RCCP I and II: an overview

1. Introduction

The launch of the South African National Research Network (SANReN) project in 2006 marked the first significant venture of National Government into direct support for research and education networking in South . Welcome as this was, however, it was clear from the outset that many years would pass before all university sites were connected to this network. It was also clear that, if only for technical reasons, the urban sites of universities would be the first to benefit. This manifestly threatened to deepen an existing digital divide, and to mitigate this, Universities , at that time operating as Higher Education South Africa (HESA), and the Tertiary Education and Research Network of SA (TENET) jointly proposed to the DHET a programme of supplementary connections for rural sites of universities. HESA’s purpose of the Rural Campuses Connection Project (RCCP) was to improve broadband connectivity of rural or remote university campuses to the SANReN. It was believed that increased internet access would improve teaching, learning and research capability, thus eliminating the gap of internet access between campuses located in well-resourced metropoles and their more remotely based counterparts.

In October 2010 the DHET responded with a grant to HESA of R28 million for such a programme. HESA thereupon contracted with TENET for the execution of this programme, under the oversight of a project steering committee that included representatives of the DHET, HESA, SANReN, TENET, and the Association of South African University Directors of Information Technology (ASAUDIT).

1.1. RCCP I

This first phase of RCCP connected, over the course of four years, 22 sites. The aggregate increase in bandwidth is illustrated in Figure 1. All beneficiaries reported positive outcomes from the new connectivity, with some characterising it as transformative.

The project was not without shortcomings. In retrospect, three issues stand out sharply. First, the decision to require (modest) co-payments from beneficiaries as a contribution to the cost of the technical connection, was probably a mistake, based on an over-interpretation of the DHET's grant letter; it led to a good deal of resentment, especially since SANReN connections were not similarly burdened. Second, the Figure 1. Average increase in bandwidth to beneficiary sites, 2010-2014 meaning attached by the project to the word “rural” was criticised by some institutions as arbitrary and artificial. Third, and perhaps most important, the project made no attempt to assist beneficiaries in using the new capacity for organisational purposes, nor did it address the general weakness in technical capacity available at or for the campuses connected, itself a consequence of poor connectivity over many years. The independent evaluation of the project judged the project a technical success but regarded the lack of attention to capacity development as a notable shortcoming.

1.1.1. List of sites completed in RCCP I

RCCP I sites

Institution No of sites

Cape Peninsula University of Technology 1

Mangosuthu University of Technology - Main Campus + 1 2 Tshwane University of Technology 1

University of KwaZulu-Natal 1

University of Limpopo - Main campus + 2 3

University of South Africa 5

UNISA/VUT shared site 1

University of Venda - Main campus with failover path 2

University of Zululand 2

Vaal University of Technology - Main Campus plus 2 2

Walter Sisulu University 2

Total 22

During the closing phases of the project, TENET and HESA (as it still was) began planning for a second phase and in late 2014 submitted a proposal to DHET for funding to extend and complete RCCP I.

1.2. RCCP II

In March 2015 DHET approved a grant to HESA of R71 million for a programme to connect 57 sites over four years. This project – inevitably termed RCCP II – included a significant capacity development component, embracing both technical and organisational capacity. The design of RCCP II attempted, as far as possible, to take account of lessons learned from RCCP I; thus the objectionable co-payments for technical connection were abandoned, even though it was made clear from the outset in RCCP II, that operational and maintenance (O&M) costs for the new connections would be paid by the project for a limited period only -- after which the beneficiary institution would have to carry such costs. Energy was focussed on preparing sites both technically and organisationally to benefit from the new bandwidth, and many project processes were streamlined.

Beneficiary institutions have taken over O&M payments as and when required, although some withdrew some of their planned connections because they would not be able to pay the O&M costs in the long run.

From a capacity development perspective, during RCCP II, a total of 881 individuals, drawn from 25 out of the 26 public universities, were reached with development training in either technical or organisational capacity areas between 2016 and 2019.

RCCP II is now in close-out stage and formal evaluation will follow in the coming months. A happy number to report is that the second phase has already connected 102 sites and in many cases replaced RCCP I wireless circuits with optical fibre.

1.2.1. List of sites completed during RCCP II

No. Phase Area Site Description Institution

1 1 Mamelodi UP Mamelodi UP 2 1 Mamelodi UP Mamelodi (diverse connection) UP 3 1 W Cape George Campus (nursing school) CPUT 4 1 W Cape George Municipal Hospital (UCT George Student UCT Residence) 5 1 W Cape George Campus UNISA 6 1 W Cape Khayelitsha Clinic UCT 7 1 W Cape Hanover Park Clinic UCT 8 1 W Cape Lentegeur Psychiatric Hospitals UCT 9 1 W Cape Community Health Clinic UCT 10 1 W Cape Vanguard Community Health Clinic UCT 11 2 W Cape Dentistry Faculty UWC 12 1 Kwa-Zulu Natal MUT Main Campus (Neotel 1 Gbps) MUT 13 1 Nelspruit Agincourt: Agincourt Main (Project Office) WITS 14 1 Nelspruit Agincourt: Agincourt Lab WITS 15 1 Nelspruit Acornhoek: Wits Rural Facility: Lodge WITS 16 1 Nelspruit Acornhoek: Wits Rural Facility: Caravella (part of the WITS WITS Rural facility Lodge at Acornhoek) 17 1 Nelspruit Acornhoek: Tinswalo Hospital WITS 18 1 Nelspruit Pullens Farm WITS 19 1 Nelspruit Diverse route (failover) UMP 20 2 Nelspruit Nelspruit Campus UL 21 1 Kwa-Zulu Natal Newcastle Campus UNISA

22 1 W Cape Saldanha Military Academy SUN

23 1 W Cape Vredenburg Hospital (to be shared with the house UCT site) 24 1 W Cape Vredenburg House UCT

25 1 Limpopo Vuwani Resource Centre UNIVEN 26 1 W Cape Worcester CPUT 27 1 W Cape Worcester Rural Clinical School SUN 28 1 W Cape SATVI Clinic UCT 29 3 E Cape Environmental Biotechnology RI RU 30 3 E Cape UFH-Hunterstoun Research Centre UFH 31 3 N Cape Upington Campus VUT 32 4 Eastern Cape King Williams Town NWU 33 4 Mpumalanga Graskop NWU 34 4 KwaZulu Natal Port Shepstone NWU 35 4 Free State NWU 36 4 Free State Bethlehem NWU 37 4 Northern Cape Upington NWU 38 4 Eastern Cape Bisho NWU 39 4 Eastern Cape Mthatha NWU 40 4 Mitchell's Plain District Hospital UCT 41 4 Eastern Cape Mhlakulo Community Health Centre WSU 42 4 Eastern Cape Settlers Hospital WSU 43 4 Eastern Cape Frontier Hospital WSU 44 4 Eastern Cape Baziya Clinic (bundled with Nkulukweni) WSU 45 4 Eastern Cape Nkulukweni (bundled with Baziya) WSU 46 4 Eastern Cape Mbekweni Community Health Centre WSU 47 4 Eastern Cape Butterworth (bundled with Madwaleni) WSU 48 4 Eastern Cape Madwaleni (bundled with Butterworth) WSU 49 Eastern Cape Dr Malizo Mpehle Memorial (bundled with HC, SB, SE WSU 4 and ) 50 Eastern Cape Holy Cross (bundled with DMMM, SB, SE and WSU 4 Madzikane) 51 Eastern Cape St Barnabas (bundled with DMMM, HC, SE and WSU 4 Madzikane) 52 Eastern Cape St Elizabeth (bundled with DMMM, HC, SB and WSU 4 Madzikane) 53 4 Eastern Cape Madzikane (bundled with DMMM, HC, SB, SE) WSU 54 4 KwaZulu Natal MUT Main Campus (failover circuit) MUT 55 4 North West Klerksdorp NWU 56 4 Kwazulu Natal Vryheid NWU 57 4 Western Cape Mbekweni Clinic UCT 58 4 Western Cape Paarl Hospital UCT 59 4 Eastern Cape Stanford Terrace Community Health Centre WSU 60 4 North West Lichtenburg NWU 61 4 KwaZulu Natal Empangeni NWU 62 4 Northern Cape Kimberley NWU 63 4 Limpopo Giyani Campus (NWU) NWU 64 4 Eastern Cape Queenstown NWU 65 4 Limpopo Tzaneen NWU 66 4 Mpumalanga Witrivier NWU 67 4 Northern Cape Kuruman NWU 68 4 North West Vryburg NWU 69 4 KwaZulu Natal Ladysmith NWU 70 4 Western Cape Oudtshoorn NWU 71 4 KwaZulu Natal Mkuze NWU 72 4 Northern Cape Okiep/Springbok NWU 73 4 Eastern Cape Matatiele NWU 74 4 Limpopo Mokopane NWU 75 4 Eastern Cape Lusikisiki NWU 76 4 Kwazulu Natal Somkela AHRI 77 4 KwaZulu Natal Murchison Hospital UKZN 78 4 Eastern Cape All Saints Hospital (bundled with Mqanduli) WSU 79 Eastern Cape Mqanduli Community Health Centre (bundled with All WSU 4 Saints) 80 4 Eastern Cape Rietvlei Hospital (bundled with St Patricks) WSU 81 4 Eastern Cape St Patricks (bundled with Rielvlei) WSU 82 4 Mpumalanga Bosbokrand NWU 83 4 Mpumalanga Elim NWU 84 4 Eastern Cape Ngangelizwe Community Health Centre WSU 85 5 Kwa-Zulu Natal Greys Hospital - PMB UKZN 86 5 Kwa-Zulu Natal JG Crookes District Hospital UKZN 87 5 Limpopo Mankweng Hospital UL 88 North West Nngaka Modiri Molema Regional Training Centre SMU 5 (on Lehurutshe Hospital campus) 89 North West Student Accommodation SMU 5 (on JST Hospital Rustenburg campus) 90 North West Student Accommodation SMU 5 (on Moses Kotane Hospital campus) 91 5 Kwa-Zulu Natal Ukulinga Research Farm UKZN 92 5 Limpopo UL Polokwane Residence UL

NB: The list above stops at 92 because there have been delays affecting six others, due to varying issues per site. These should still be resolved shortly. The remaining four sites in Polokwane were previously existing sites which only converted from wireless to fibre technologies during RCCP II.

1.3. RCCP project sites in relation to the SANReN network

The red line depicts the SANReN network to which all sites have been connected. The coloured dots, scattered throughout South Africa, demonstrate the RCCP penetration, essentially to all corners of this country, including Upington in the least populated Northern Cape.

The RCCP Overview is a contribution to USAf by the TENET Chief Executive Officer, Mr Duncan Greaves.