PDF Communications

Communications

South Africa has an extremely well-developed communications sector, including telecommunications, post, media and information technology (IT).

The Department of Communications is the centre of policy-making and policy review for the posts, telecommunications and broadcasting sectors in the country.

The Department aims to enable ordinary people to have access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) including: ? telemedicine ? enabling rural clinics to get diagnoses

from specialists at urban medical centres ? tele-education ? enabling the country to reverse the

illiteracy rate through distance learning ? convenience measures such as teleshopping and

telebanking. While restructuring State-owned enterprises and introducing competition to this sector, a key priority has been improving access to communications.

A stable regulatory regime for e-commerce is a central objective. On 31 July 2002, President Thabo Mbeki electronically signed the Electronic Communications and

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Transactions Bill. The Act will pave the way for a secure environment for e-commerce transactions.

Telecommunications

South Africa ranks 23rd in telecommunications development and 17th in Internet use in the world.

Government recognises the centrality of the telecommunications and IT sectors in economic development. The sector contributes about 4% to 5% of gross domestic product and is estimated to generate about R4 billion in annual turnover. It remains the fastestgrowing industry.

Legislation passed in 2001 gave effect to the policy of the managed liberalisation of the South African telecommunications market. The amendments paved the way for the introduction of the Second National Operator (SNO), in which a 30% stake is reserved for Esi-tel and Transtel and a 19% stake has been awarded to black economic empowerment entity NEXUS Connection.

Shortlisted bids for the 51% strategic stake in the SNO were, after an exhaustive vetting process, eventually rejected, meaning that the search for the second operator had to be renewed.

Legislative amendments also provide for the licensing of operators in underserviced areas, with a teledensity of less than 5%. The majority of these are in the Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Programme nodal points. This process will bring about significant ownership and involvement in the communication sector by black people and women in South Africa.

Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA)

The core responsibilities of ICASA include the regulation of South Africa's communications industry.

ICASA's main goal is to create regulatory certainty in

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Pocket Guide to South Africa

Communications

an environment where technology is evolving rapidly. ICASA promotes growth in telecommunications and broadcasting, economic growth and investment, access, and service and fair competition. Its mandate includes fostering the participation of previously disadvantaged groups and protecting public and consumer rights.

Radio and television broadcasters are licensed by ICASA, as are all telecommunications service-providers.

Policies and regulations are developed for, among other things, interconnection, licence fees and tariffs. Monitoring is an integral part of the Authority's regulatory function. ICASA monitors the use of numbering, frequency spectrum, use of equipment, consumer monitoring and broadcasters' compliance with their licence conditions.

Information technology

The State-owned IT company, arivia.kom, is the product of a merger between ITS (the IT division of Eskom), Datavia (the IT division of Transnet) and Ariel Technologies (the IT division of Denel). The Group's focus is high-end business technology solutions that support public sector and the large private-sector corporates, primarily within the South African and African markets. The business is characterised by large, end-to-end IT outsource agreements, the deployment of turnkey business solutions and the provision of niche solutions. The R1,51-billion revenue group has proved its commitment to employment equity initiatives by reaching an employment equity target of 50,6%.

Government policy is informed by some of the world's leading IT experts and multinational chief executive officers who formed a council to advise on narrowing the digital divide with the rest of the world.

The Institute for Satellite and Software Applications is involved in producing top-class postgraduates in science and space technology. It is also involved in presenting specialised hi-tech qualifications for South Africans.

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Internet

Some 2,89 million South Africans (one out of every 15) had access to the Internet by the end of 2001. The number was expected to grow to around 3,1 million by the end of 2002. This makes South Africa the largest Internet consumer in Africa. The Directorate: Internet aims to increase access to the Internet, specifically among historically disadvantaged communities and the youth.

The Department of Communications is rolling out Public Internet Terminals (PITs) in post offices around the country to give the public access using smart-card technology. By September 2001, 100 PITs had been installed in post offices. A further 200 were planned for 2002/03.

Internationally, South Africa is a member of the International Telecommunications Union. Several governments and organisations have pledged financial and technical support to help strengthen the local IT industry. South Africa is an enthusiastic supporter of the African Connection Project.

South Africa Internet traffic for the 2nd quarter, 2002

Site IOL Ananzi Moneymax CareerJunction Sunday Times Business Day MoneyWeb Job Navigator IT Web Financial Mail PSG-Online MTN E-Business SA Active

Source: ABC

Impressions 14,698,874 10,793,891 8,183,031 2,192,763 1,862,913 1,731,458 1,622,890 1,554,173 1,515,020 1,306,282 684,641 225,789 154,286

Outstanding Outstanding Outstanding

10% 6%

-13% 6% -7% 1%

21% 7% 0% 5% 8%

57% -19%

Users 537,839 333,672 480,151 66,286 135,541 146,242 130,803 167,173 16,113 71,867 25,394 15,911 17,178

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Pocket Guide to South Africa

DID YOU KNOW?

Communications

Telkom

In May 1997, 30% of Telkom was sold to a strategic

equity partner, Thintana Communications, a consortium

comprising United States-based SBC Communications

Inc. and Telekom Malaysia Berhad.

Twenty-five percent of Telkom was sold to public

investors when the company was listed on the JSE

Securities Exchange and New York Stock Exchange in

March 2003.

Government also set aside a 3% holding in Telkom for

a qualified black empowerment group. Ucingo Invest-

ments became the new shareholder. It is a broad-

based investment company representing more than 20

empowerment groups nationwide.

Telkom's fixed-line exclusivity period came to an end

in May 2002, paving the way for the introduction of

competition in the fixed-line environment, and allowing

the company to shift its focus from fulfilling licence

obligations to strategic and operational initiatives based

on margin improvement and earnings growth.

Telkom now has a world-class network capable of

supporting the latest technologies, and customer service

has been greatly improved. By the end of March 2002,

Telkom had installed 2,8 million

the official South African portal () was launched in September 2002. The site forms part of the International Marketing Council's campaign to change perceptions about the country. The site is the first of its kind in the world.

lines over the previous five years, bringing the total number of lines to 4,92 million. It had 195 399 payphones (a 10% increase), 707 881 fixed-line prepaid lines (a 47% increase), 467 518 ISDN lines (up 25%) and had digitised 653 switches.

In five years, Telkom's capital investment has amounted to R48 billion. In 2002, Telkom invested R9 billion, primarily in its fixed and mobile networks and operational support systems, which resulted in further enhancing network capa-

bility.

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