By Kathy Gibson, Satnac 2013, Stellenbosch – If South Africa is to benefit from broadband, we need to develop an environment of partnering where networks can be rolled out to all citizens and applications relevant to the majority of users are developed.
These are some of the key messages from a panel discussion at the Satnac 2013 conference in Stellenbosch.
While infrastructure deployment is key to getting broadband to the majority of South Africans, it’s not the end of the story, says Puleng Kwele, chief technical officer of Broadband Infraco.
She says that the many socio-economic benefits of broadband will only be felt when we have full digital inclusion, which can than unlock GDP gains.
Lambo Kanagaratnam, chief enterprise business officer at MTN, adds that broadband can only have an impact if people take advantage of it. “Getting the device into people’s hands and teaching them how to use it is important.
“For instance e-learning’s biggest challenge is introducing it to schools. Technology is an enabler, but the change in behaviour and getting access to affordable devices is the biggest issue.”
Bashier Sallie MD: wholesale and networks at Telkom SA, adds that while the affordability of devices is important, so is content.
“We have got to talk about content; about localising content and ensuring there is a community and public interest component. It’s going to be a huge job to localise content and services.”
Puleng agrees: “We can’t afford to import everything. We have got to be thinking about manufacturing things and creating jobs.”
Key to rolling out broadband, however, is a national infrastructure plan. “Everyone needs to get together, draw up a plan and understand what needs to be done,” says Kwele. “Only then can the policy-makers decide how to implement. I don’t think policy can do what it needs to do any other way.”
Kanagaratham, however, believes that any broadband plan must go beyond infrastructure. “Perhaps we can expand the effort into one that is larger and quicker able to deliver the benefits.”
The problem, says Kwele, is that while there is plenty of infrastructure in urban areas, this doesn’t extend to the rural areas.
“From policy point of view we need clarity,” she says. “Once we structure the market properly people can do what they need to be doing. It’s got to be about the entire value chain of broadband.”
Sallie agrees that collaboration is key. “Partnership is a crucial issue. We need to understand the strengths of each stakeholder. In a country like South Africa a happy mix of priorities and partnerships is what’s needed.”