Communications minister Roy Padayachie has signed an ICT Industry Competitiveness and Job Creation Compact that commits to 100% broadband penetration by 2020.
He signed the commitment yesterday on behalf of the Department of Communications (DOC) with ICT industry leaders.
Chief director of communications at the department Pearl Seopela says approximately 50 industry players signed the compact, including Vodacom, MTN, Cell C, Telkom, Altech, and Sahara.
Government state-owned enterprises include the South African Post Office, SA Broadcasting Corporation, National Electronic Media Institute of SA, and the Universal Service and Access Agency of SA.
Employment boost
The compact also commits to the creation of one million additional jobs throughout the ICT industry, says the DOC.
It adds that the compact was finalised after a two-day workshop during which the participants made commitments to work together to achieve the objectives and targets for the good of the country as a whole.
“The compact recognises the significant role ICT can play to accelerate economic growth, meaningfully impact job creation and transform SA into one of the most competitive developing countries through a strong partnership between government (led by the DOC) and the private sector.”
Global competition
As a collaborative partnership of all role players and a key South African stakeholder, the DOC says the ICT industry has adopted a purpose statement to define its overall ethos and role going forward. “An innovative and globally competitive ICT industry to accelerate the development and prosperity of all South Africans.”
In addressing its role in the country's competitiveness and job creation, the ICT industry has defined a number of key intervention areas, including specific targets, according to the department.
These areas will form the basis for a collective “2020 ICT Industry Strategy and Action Plan for Competitiveness and Job Creation”.
“The strategy needs to ensure implementation and realisation of specific targets over the next nine years until 2020.”
Working together
Five key areas highlighted by the DOC include human capital development to ensure the ICT skills requirements of the economy, and to enable South Africans to effectively participate in the digital and knowledge economy.
The second is investment capital (both public and private) to fund the large-scale infrastructure required to achieve the targeted access and penetration levels, the funding and promotion of small, medium and micro enterprises, and the funding of innovation.
Manufacturing capacity was recognised as the third area. It “needs to be enhanced to significantly increase local content and leverage global best practice to stimulate manufacturing investment”.
Local digital content needs to be increased, considering the opportunity for application development, the multimedia sector, knowledge creation and the digitisation of government.
Lastly, the department says there is a need to capacitate a focused programme to drive the implementation of this compact.
It adds that by signing the compact, all participants have committed themselves personally and as organisations to work together to achieve the objectives and targets of the compact in the collective interest of a better SA.
Unrealistic goal
However, WWW Strategy MD Steven Ambrose says the targets of the compact are not realistic, especially with regards to broadband penetration.
“It's an admirable goal and I believe that if we lived in an equal society it would have been possible, but we have to consider SA's socio-economic and socio-political environment, which means we'll never get 100% broadband penetration in nine years.”
He adds that the problem is in the broadband definition given by the department in its broadband policy, which was “an always available, multimedia capable connection with a download speed of at least 256Kbps” within two kilometres between homes.
Ambrose says by that definition, SA is already close to 100% penetration. “The devil is in the detail, but it's an admirable goal, because the compact has set a target and attempts to break down barriers to access by addressing infrastructure shortages and so on.
“Chances are we'll hit 20% or 30% true broadband penetration by 2020, but never will we reach 100% by then.”
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