2014 is going to be the year that stands out in the minds of South Africans as the year when things changed for the country's ICT sector, with the country seeing a definite acceleration of Internet penetration.
This is according to industry observers and comes in the wake of a number of developments in the first half of the year, including a ministry shake-up and initiatives that address Internet for wider market segments.
In what is a first for the country and a move that addresses the underserviced, the SA National Taxi Council (Santaco) has announced it will offer free WiFi to minibus taxi passengers. Telkom Mobile will provide the connectivity.
This comes after a number of other projects this year that could increase Internet penetration and improve the quality of SA's connectivity - from rural to urban, poor to privileged - including fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) ventures, connectivity in schools, free WiFi initiatives, and investment in new generation mobile technology and fibre.
Increased activity
Independent telecoms analyst Spiwe Chireka says there has been a marked increase in activity this year, in terms of concerted and deliberate efforts by business and government to increase Internet penetration.
"We saw in the former communication minister's update to Parliament that notable inroads had been made in connecting schools. Furthermore, the long-awaited broadband plan makes provisions for a national broadband network (which will include pervasive coverage through WiFi, for example) and now this [WiFi for taxis] development. There are also extensive fibre rollouts on the go - not just for wholesale networks, but for the end-user (both business and consumer alike) too."
FTTH Council Africa CEO Juanita Clark says she hopes SA is on the cusp of an Internet breakthrough. "There are certainly projects that indicate 'will' from both [business and government]. [In the case of Santaco's free WiFi venture] Telkom is recognising its responsibility towards lower income groups and delivering a service that could allow consumers access to the Internet."
There has undoubtedly been more talk and deployment of new technologies this year, says Africa Analysis analyst Dobek Pater. "Some of the municipalities have also been working with private sector companies towards better infrastructure provisioning. The government has begun to become more involved in working jointly on solutions to achieve greater Internet penetration, but it needs to become more involved, given the broadband policy targets."
Motivating factors
ICT veteran Adrian Schofield says, while free WiFi aboard one of SA's most popular means of public transport is a "great step forward", the real breakthrough will come when WiFi is available in townships and rural areas.
He says government's contribution to the wave of activity 2014 has seen is questionable and puts it down to the business motivation of extending the market for e-services/e-commerce.
Chireka says it is an indication SA is realising and acting on the fact that online services are the way of the future and providing access is a key starting point for this. "The taxi association's move is also an indication of innovative ways that as SA, we are able to use to drive access."
Echoing Chireka's commendation of Santaco and Telkom's move, Clark says the beauty of Africa lies in its people's ability to "find solutions that other nations don't even consider".
Pater says SA has arrived at a time when it begins to make more sense to address wider market segments with Internet. "This is a combination of new technologies becoming more commercially viable (for example, fibre, LTE and smartphones at lower prices) and pricing points of bandwidth/data services, which have been declining over the past couple of years."
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