Tomorrow sees the start of Internet Week, which will see industry leaders gathering in Johannesburg to discuss the opportunities and challenges facing the Internet, its development and the way in which it can and will change the way that Africa operates.
The subjects to be discussed include legal and regulatory issues, the proposed convergence bill, as well as mobile, wireless and broadband multimedia concerns. Other discussions will include a look at open source in SA, encryption and spam and virus control.
"We expect to have quite a large focus on WiFi issues, and the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) has told us it hopes to have something to announce in regard to this, as Internet Week comes on the heels of a meeting ICASA is having on the subject," says Ant Brooks, co-chairman of the Internet Service Providers` Association (ISPA) regulatory subcommittee. ISPA is hosting the event.
"Sentech, which recently launched its new broadband offering, is also expected to attend and we are hoping there will be some interesting snippets from that organisation in regard to the WiFi situation."
He says there will also be reviews of policy, the Department of Communications will present its views on convergence and - to add some international flavour to the proceedings - there will be a discussion on IP registry issues.
"Internet Week should be really exciting for industry players, as we have Telkom speaking for the first time, discussing how it will face up to competition, and then also Transtel and Esi-Tel, who will be looking at things from the competition`s point of view," he says.
"We are expecting a very diverse audience and in keeping with the traditional spirit of the Internet community, we are keeping the entire week free of charge for attendees."
Internet Week is hosted by ISPA, in partnership with the Department of Communications, UniForum SA (the registrar for .co.za) and the South African Chapter of the Internet Society.
It will take place at the Pharmaceutical Society conference centre in Lower Houghton, Johannesburg, from 16 to 19 September. The full programme can be viewed here.
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