SA business needs to decide if telecommunications is a key driver for success, and if so, then it needs to come together to create a strong voice on telecoms regulation.
This is the view of Gartner analyst Bahwani Shakar, who addressed the Gartner ITXPO conference in Cape Town last week.
Shakar says SA needs a high degree of investment in the sector, primarily from overseas sources, but the government has not provided the necessary clarity that would help attract this investment.
"Business needs to take matters into its own hands to a certain extent and demand that government does deliver clarity," Shakar told ITWeb after his presentation at ITXPO.
Shakar says outsourcing services in India only took off in 2000 after business there had successfully lobbied government on deregulation.
"Although the first 'deregulation` laws were passed in the 1980s, the Indian government retained strong control of the sector. What tipped the balance there was that business confederated and virtually held the government to ransom," he says.
"The deregulation process is painful for many emerging countries as very often the required infrastructure has to be developed first and this requires a huge amount of capital expenditure and risk.
"The point is that deregulation only really came about in Western countries in the past 20 years and their governments had built the infrastructure. Developing countries have a more complex set of needs."
He says that despite these concerns, steps have to be taken to clarify government`s telecommunications policy, the role of the regulator - the Independent Communications Authority of SA - and where telecommunication fits in the whole process of social delivery.
"Recognition of these issues is critical. Government must clarify the mechanics of how social delivery will take place."
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