SA's contribution to the Net Mundial conference on Internet governance will focus on lowering communication costs in a bid to bridge the digital divide.
This is according to Gabriel Ramokotjo, chairperson of the Gauteng chapter of the Internet Society - which runs the Johannesburg hub participating in the conference.
Net Mundial opened yesterday at the main meeting venue in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo. The conference focuses on cyber security, privacy and freedom of expression online, and concludes later today.
Ramokotjo says the Johannesburg hub - based at the ZA Central Registry offices, in Midrand - will note SA's cost challenges when it addresses the Brazil meeting this afternoon.
"We have some of the highest prices when it comes to accessing the Internet on the continent and yesterday's meeting included members of the business community who also noted that our economy stands to gain if more people are part of the Web ecosystem," he says.
New governance forum
According to Ramokotjo, talks are under way to establish a South African forum to address Internet governance beyond Net Mundial.
"Yesterday's meeting gave us a platform to start having governance-specific discussions related to SA. We will be having this Internet governance forum meeting by September," he says.
Attendees also noted Internet connectivity as a right, says Ramokotjo, and accessing it should be recognised as "a tool for human development".
A total of 23 countries, spread across all continents, are participating in Net Mundial, including the US, the UK, India, Indonesia and Australia. Nigeria and Kenya represent Africa along with SA, and more than 30 remote hubs have been established across the nations.
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