The global information and communications technology (ICT) sector is undergoing a process of considerable change, and it is these developments that will be the focus for the telecoms industry in 2004 and beyond.
This is according to Devan Naidoo, GM of Telecommunications Division at the Department of Communications.
Speaking at Internet Week, which is under way in Rosebank, Naidoo said the convergence of technologies affects not only the way in which markets are structured, but also the infrastructure and content components of the telecoms sector.
"Looking to the future, ICT access is no longer a luxury, but rather a necessity for all citizens, which is why government needs to advance the objective of universal service.
"We need to develop services that will create a flourishing information society. Services such as tele-medicine, tele-agriculture, tele-education, e-commerce, e-business and e-government are all measures that will improve people`s quality of life, while also contributing to economic growth."
Naidoo said that in terms of regulations, the growth of e-commerce has revolutionised approaches to cross-border commercial transactions, meaning that the regulator will have to pay greater attention to issues such as the rules on goods, services and intellectual property; security and privacy; classification of "cyberproducts"; and content regulation and taxation.
"Because e-commerce knows no geographic boundaries, it is challenging established paradigms and is creating totally new business models as the entire value chain of business is conducted electronically.
"As e-commerce expands, it will demand uniformity in legal frameworks and taxation at the cross-border and multilateral level, although there is a school of thought that suggests that the reason it has expanded like it has is due to the fact that it has largely been left alone by regulators."
He believes that the rapid pace of change means that policies will need to be responsive to the changes in the ICT sector. Policy-making will need to become a dynamic process that takes into account liberalisation, cross-border flows of investments, competition and the extension of universal service, to name but a few.
"Future developments in the ICT sector that the department will have to take into account include the integration of fixed and mobile telephony; convergence of IT, telecoms and broadcasting; effective development of a cable infrastructure network; pressure on the current model of vertically-integrated ICT network operators; and the growth of handheld terminals," he said.
"The rapid pace of technological advancement and financial innovation has introduced new, highly complex elements of risk, increased the speed and volatility of markets and blurred the barriers between previously distinct sectors of the marketplace, which is why the role of the regulator remains absolutely pivotal."
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