R Padayachie: BMi-T Digital Cities Forum 2006

5 October 2006

The speech was read out by Mr Elliot Sibeko, Director of Space Applications
and Satellite Communications at the Department of Communications.

Programme Director,
Industry leaders in Africa and the world,
Chief Executive Officers of ICT corporations and companies,
Members of the three spheres of government,
Distinguished delegates and guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,

Last year we were here in November we asked ourselves questions about
advancing the deployment of broadband in our cities and municipalities. We
agreed on the economic benefits or the value of broadband in our cities and
municipalities. We went away thinking about the next step that we were to take.
We went away thinking and wondering about how we would take the step that comes
after that, the legal and regulatory framework.

Out of the swamp or fog of combined thought and deliberation, I believe the
big dream is now being born. We are seeing more and more that citywide
broadband networks, initially for own use and thereafter as a service to the
community have increasingly being deployed in cities such as Johannesburg,
Tshwane, Cape Town, eThekwini, Ekurhuleni, Knysna and others. The way forward
is to take one step at a time, one city, one municipality, step-by-step towards
the dream.

Infrastructure and cost are at the heart of the matter. It is not a clich�
to say that Africa is now an intrinsic part of the global village. We are
affected and touched by globalisation. In order for us to take hold of the
benefits of being part of the world economic system, telecommunications must be
a central part of our picture for growth, for development and progress. In all
this access is crucial.

Access must also be affordable. There must be the capacity to receive,
download and share information through electronic networks. We must be able to
publish our news and distribute it effectively. We must have the freedom to
communicate freely across boundaries and allow the large majority of men, women
and our children to take advantage of the bounty of knowledge that the
information revolution has given us.

We have come back from Tunis and the struggle continues. Aluta continua, for
us the post-Tunis struggle has to be about our ability to harness the benefits
of modern technology. The struggle is also about the respective roles that each
of us must play in the construction of our information society. This includes
the dissemination of all information, the internet, radio, print and
broadcasting. We therefore wish to affirm and encourage all city management to
see themselves as activists who are at the heart of the transformation of our
country and our continent.

Convergence has created the reality of new multimedia products and services.
We no longer have the separation of media as happened in the early decades.
Consequently, we have prepared ourselves for this multimedia future by
introducing a number of strategic interventions that would bring about the
required structural transformation. After government had led a very exhaustive
public information and consultation process, we arrived at a point where as the
Department of Communications, we were able to achieve two important
objectives:

1. A complete overhaul of the legislative and regulatory framework that
culminated in the passing of the two landmark Acts, the Electronic
Communications Act and the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa
(ICASA) Act.

2. The establishment of Universal Service and Access Agency of South Africa
(USAASA) as the State-led body to assist us to meet all our universal service
obligations. USAASA will be responsible for building and setting up community
based centres where internet provision and computer skills development will be
undertaken within those communities that are regarded as under-serviced.

While having to keep its eye on providing the optimum environment for the
deployment of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) in the
country, the government has had at the same time to keep its pulse on the
unfolding of operational issues in the ICT sector.

Two years earlier President Mbeki made the call for the necessity that we
lower the cost of doing business in the country, and improve the
competitiveness of our country. Our response as a department was the
announcements by the Minister to liberalise the sector and thereby introduce
competition and improve competitiveness.

And so we are very proud that our new baby, NeoTel, is now taking her first
steps towards the achievement of the objective to reduce prices and allow
competition in the sector. The licensing of Value Added Network Service
Providers (VANS) is intended to allow more space for internet penetration and
competition so that prices may go down and that more of our people get access
to broadband. In an attempt to give the necessary technical support to the
uptake of broadband, the Minister has established a Broadband Advisory Council
(BAC). Their mandate is to cover and make recommendations on a number of key
areas which once implemented should enable us to have the proper broadband
infrastructure in place.

Infrastructure

Adequate infrastructure is crucial for sustaining developments in the
sector. The Department of Public Enterprises is presently engaged in the
construction of a fibre-optic backbone to be used for accessing affordable
broadband. The Sentech Wireless Broadband infrastructure is to be expanded in
pursuance of the same objective. In order to ensure affordable access to
international ICT infrastructure, the country is investing in the New
Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) initiated East African Submarine
Cable System (EASSy).

The greatest investment in any telecommunications infrastructure remains the
"last mile" to the customer's premises. Government has actively been involved
in discussions with Telkom, since it is imperative that the "last mile" should
be available to enhance broadband to the home. Cities have an important role to
play in the provision of broadband.

The exciting prospect before us is that the key market drivers are in place.
Number one, there is a definite shift to broadband in fact the world is going
broadband. Our country is going broadband and if we are to be economically
competitive and be part of the world global society, we must go broadband.
There are over 123 million broadband customers worldwide. Secondly, audience
demand is great since people are demanding user-centric services. Finally,
customers are looking for reliability of service, a trusted partner to help
guide them through the major transitions they are facing. This is where I urge
municipalities and cities to position themselves.

Having set the scene for success and the challenges broadband faces, I wish
to congratulate BMi-T for organising this forum and for providing an important
platform from which we can interrogate the issues, share experiences and make
broadband not only a commercial success but a tool for the development of all
our people.

May the proceedings be successful and challenging so as to make this a truly
memorable experience.

Thank you!

Issued by: Department of Communications
5 October 2006