Broadband, or the lack of it, is fast becoming the digital divide of the future, says Angus Hay, Transtel CTO.
Speaking at the Futurex conference yesterday, Hay said the divide between Africa and the rest of the world was already apparent.
"There are an estimated 100 million broadband connections worldwide and 0.2% of these connections are found in Africa. Broadband is supposed to be classified as a high-capacity connection. But in SA, it is classed as a 512Kb connection, compared to the 10Mb connections in Sweden," he said.
Added to that, whereas subscription fees account for a few percent of users` monthly income in countries like Japan and Sweden, in SA it counts for 40.7% of the average user`s income, Hay said. "Broadband in Hong Kong is 5 000 times more affordable than in the Democratic Republic of Congo."
Of the 54 countries in Africa, Hay said only 11 have access to ADSL or wireless connections, and there are only three countries on the continent with second national operators.
Stumbling block
Hay said the final draft of the Convergence Bill is badly flawed and is a stumbling block to convergence. "The Bill offers limited regulatory protection, but does not encourage competition. Deregulation is not the whole answer; we need competition laws to encourage access as well."
He said this problem was recognised in an International Telecommunication Union case study which states: "A perusal of legal sources regarding regulation and market structure shows that SA continues to operate with a regime oblivious to the complexities raised by broadband."
The lack of deregulation spans across Africa, he noted, with incumbents preventing access to services like the SAT-3 cable that runs around West Africa through monopoly pricing.
"These problems are widespread across the continent and will only be solved if there are regional projects to encourage and support broadband. Every other continent promotes broadband. Africa needs to as well."
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