At a breakfast to introduce the new director-general of the Department of Communications, Lyndall Shope-Mafole, to members of the ICT industry, the new DG targeted the resolution of the second national operator (SNO) licence as one of her key areas of focus.
"Finalisation of the SNO process has to be one of our immediate short-term goals, as it is in the best interests of the nation to do this," she says.
"At present, we are waiting on the two bidders for the remaining 26%, as they have indicated that they require more time to study the SNO process and discuss issues with the other members of the SNO."
She says the department anticipates that this will still be a relatively long process, and it is only likely to decide on which bidder will be granted a stake during the first quarter of next year.
"In the meantime, we are working closely with the existing partners in the SNO and attempting to push other elements of the process - such as the development of a business plan and shareholders agreement - forward, so as to drive the process closer to conclusion."
She also says the further policy announcements by the minister, which were mentioned during her announcement of the deregulation of the sector, will definitely still take place this year.
Shope-Mafole also promised the industry that, should it develop new and innovative technology that can help the country in terms of socio-economic development, the department will play its part in ensuring the regulations are put in place to help further this development.
"We want to maximise the possibilities that exist in information and communications technology (ICT) in order to make SA globally competitive, and if this requires special regulations to help such technologies get off the ground, then that is what we will do. It is part of the mandate we have been given by the minister," she says.
"In fact, I would like to challenge the industry to develop new and innovative technologies that will help our country to continue to develop as a leading African nation."
She says that among her longer-term goals is the need to put in place policies that will make it easier for ICT to support the market, as it is up to the ICT sector to propel the country into a technologically competitive economy.
"From a socio-economic perspective, ICT can be used to facilitate better education, improved healthcare and so on, but these are tools of both development and profit, so we need the leaders of industry to fully embrace ICT as a way of growing both their own business and the nation as a whole."
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