South Africa has the best telecommunication systems in Africa and its infrastructure is considered to be on the par with those of most First World countries. However, with the low person to fixed-line ratio, it is little wonder that wireless (cellular) communications have taken off in such a spectacular fashion.
Today there are three cellular service providers in the country - all growing at enormous rates.
Wireless technology has had a tremendous effect on people`s lives in SA. Topping up mobile-phone airtime using "scratch cards" is now a common activity for millions of citizens who before had to walk many miles to attempt to make a telephone call from an often vandalised and out-of-order call-box.
And the cellular success story is not limited to SA. It`s a growing economic phenomenon that has spread far and wide on the African continent. In fact, the South African experience is shedding light on how emerging technology might spread across Africa in the coming years.
Two words have revolutionised the spread of cellphone usage in Africa: community access.
Thousands of poor villagers have been able to transform themselves, their friends and families into walking communications nodes. This setup is deeply rooted in the traditional African communal mode of living, which many urban dwellers have not abandoned.
Legislation
Francis Nyamnjoh, an associate professor in the sociology department at the University of Botswana, attributes the explosion of cellphone usage to the privatisation of telcos across Africa. This has attracted massive private capital investment in the telecommunications industry, he says.
This is also true in SA, although the goal was harder to realise.
In 2000, the SA government announced that it would speed-up the privatisation of Telkom and other parastatal companies, saying it would lead to more jobs and better services. But unions and activists came out against the move and the wheels of change slowed.
Undoubtedly, the timing of the initial announcement was wrong - as it came at a time when the global telecommunications sector was faced with a great deal of market disillusionment and scepticism.
Nevertheless, the government, backed by big business and the World Bank, persevered and Telkom was finally listed on the JSE Exchange in March 2003. The controversial listing was seen, at the time, as a test of how far the country had come in reforming its public sector - and building the infrastructure needed for life as an international business player in 21st Century.
The benefits of the move were almost immediately apparent. Telkom, once a complacent monopoly, with an inability to introduce new technology at the pace required by businesses to remain competitive on global markets, has changed for the better.
Still heavily protected by legislation, Telkom has nevertheless upped its levels of operational efficiency significantly - perhaps assisted by the introduction of foreign partners and a new marketing ethic.
The wireless wilderness
Paradoxically, until the final emancipation of fixed-line service provision and the barriers to competition are removed, very little progress can be made in the wireless market outside of the cellular industry.
This is because, currently, operators are able to control all private wireless communications, with the exception of those on a wireless local area network (WLAN) within the confines of a building.
If the wireless transmission crosses a road, or jumps between two buildings, it requires licensing. Similarly if it bridges the confines of strictly tabled frequency bands, the result is similar.
The liberalisation of the telecommunications industry, and the introduction of "fixed wireless" services that will doubtless follow, will be hugely beneficial for South African business.
While Telkom`s short distance revenues will fall, the long-term effect for the country will be positive.
By introducing competition, it will reduce the costs of certain services. Efficiency will rise as wireless services will not be open to the theft of copper cable, which is so disruptive of current services. Corruption in this area will also be minimised.
From the corporate perspective, there is no doubt that the benefits of complete data and voice mobility - whether it is within the corporate perimeters or beyond - will be felt throughout the commercial and industrial worlds.
Integrate
Undoubtedly the freedom to integrate cellular, fixed-line and wireless technologies - that the liberalisation process will hopefully deliver - will change the way people and enterprises communicate and conduct business.
Integration will result in market growth. And the telecommunications market has significant capacity to grow. It has been stifled by high cost and low availability. There has been no incentive for Telkom to go into leading/bleeding-edge technology.
Billing is another area of contention. There is a need for transparency in this regard. Without this, the market currently labours under the burden of high costs for both local and international bandwidth.
If costs are lowered, it will open up a huge untapped market for e-commerce. There are many companies in SA that are eagerly anticipating the opportunities that change should bring to allow them to take advantage of it.
Freedom
One of the biggest prizes will be the freedom and mobility that executives and workers alike will enjoy. They will be able to work anywhere, anytime and in any manner.
US-based research authority InfoTech Primary Market Research believes that increasing comfort levels of users with wireless technology will allow corporate-wide wireless LANs and WANs to evolve as the most robust, secure and convenient options for worker mobility.
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