IfG.CC - The Institute for eGovernment

The bulk of these resources will be appropriated towards realising the GPG's ICT Strategic Outcomes, in order to drive ICT transformation initiatives in the province.

To date significant milestone have been achieved towards the provision of reliable Information Communications Technology (ICT). In this regard, over 99.86% uptime availability of the GPG's Wide Area Networks (WAN) has been achieved.

Speaking at the Gauteng ICT summit today, finance MEC Mandla Nkomfe said broadband is the superhighway that could actualise this aspiration.

"That is why we have embarked upon an ambitious project to implement this solution, which will be underpinned by the utilisation of a variety of networks and devices."

BWired, The City of Johannesburg and Ericsson South Africa have collaborated to form the Johannesburg Broadband Network Project (JBNP), a 1.2 Terabyte capacity foundation and the backbone established to support the realisation of the ‘Smart City’ concept.

Opening the ICT Indaba Africa Conference in Cape Town yesterday, Pule said most of the new growth in data access could be attributed to the rise in the number of broadband subscribers using hand-held devices such as smartphones.

She said the number of mobile broadband subscribers grew by 31% in 2011 to reach 4.2million.

Alan Winde, Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Tourism, said the Western Cape Department of Economic Development and Tourism was investigating sites for a Bandwidth Barn in the townships and had already inspected potential sites in Nyanga and Khayelitsha.

ISPA is still finding that there is a huge need for affordable broadband services accessible from these schools. Furthermore, according to ISPA’s Regulatory Advisor, Dominic Cull, there remains a massive amount of work to be done. “We are moving from an access challenge to an affordability challenge. The role of the Universal Service Agency of SA (USAASA) and the Universal Service Access Fund (USAF) in meeting this challenge remain critical,” he says.

The Department of Communications' decision that subsidised set-top boxes – needed for digital TV migration – must have return paths will put modems in five million homes, potentially expanding the Internet's reach to over 50% of South Africans.

As a result, at least 20 million more people will be able to plug in an Internet connection, opening up opportunities for entrepreneurs to target a new market, and expansion of e-government e-services.

The Democratic Alliance (2014) released its 2014 election manifesto today, which states that the party plans to establish a new regulatory framework for the ICT sector to ensure that broadband capacity improves, that prices fall and that the internet becomes accessible to all.

The DA said that new information and communication technologies continue to break down traditional boundaries between people, businesses and nations by making it easier to engage, to exchange information, to transact and to deliver services.

Increased broadband connectivity has a meaningful and direct impact on the economic prospects of individuals, communities and countries at large. A World Bank study estimated that a 10% increase in broadband penetration in low and middle-income countries can result in a 1,38% increase in economic growth.

At home, Statistics SA’s General Household Survey released in December last year found that 8,3% of households in South Africa had access to the internet via copper or fibre. This is not to say that the rest of the country is not interested in connecting – the same survey found that almost two thirds of South Africans access the internet via a mobile connection.

Der Zugang zu Breitbandtechnologien ist in afrikanischen Ländern am teuersten. Verglichen mit dem Einkommen kostet ein Monat Breitband laut aktuellen UN-Zahlen in der Zentralafrikanischen Republik mehr als drei durchschnittliche Jahresgehälter. Mit Äthiopien, Malawi, Guinea und Niger führen weitere afrikanische Staaten die Liste an. Zum Vergleich: In den USA müssen Leute gerade einmal 0,5 Prozent ihres Monatsgehalts für einen Breitbandzugang ausgeben. In den meisten europäischen Ländern liegen die Kosten nur unweit höher.

Minister of Communications and Transport Geoffrey Lungwangwa said the introduction of fibre optics in Zambia is one measure that is aimed at easing the use of ICTs.

He was speaking at the Fibre Optics Association (FOA) seminar held at Mulungushi International Conference Centre in Lusaka on Friday.