Communication is an essential tool to enable better business and to foster the development of individuals, organisations and countries. In this modern age, information and communication technologies have made it possible for information of every type to be rapidly and easily exchanged; from the telegraph to the Internet, information sharing has driven ever-accelerating progress.
Telecommunications plays a key role in picking up the pace of development in emerging countries. It is not a `national issue`; rather, telecommunications has to be considered in the broader sense of the global economy and the power it holds to connect individuals, states and nations.
Information is power. Access to information helps people to make the right choices and decisions in any given situation. Telecommunications and information services permit interaction and knowledge sharing, contributing to greater economic activity, higher productivity and ultimately, improved general welfare.
However, telecommunications on its own cannot provide a `silver bullet` solution to the problems of poverty and dispowerment that exist across the African continent. Rather, the role it plays must be within an environment of innovation, market stimulation and the effective use of available resources.
Telecommunications has empowered individuals to improve their efficiency; equipped micro-enterprises with the ability to conduct business, and empowered small organisations to tap into broader markets through the world`s communication systems. It has played a vital role in exposing remote countries to opportunities to inexpensively become a part of the global economy and share and integrate development ideas.
During the final days of the apartheid regime in South Africa, the telecommunication environment was dominated by simple voice communications, and wide area low-bandwidth data communications, says Alan Sparks, who headed Philips SA`s telecommunications division from 1994-1998. While the industry in this country has made massive advances since then, Sparks says penetration to the wider population has been limited.
``Phone-line penetration in the population is still low due to the economic circumstances of the population. This has led to a negative impact on the growth of gross domestic product,`` he says, noting the importance of telephone access for economic stimulation.
He believes that deregulation and liberalisation, and better penetration of communications, will drive the economy.
"Current perception is that by continually improving telecommunications technologies and access to them will have a highly stimulative effect on productivity in this country. If deregulation and liberalisation does not improve, it will continue crippling development and innovation, which is damaging to the economy," he says.
The country`s policymakers are working to ensure that all South Africans, not just the privileged few, reap the benefits of liberalisation. In the ten years since the demise of apartheid, significant progress has been made to address the inequality of telecommunications access, but much work still remains to be done.
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