The newly elected board of the South African chapter of the Internet Society (ISOC-ZA) will empower more people to use the Internet, says Naresh Dajee, the new chairman of ISOC-ZA.
This will occur by strengthening the existing community outreach projects and community gatherings, he explains.
Dajee believes this will put an end to empty promises about expanding Internet access to ordinary South Africans, as ISOC-ZA aims to embark on an aggressive education and training drive.
"We will start by initiating sub-groups in other provinces across SA, focusing on increasing the reach of ISOC within the country. We aim to use the expertise of technology specialists within ISOC-ZA to assist us when doing presentations to members on Internet-related topics," Dajee says.
An International Telecommunication Union report shows there were 5.1 million users in 2006, which is about 10% of the population.
"Africa as a region also ranks low on Internet usage, with only 3.5% of the population using the Internet in the same period," says Dajee.
According to the report, SA`s Internet sector has been stagnant in recent years, due to an expensive operating environment created by Telkom SA`s dominance in the fixed-line and bandwidth market. This is despite the more than 200 Internet service providers competing in the market.
However, modest growth has now returned to the market, stimulated by the launch of asymmetric digital subscriber line and wireless broadband services, in 2004, followed by continuous price cuts in the following years, the report adds. Further stimulus is expected with the imminent launch of Neotel`s consumer services, as well as the expansion of 3G/HSDPA services by the country`s mobile network operators.
"Over the past year, we`ve launched the Spammer Bounty Hunter programme and given our constitution a revamp, in order to enable us to continue growing ISOC-ZA at its current rate. The Spammer Bounty Hunter programme has led to a reduction in South African spam and a much greater awareness of the laws on spam in general. Our main community event was held in February, where our members were inspired by Prof Lawrence Lessig on the topic freeculture.co.za," adds Alan Levin, outgoing chairman of ISOC-ZA.
According to Dajee, the organisation provides leadership in addressing issues that confront the future of the Internet. The South African chapter is doing a lot of lobbying work in Parliament. "We have recently made submissions to Parliament as part of public comments on various Bills," he says.
The board`s vision was spelt out following ISOC-ZA`s annual general meeting that was held in Cape Town recently. The meeting appointed Naresh Dajee (chairperson), Bronwen Kausch (vice-chairperson), Adriaan Strydom (secretary) and Glen Thompson (treasurer).
"It`s with great pleasure that I figuratively pass the baton to Naresh. I have the greatest confidence that he will lead ISOC-ZA to many more great successes, and I will be here to assist, and continue dealing with certain aspects of ongoing operations," Levin said.
The executive committee members are: Bronwen Kausch, Neil Blakey-Milner, Saul Stein, Adriaan Strydom and Alan Levin (past chairperson).
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