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Broadband for all starts with policy

Bonnie Tubbs
By Bonnie Tubbs, ITWeb telecoms editor.
Johannesburg, 02 Sept 2013
For society and the economy to benefit from broadband, a national plan is imperative, says Robert Pepper, vice president of global technology policy at Cisco
For society and the economy to benefit from broadband, a national plan is imperative, says Robert Pepper, vice president of global technology policy at Cisco

Having a national broadband plan is not just a case of formatting formalities - it is crucial to the practical implementation of the South African government's broadband dreams, say industry players.

Discussing broadband as a socio-economic catalyst for SA at the Southern Africa Telecommunications Networks and Applications Conference today, top industry minds presented their thoughts on the role a paper could play in the eventual realisation of government's "broadband for all" vision.

SA's national broadband strategy has been under the spotlight a great deal this year, as the Department of Communications (DOC) and government at large comes under increasing pressure to improve the state of ICT in the country.

While the powers that be are en route to the finalisation of SA's National Broadband Policy that is expected to pave the way for nationwide broadband by 2020, industry players have debated the role the document plays in real-world realisation of ubiquitous broadband access in the developing country.

Communications minister Yunus Carrim this morning vowed to have the final text on the table before the end of the year.

Plans and penetration

Dr Robert Pepper, vice president of global technology policy at Cisco - and co-author of the United Nations Broadband Commission report outlining why having a broadband plan matters - says not only does government have a "huge" role to play in physically furnishing its people with broadband; its broadband plan underpins the chances of success.

"In April when we looked at various countries' national broadband plans it became clear that these significantly increase broadband penetration. "

The analysis Pepper refers to was conducted using panel regressions of up to 165 countries, based on data taken over a ten-year period (2001 to 2011), and tested linear correlations between broadband penetration and national broadband plans.

The report, conducted by the International Telecommunication Union, also tested for a correlation between broadband penetration GDP per capita; urbanisation; the presence of a regulator; levels of private sector investment; and the level of market competition.

Of the six variables put to the test, the adoption of national broadband plans was shown to correlate most strongly with increases in fixed broadband penetration - even where countries adopted a basic policy framework.

Data analysis showed that broadband plans have proven to increase fixed broadband by more than 25%, while mobile broadband increased by 30%. The effect of competition on mobile broadband penetration was even higher, at 27%.

"What we know (according to the World Bank) is that if you increase broadband adoption in a country by 10%, the gross domestic product (GDP) increases by almost 1.5%. In the developed world the increase is 1.2%, so there is actually a larger knock-on impact in emerging countries."

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