Introduction
Hands up those of you here who know there’s a pill you can take – a digital pill - that can monitor your blood pressure, sugar and cholesterol levels and other aspects of your state of health and send an SMS message to your cellphone or your email, and directly to your doctor’s surgery electronically – and worse, to your spouse or partner who will sort you out for smoking or not sticking to your diet or not exercising?
Forget you passwords? For your cellphone or Ipad or computer or bank account? Well for most of us that’ll be a thing of the past! You won’t in the near future need passwords. Your fingerprint or eye scan or even recounting a song in your head (yes!) will give you access to your cellphone and other electronic gadgets.
Forget to switch on your alarm system at home? Don’t worry! You can use your cellphone to activate your alarm. And the computer in your fridges soon will be able to send a message to your cellphone to let you know that you have run out of milk!
And if you’re into downloading movies, legal though it may not be, you’ll soon be able to download the data from 240 DVDs in a second.
Many of you here will, and I found it so recently, that there have been three waves of connectivity. The first wave of connectivity involved connecting business and homes with wired Internet connections. The second wave was mobile user devices - laptops, smartphones, tablets - connecting to businesses and each other over wireless Internet connectivity.
Now we are in a third wave, which is expected to connect hundreds of devices that previously did not have such capabilities. It is “The Internet of Things”, driven by the spread of networks and the decreasing cost of connection. This includes cars, airplanes, medical machinery, personal medical devices, windmills, environmental sensors and natural gas extraction platforms.
As time passes, the costs of producing ultra-high-speed networks will decrease. Eventually, the average consumer will be able to download a high-definition movie in a second or play cloud-based video games without a hint of delay or lag.
By Cisco's calculations 80 "things" are coming onto the Internet every second of the day. At the moment over 10.5 billion objects are connected to the Internet, with projections estimating over 50 billion objects will be connected by 2020.
What, you might ask, has all this to do with us in South Africa? With the Old Gogo in Hlumayo or Orange Farm? Very much actually. Her prospects for improvements are increasingly going to be linked to the extent to which we are part of the global knowledge economy and information society in which ICTs play a crucial role, a role never played before. If we are to achieve our economic growth, development and job-creation targets, we will have to be connected, we will have to significantly improve our ICT capacity.
The world, make no mistake, is in the midst of a Digital Revolution. Just as the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions transformed the very nature of our society, so too is the Digital Revolution changing the very fabric of our society.
Today, as technology continues to change the way the world interacts, to be left out is to live in a separate world. We will either be swept aside by this Revolution or we can utilise our circumstances to further the growth and development of our country.
Information and communications technology (ICT) and the Internet are powerful tools for social and economic growth and this is particularly true in our current economic climate. It is said that a 10% increase in high speed Internet connection can lead an increase in economic growth of up to 1.38% for developing countries.
Particularly promising for governments is the opportunity to deliver better services to citizens through government.
Of course, while the wonders of technology may be open to many of us sitting here today, they’re not the reality for South Africans generally. And that is the challenge for us today. It’s a challenge that all of us, as government, the business sector, experts and civil society have to address.
The digital divide applies not just between countries, but within countries too.
As much as we have made significant advances since 1994, we have huge social inequalities in our society. The digital revolution has the potential to reduce these divides. But if not managed well, it also has the potential to increase the divides. We dare not allow that!
Growth of Digital Economy In South Africa
The growth of the Digital Economy in South Africa is significant, even if it does not presently benefit people equitably. Currently it stands at approximately R59 billion or 2 percent of South Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP). Agriculture contributes 2,1 percent to our GDP.
E-commerce is growing at 30 percent a year, with a significant potential for expansion when you consider that more people are coming online as a result of the increase in the use of smartphones.
The internet economy can reduce the gap between large and small businesses. Currently about 410 000 SMEs in South Africa have websites. The Internet Matters report by World Wide Worx indicates that SMEs with an online presence are more likely to be more profitable than those without. Of those with a website, 27 percent are strongly profitable, while only 11 percent of those without a website are. It is said that SMEs account for 7,8 million jobs in South Africa. It is suggested that 1,56 million jobs would be in jeopardy were it not for their online presence.
The youth are taking to the Internet Age enthusiastically. They’re certainly not waiting for government or industry. The South African Social Media Landscape report by World Wide Worx and Fuseware revealed that Facebook has become the largest social network in the country with over 9,4 million active users. This means that almost one in five South Africans is connected to Facebook.
The survey also reveals that most social networks are being accessed via mobile phones with 87 percent of Facebook users and 85% of Twitter users doing so. These figures suggest a connected future that we need to be geared towards. One of the biggest challenges facing our society today is youth unemployment. The effective use of technology is at least one way through which we can address this issue.
So what is the Department of Communications (DoC) doing to gear this country to the technological age?
Department Strategy and Plan
You can find our strategy and program on our website. Briefly our strategy:
- NDP, NGP and Mangaung Communications Resolutions provide the framework.
- A more effective DoC.
- Less fragmented and fractious ICT Sector.
- Realistic and realisable goals in programme for period until 2014 Elections.
- Firmer foundation for more effective service delivery in 2014-2019 term.
- Finalising the ICT Policy Review
So what are key aspects of the programme up till the 2014 elections?
- Broadband Policy, Strategy and Plan: There has to be significant and realistic progress in broadband becoming more extensive, affordable and speedier.
- Develop an Effective Spectrum Policy: A Spectrum Policy to facilitate the deployment of wireless technologies in support of universal access and economic development will be developed by March 2014.
- Furthering Reducing the Costs to Communicate: We have to sensibly and sensitively set a firm foundation for a further reduction in the costs of communication. The needs of the users and the service providers will both be taken into account. On 26 September we convened a pricing workshop as part of a consultative process on the cost-to-communicate. We are also engaging ICASA on their reviewing of Mobile Termination Rates.
- Beginning the Roll-Out of Digital Migration: The major stumbling block to progress are the disputes about whether the Set Top Boxes (STBs) should have “Control” or not. We brought the contending parties together by mid-September with a consensually agreed team of facilitators.
- Greater focus on the rural and other underserviced areas: The digital divide between the haves and have-nots needs to be reduced, and we are going to place much greater stress on delivering in rural and under serviced areas. We intend to connect 788 schools by the end of the financial year. This figure will be higher if our current negotiations with some of the operators on implementing their universal service obligations go well. SAPO has also committed to building 50 new post offices by the end of the financial year.
- Towards Greater Stability in the SOCs: The SABC and other SOCs and public entities in the ICT sector need to be made far more stable and effective.
- Corporatisation of Postbank: Among the key issues to be addressed are: the Postbank Amendments Bill and South African Post Office Amendment Bill that are before Parliament; and the finalisation of the licence issues and the Board members.
- ICT Policy Review: A National Integrated ICT Policy Green Paper will be ready within 3 months.
- National ICT Forum: A National ICT Forum bringing together government, the industry, trade unions, and other civil society role players will be held early in 2014.
- Community Media: There are about 133 licenced community radio stations which account for about 25% of the total radio listenership in the country. More needs to be done to support community media and the department will finalise a new Community Broadcasting Support Policy by the end of the financial year.
- Legislation: Of course, we recognise that the parliamentary terms are brief in view of the elections, but we hope that the 4 Bills before Parliament will be processed before the 2014 elections. These are the Electronic Communications Amendment Bill, ICASA Amendment Bill, South African Post Office Amendment Bill, and the Postbank Amendment Bill.
ICT Policy Review Panel
We adopted a White Paper on Telecommunications in 1996. That was 17 calendar years ago. But given the speed of the ICT revolution that was decades ago! So we are now working towards a new National Integrated ICT Policy Framework. The review was initiated to examine the policy and regulatory frameworks that apply to telecommunications, broadcasting, postal and e-commerce environments. A Green Paper will be out before the end of the year and we hope to have a White Paper by the middle of next year. A Panel comprising representatives of government, industry and other experts, under the leadership of Mr Joe Mjwara, is overseeing this process.
The Panel’s work is on-going. The figures I use here are drawn from their interim work and are not final, but what their work so far shows is that the market has changed since 1994 - the size of the market, the diversity of services and the service providers that are connecting South Africans. In the postal sector there are more than 200 operating entities. The monopoly of the Post Office is only in a reserved service involving letters that are no more than 1 kilogram.
In the telecommunications subsector more than 300 companies hold issued licences. In the fixed line business there’s Neotel, not just Telkom. In the mobile business there are four major operators. There are also hundreds of other licences as Virtual Mobile Operators and Internet Service Providers.
In the broadcasting area, the SABC is competing with eTV in the free-to-air television space. Both SABC and eTV are competing with Multichoice, Mnet and Top TV in the general television segment. There are more than 10 privately owned radio stations competing in the radio market in addition to the radio stations of the SABC. More than 300 community stations have been licensed and entered the radio broadcasting sector since 1994.
Revenues in the sector show dramatic increase. The telecom sector seems to have grown, suggests the Panel, from R8.2bn in 1993 to R157bn in 2012. The revenues of the Post Office increased from R4bn in 2006 to R6bn in 2010. Overall the Postal market now is about R10bn.
There are 800 000 ADSL lines in the country meaning more South Africans do not have internet connections than those who have. According to the ICT Panel, about 5 million South Africans do not have any broadcasting service. Mobile coverage still has to reach about 10% of the population, they suggest. Most of those who do not have services are in rural communities. The need to roll-out infrastructure to reach rural areas is therefore emerging as an important policy issue that we must attend to as an urgent matter. We must collectively come to some conclusion as to what type of a market structure we must put in place that will see the rendering of services in rural areas as important as delivering services in the urban areas.
Clearly we need to develop a market structure that is efficient and manages to deliver services in an inclusive manner while recognising the limited resources of the state.
The development of such a market structure will rely greatly on the role and nature of the regulatory system that will translate policy objectives into service delivery targets and licence conditions. We need a more effective regulator. The failure to enforce universal service obligations on the companies operating in the sector is one such big challenge. The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) sees inadequate resources at its disposal as an impediment that has to be addressed so that it can do all the work that needs to be done. The question therefore is how is ICASA to be funded? Beyond funding, an effective regulator requires knowledgeable and competent staff.
Research indicates that our peer countries have prioritised plans to roll-out broadband and other digital services. It will help, suggests the Panel, to determine strategies for the roll-out of new digital services in a manner that treats the deployment, access to and utilisation of these technologies as a utility similar to the supply of water and electricity.
The Panel stresses that South Africa needs a National eGovernment Strategy as a matter of urgency. Collectively as society we must come to some conclusion about priorities and implementation plans on this. We need a human resource strategy that will empower the public service to deliver services using the latest technologies.
There is a lack of coordination in government activities and programmes in the ICT environment. There are 36 national departments, there are about 156 provincial departments, there are 278 municipalities. There has to be discussion about the possibilities of citizens engaging with government online in a coordinated way.
The research has again shown that South Africans are generally paying more to access and use communication services compared to other countries in Africa. Cost to communicate is emerging as a fundamental policy issue that requires attention.
Access to the spectrum and other important infrastructure is emerging as also important policy issues. There are hundreds of licensed operators who need access to the spectrum and communications infrastructure in an environment in which the spectrum is limited.
There has been a shift in the way services are accessed and consumed. For example, mobile phones can be used to receive a telephone call and short message, internet, television and radio services. You can also use your phone to tell you where you are and what route to take to where you want to go. In a similar manner, your computer can perform all these tasks. Your television set will soon be able to rival these services. Convergence is now a reality. Whatever policy positions are adopted must be able to relate to this convergent world. It must also be flexible to adopt to the fast pace of technological changes that are evident without undermining the ability of the communications system to deliver to the needs of South Africans.
So whether you want cheaper phone calls and data or just more channel choices on your television, you should comment on this Green Paper.
Broadband Policy, Strategy and Plan
What about Broadband? Government has prioritised Broadband and we are currently finalising a National Broadband Policy, Strategy and Plan. There isn’t any finality yet, but we hope to have taken it through the Cabinet process by the end of November.
Just to mention a few tentative issues on which the Broadband Policy, Strategy and Plan Team are working:
- A possible definition of Broadband: “Always-on connectivity where the users can access the most demanding interactive content to meet their needs in real time. It will be enabled by a high-capacity ICT platform with the potential to enhance the variety, utility and value of services and applications offered by a wide range of providers, to the benefit of diverse users, communities and across all sectors of the economy.”
- Internationally, broadband target speeds range between 1Mbsps to 100Mbps. But given rapid changes in technology, even these speeds may soon become outdated. The policy will therefore set reviewable targets starting with a minimum. Targets will also be set for for the percentage of public institutions (schools, health facilities and municipalities) to be connected at broadband speeds by certain dates.
- The Policy will probably provide for Government as an anchor tenant through investment in key “user networks” starting from 2014/15 – schools and health facilities in particular.
- Consideration is being given to enabling the design and implementation of an Open Access National Backbone Network that will improve infrastructure reach, availability, affordability and use.
- There will also be a focus on promoting R&D, innovation and service and application development – including e-government to drive demand.
- Investment in skills at various levels to ensure readiness for uptake would also be important.
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It has to be recognised that broadband is an evolving phenomenon with constantly changing and expanding demands. The policy will seek to create enabling conditions for an advanced, universally accessible info-structure based on principles of:
- openness, to promote participation and innovation;
- policy certainty, conducive to public and private investment;
- institutional role clarity with the requisite capacity to perform functions;
- effective regulation of markets enabling fair competition and improved consumer welfare;
- service and technological neutrality;
- leveraging of new and existing infrastructure through coordination, integration and sharing of infrastructure at national, provincial and local level;
- recognition of the need for platform and service competition to promote innovation and drive down cost;
- accounting for local conditions, alignment of standards and practices to international and regional treaties/governance frameworks; and
- demand stimulation to promote equity and social and economic inclusion.
Digital Migration
Of course, a major challenge that we have to address urgently is digital migration. We are five years behind schedule and the ITU June 2015 deadline looms. We also need to release urgently needed spectrum for broadband services.
As explained, the facilitation process bringing the broadcasters together has begun. We hope it will lead to a measure of consensus so that we can move forward.
Cost to communicate
The cost of voice, sms and data remains high. And despite the increased usage in all three areas, the cost has remained so. Just last week we engaged both ICASA and the mobile operators to get their views on how to best reduce the cost to communicate. This is part of on-going work in this area. We are very keen to see the costs come down, not just in the interests of the poor and disadvantaged, but the economy as a whole.
Government needs your cooperation
In closing, I would like to congratulate Professor Andrew Forbes and Sandile Ngcobo from the CSIR for their excellent achievement in developing a Digital Laser system and beating international competition to transform the laser industry.
And to say too, once again, that government cannot do it alone. We need your cooperation to transform the ICT sector and ensure it contributes effectively to our economic growth, developmental and job-creation targets. Please participate in the public hearings on the National Integrated ICT Policy Green Paper. And play your role in many other ways too. We’re in the boat together.
