Telecoms breaks its social compact

The telecommunications sector has broken its social compact with the nation due to the poor rollout of broadband and general connectivity services, says political commentator David Silke.

“The poor availability of broadband has most certainly limited the discussions around the coming elections for the majority of the population. While mobile penetration has been high, the closest direct connection many people have had has been an anonymous SMS sent from a political party,” he says.

Silke's comments come on the back of an interview recorded by a Times reporter this week where ANC spokesperson Jesse Duarte said the Internet was a “middle-class thing”. Furthermore, the country's standing internationally has diminished from being the 11^th most connected country in the world to the 53^rd, implying it has been overtaken by its peers and failed to keep pace with international trends.

“The absence of broadband connectivity has meant the social networks that develop around the use of the Internet have not happened in this country and so we are at least five years behind many comparable countries. The 2014 elections will be a very different thing, with the advent of the undersea cables,” he says.

Deputy communications minister Roy Padayachie says government and industry must take collective responsibility for the lack of broadband penetration, but he feels the social compact has not been broken.

“Telecommunications plays a vital role in the social cohesion of the country and not just for business,” he says. “Connectivity will become an essential priority during the next administration.”

Padayachie says connectivity is not just about prices, but also about accessibility.

Silke says the digital divide marks the divide between the urban and rural populations, and once the latter becomes more connected, then the social role of telecommunications within the country will expand.

Democratic Alliance communications spokesperson Dene Smuts says the fault lies squarely at government's door.

“The legislature has done its part and drafted one of the most respected laws in terms of the Electronic Communications Act. As parliamentarians, we expect industry to always act in their own interests and this we counteract. However, it was a weak minister [Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri] who was dominated by her director-generals that has led to the current situation,” she says.

Internet Society - SA Chapter vice-chairman Bronwen Kausch says business will always find a way to make money, especially if there is a demand for its services, such as connectivity.

“However, government should have applied a light touch to its legislative process and at least now the policy of 'managed liberalisation' can be done away with once and for all. Government must interact with business, the legislature and academia to find the right solutions,” she says.

Chris Pinkham, an ICT businessman who played a key role in the development of Amazon.com's cloud computing strategy, says: “I think we're all disappointed with the progress we've made over the past 10 years. I think government seriously (perhaps wilfully) misunderstood the effect of tight central control of telecoms services.

“Naively, they thought they could leverage the control into services for underserved areas, but the actual effects of a monopoly/duopoly were to throttle innovation and entrench high prices, neither of which benefited poorer communities.”

Pinkham says there's always been this view that the Internet is some kind of huge adult entertainment system, rather than a fundamental communication system that will change everything (not immediately, but slowly and comprehensively).

“Government and industry have not served the public well enough. But incumbents will do what they will naturally do - protect their turf in the interest of their shareholders. Policymakers should realise that and tilt the playing field to ensure a much more dynamic, competitive system,” Pinkham says.

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