing separate infrastructure could be prohibitive in the short to medium term. In order to reduce costs and to utilize the scarce resources to their maximum capacity, it is recommended that network infrastructure shall be shared where possible. A fair, equitable, and transparent mechanism shall be introduced through licensing framework. The rate structure for the rental of space on the infrastructure shall be prescribed by the regulator. In order to take advantage of global pricing and to minimize operations and maintenance costs, only standardized solutions shall be acceptable. In addition, there are physical infrastructure specifications that must be followed to ensure the network is robust and operates with minimal down time. All the Rural Telecommunications Strategy 26 October 2006 22