The implementation of phase one of the Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services' (DTPS') digital development pillar of the SA Connect broadband policy is still in the "draft technical specification stages", says the department.
For the 2015/2016 financial year, the DTPS plans to roll out the first phase of the digital development pillar, which aims to provide broadband connection to schools, health clinics and eight municipal districts where national health insurance is being piloted. The districts exclude Gauteng and the Western Cape, which have their own projects.
As part of the implementation of phase one, the department set out to connect 1 296 government facilities in the eight districts. However, the DTPS says it has only developed draft technical specifications for its plans to provide connectivity to the district municipalities.
Only the beginning
For the current financial year, the DTPS was allocated R200 million to begin connectivity in the eight districts.
According to the department's deputy minister, Hlengiwe Mkhize, the DTPS has only developed "draft technical specifications taking into consideration the infrastructure and technologies available" for phase one of the digital development plan.
Mkhize says the DTPS has recognised there is a need to re-align and integrate the provincial broadband plans to those of the SA Connect programme. "This will ensure rapid deployment of infrastructure."
"Provincial structures are crucial for driving implementation of the provincial broadband plans as part of the integrated plans and will support the DTPS project management office in the facilitation of the programme rollout," Mkhize adds.
SA Connect has four pillars: digital readiness, digital future, digital opportunity, and digital development.
ICT commentator Adrian Schofield says it is disappointing that plans to roll out broadband in the eight districts have not progressed beyond draft technical specifications.
"These eight districts were to be the demonstration of the DTPS' commitment to connecting South Africans to the high-speed broadband network. All they have demonstrated is a snail's pace achievement of something that should have been completed in days. By now, the installations should have been completed," he notes.
According to Schofield, the DTPS and its service providers must "get off their butts and take action".
"It does not take this long to make no visible progress. I would be ashamed to report such minimal progress if I was the department," he says.
The next step
Phase two of the digital development pillar aims to cover the entire country and will focus on providing broadband connection services in the remaining 44 municipal districts. This will see 2 296 connected government institutions and 1 572 connected schools by 2017/18.
According to the DTPS, a business case has been developed and submitted to National Treasury to request funding of the second phase of the digital development plan.
"The implementation of phase two is envisaged to begin in the 2016/17 financial year," says Mkhize.
In terms of the digital development pillar, government aims to catalyse broadband connectivity by providing access to broadband to 50% of the population by 2016 and 90% by 2020, notes the DTPS.
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