(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 to 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 this regard; if so, (a) what is the requirement in terms of (i) technology and (ii) cost and (b) when will tenders be called for?