The Department of Communications is to begin a process that could see extensive changes to telecommunications policy and will go a long way towards positioning SA more competitively in terms of converging technologies.
An international colloquium on convergence will be held in Johannesburg in mid-July to deliberate on the challenges presented by convergence.
According to the department`s director-general, Andile Ngcaba, the conference will cover areas such as applications, services and infrastructure; fixed and mobile telephony; universal service and access; Internet and electronic media; and market segmentation and structure.
"There are so many issues surrounding convergence, such as how telecoms, IT and broadcasting are coming together - for example, you can now access the Internet via television and of course mobile technology can be used to deliver a variety of similar applications," says Ngcaba.
"There is also the convergence of IT and telecoms in terms of LANs, WANs and wireless networks, and the fact that there is no real border dividing fixed and mobile networks anymore."
He says the department wants an industry debate as the initial step, after which a policy recommendation will be formulated, based on this input from the industry stakeholders, and that this will finally be distilled into a relevant and applicable law.
"We will be inviting all the relevant stakeholders, including the Information Technology Association, the Electronic Industries Federation and the Computer Society of SA, among others," says Ngcaba.
"The outcome of the conference will inform both the policy and also the processes that should be embarked upon to facilitate the integration of telecoms, IT and broadcasting. Once a policy has been set out, the next step will be to make it law."
He says the conference should help to position SA more competitively in terms of the development of ICT, a move that will benefit not only SA, but also the African continent as a whole.
"In this way, we hope to speed up the process of bridging the digital divide and empowering our people with access to technology at affordable prices that can expedite the realisation of a better life for all.
"This process will culminate in the total overhaul of existing policies if the findings dictate that this should be done," he says.
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