The hospitality industry will be one of the key targets of the soon to be implemented National Broadband Strategy. A recent study by Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority (BOCRA) found that the hospitality industry must be urgently connected to high speed internet. The BOCRA report said the provision of internet to customers has become an inseparable part of service provision in the hospitality industry worldwide.
“Customers do not only need accommodation, but also assurance that they will be able to actively participate in the online arena through the use of high speed internet access,” read the report. BOCRA also recommended that all hospitality facilities should have universal internet access, with bandwidth that is capable of serving all their guests. A separate dedicated internet connection must be provided for premises which have conference facilities especially during events. The Botswana Tourism Organization (BTO) has also been urged to set clearly defined parameters for availability of internet at hospitality premises as one of the criteria to qualify for a license and grading of the facilities.
Facilities within the hospitality sector will be used to promote internet usage and increase broadband penetration in the country. While most of the hospitality facilities in Botswana are embracing provision of internet as a marketing tool to attract customers, there is still a need to avail information about various bandwidth packages. The BOCRA report, released in March, was instigated by complaints from various players in the national economy, who said low internet connectivity paints a gloomy picture for economic growth.
The BOCRA survey accessed aspects like availability of internet connection, internet bandwidth on offer, contracted internet service providers, quality of internet service provided, broadband internet pricing and average number of users. It covered 64 hospitality outlets in areas like Maun, Kasane, Ghanzi, the eastern corridor and the trans Kalahari highway. Key personnel like managers, IT officers and front desk attendants were interviewed. The survey found that most of the internet services were offered as a complementary to guests and used for daily operations like data transfer and online bookings.
81 percent of the 64 surveyed facilities provided internet while those that didn’t do so confessed that they often receive enquiries from customers. It was also found that some of the hotel facility managers were not even aware of the specification of the internet services they had purchased from ISP’s while others were under the impression that they were subscribing to the maximum bandwidth capacity whilst in fact they were being provided with bandwidths below the appropriate capacity.
The survey also found that service providers do not provide adequate support to clients as most of them are assisted through remote assistance to troubleshoot and resolve network problems. “Hospitality facilities have indicated that internet is generally slow during peak hours. Frequent power outage also cripple internet accessibility,” read the report. Others complained about unauthorised access to their network which leads to congestion as their guests have to compete for bandwidth with outsiders.
Others said high prices of internet packages on offer was a major hindrance for buying the appropriate bandwidth capacity. The entrance of Botswana Fibre Networks (BoFiNet) into the market is expected to exert downward pressure on internet bandwidth prices. The report found that there is generally high demand for internet in Botswana’s hospitality facilities which continue to attract international and local visitors on business and leisure purposes. Many ISP’s were found to be challenged in terms capability and capacity to effectively service their clients while most hospitality facilities offer expensive and low speed internet.
BOCRA also urged hospitality facilities to engage competent ISP and sign service level agreements with clear turnaround times and penalties for non-delivery. For its part, BOCRA would develop and monitor service delivery guidelines for ISP’s, facilitate deployment of infrastructure, embark on consumer education and awareness campaigns through targeted forums like Hospitality and Tourism Association of Botswana (HATAB). BOCRA would also write and publish a regulatory notice directing service providers to provide hospitality facilities with appropriate internet bandwidth. BOCRA will continuously monitor and ensure internet price reductions to ensure uptake of services. Botswana’s internet connectivity, speed and penetration rate are relatively low, even though the country is classified as a middle income country that has invested heavily in ICT infrastructure.
However, Botswana’s communications market has grown tremendously over the years, largely because of connectivity to high capacity infrastructure, technological revolution and convergence as well as competitive pricing and service offering. Despite access to international bandwidth through the undersea cables of the Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System (EAssy) and West Africa Cable System (WACS) there is still a challenge with last mile connection to end users.
