The ICT sector in SA is entering a period of fundamental relearning and restructuring as artificial intelligence (AI), autonomous digital systems and converged digital infrastructure reshape how industries, governments and citizens interact. This was the collective message from industry leaders at the 20th annual ICT Summit in East London last week, where technology executives and regulators warned that the country must urgently prepare for a future that looks very different from the past two decades of digital progress.
Sharing his industry insights, Dr Andile Ngcaba, executive chairman of Solcon Capital, warned that the next era of technology will require the sector to unlearn much of what it knows. “We all have to learn from scratch; what we have known is not really going to be usable,” he said.
Ngcaba traced the evolution of communication from the Morse code telegraph to circuit switching to IP networks, arguing that each technological leap required a shift in national skills. But the next phase, he warned, will be far more disruptive: the rise of autonomous digital agents operating across the internet.
According to Ngcaba, these agents will schedule appointments, manage finances, interact with enterprise systems and perform tasks traditionally executed by humans. “They will do everything… you don’t have to do it,” he said.
He predicted that trillions of agents will populate networks in the coming years, challenging existing frameworks for identity, taxation, liability and labour.
Crucially, Ngcaba emphasised that the dominant language of the internet will shift away from human speech towards machine-token communication optimised for agents. Failing to understand this shift, he warned, would leave many behind.
Convergence, supercomputing and purpose-driven digital transformation
Ziaad Suleman, CEO of Cassava Technologies, SA and Botswana, positioned today’s digital moment within a broader industrial trajectory from steam power to hyper-personalisation. He argued that SA is entering a decisive period defined by convergence, compute and AI-enabled purpose.
He stressed that digital infrastructure alone is not enough. “Nobody can dominate this on their own,” he said, emphasising that transformation requires ecosystems combining connectivity, cloud, data, applications, education and public institutions.
Suleman highlighted Cassava Technologies’ integrated stack, including Liquid’s network footprint and Africa Data Centres, but singled out the group’s local AI supercomputing capability as a national differentiator.
“We are able to process AI workloads in South Africa, meaning we protect our data. We don’t need to rely on anyone outside,” he said.
He warned that organisations are overwhelmed by the velocity and volume of modern data streams, making real-time processing non-negotiable. To address this, he outlined the concept of the AI factory, a pipeline where storage, networking, compute, models and governance work together to enable automation and decision-making at national scale.
He added that SA has the infrastructure, talent and leadership capacity to compete globally. What remains is co-ordinated action: “The time for action is now. We have all the instruments to turn promise into reality.”
Regulation, access and digital readiness remain uneven
Mothibi Ramusi, chairperson at ICASA, followed with a candid assessment of SA’s digital readiness, emphasising that regulatory frameworks must keep pace with emerging technologies while ensuring equitable access.
Ramusi stressed ICASA’s responsibility to uphold service quality, compliance and universal access. “As a regulator, we make sure that when we issue a licence, the service delivered is good quality, secure, affordable and inclusive to everyone.”
He highlighted persistent coverage gaps in rural provinces and questioned whether the Eastern Cape is prepared for a fully digital and AI-enabled environment. “The big question is whether the Eastern Cape is ready for a digitally enabled environment, AI included. I think that’s the question we need to ask ourselves.”
Ramusi pointed to spectrum licensing, 5G roll-out obligations and new opportunities, from community networks to maritime communications as mechanisms to open participation in the digital economy. He encouraged entrepreneurs to leverage class licences to enter the value chain and flagged opportunities in maritime communications, emergency alerts, IOT and modern digital public services.
He also urged stakeholders to engage actively in upcoming public consultations, saying policy alignment is essential if SA is to compete globally.
Ramusi underscored the need to rethink national assets such as the South African Post Office, arguing that its footprint should be repositioned as a digital access platform instead of being left to collapse.
All three speakers converged on one message: SA’s digital future will not be determined by technology alone. It will be shaped by whether ecosystems collaborate, talent is developed at scale, infrastructure becomes more inclusive and regulatory frameworks evolve with the speed of innovation.
The Eastern Cape, they said, has the potential to become a national digital hub if policy, computation, skills and purpose unite behind a shared urgency to act.
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