Question 798
Ms MR Shinn (DA) to ask the Minister of Science and Technology:
(1) Whether, in light of securing a position as a significant stakeholder in the international astronomical research community, any steps have been taken to determine the high-speed communications bandwidth needed by South African researchers and their offshore research partners to maximise the investment made in the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) at Sutherland; if so, (a) what steps, (b) what is the bandwidth required, (c) who determined it, (d) how will it be provided, (e) what will it cost, (f) when will infrastructure development on this communication link start, (g) who will be involved in working out the needs of the research programmes, and (h) what is the deadline for putting their requirements on the table; if not,
(2) Whether there are plans in place to determine the bandwidth required; if not, why not; if so, what plans;
(3) (a) when is the telescope expected to operate, and (b) what impact will it have on the research programmes of South African astronomers and Salt’s offshore investors if the required communication infrastructure is not in place at the end of 2009;
(4) Whether the communication bandwidth requirement for the (a) Karoo Array Telescope (MeerKAT) and (b) Square Kilometre Array (SKA) have been included in her department's budget for infrastructure development; if not, what is the position in the regard; if so, (a) what is the requirement in terms of (i) technology and (ii) cost and (b) when will tenders be called for?"
Reply:
1. (a) The South African National Research Network (SANREN) has commissioned Telkom South Africa Ltd to provide a 155 Mbps link from Cape Town to the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT). The connection to SALT is part of the current SANREN budget. The connectivity between SALT and Cape Town terminates at the Centre for High Performance Computing (CHPC). The link from CHPC to the South African Astronomical Observatory will be completed as part of the greater Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality connectivity roll-out.
(b) The bandwidth requirement as determined by the SALT researchers indicated that the 155 Mbps link will be sufficient for at least five years.
(c) The bandwidth requirement was determined jointly by the researchers and the SANREN design team.
(d) The connection will be provided by Telkom South Africa Ltd on a long-term lease for five years, after which the requirements will be reassessed. The link will be on existing Telkom optic fibre infrastructure.
(e) The cost is within the budgeted amount of R10 million for the SALT connection.
(f) Telkom's feasibility study was expected by the end of August 2009, after which construction will start. The requested completion date is December 2009.
(g) Future bandwidth requirements will be determined jointly by the researchers and the SANREN design team.
(h) 1 December 2009.
2. The bandwidth requirement determined by the SALT researchers indicated that the 155 Mbps link will be sufficient for at least five years. The SALT requirement will be reassessed after four years. The connection will remain part of SANREN.
3. (a) SALT has undergone an extensive period of commissioning and analysis which has revealed the need for corrective action with its very advanced optics. This is currently under way using technology not available when the project began, and should be completed before the end of the year.
(b) The delivery of data to the SALT partnership will be compromised if sufficient bandwidth is not available by the end of the year, and this would significantly impact the participation in the final commissioning stages by our international partners. This may also reflect negatively on South Africa's ability to host international infrastructure.
4. (a) SANREN has budgeted for the termination unit capable of satisfying the South African SKA science and technology demonstrator, MeerKAT and the terminating unit located at the SKA office in Cape Town. However the budget did not include the optical fibre connectivity requirements between the MeerKAT site near Carnarvon and the Cape Town office, via the most suitable SANREN node located in Cape Town.
SANREN has requested additional funding to connect the MeerKAT site to the network.
(b) No budget has been provided for the SKA bandwidth requirements.
(c)(i) MeerKAT and KAT conservatively need a 10 Gbps service. The full SKA needs in excess of 100 Gbps.
(ii) Current estimates are that the costs will be in the region of R80 million rand.
(d) There is currently no indication when tenders will be called for.
Issued by: Department of Science and Technology
25 September 2009
