New policies and legislation for new era

Thank you for having me here. I hope you’ll find it of some use coming. Certainly I’m interested in what you have to say.

I thought it might be useful to deal with some of the policy challenges we in the Communications Department are trying to address. I’ve titled my talk, for what it’s worth, “Catching Up and Making the Leaps: ICT in South Africa Soon”.

As government we’ve said that our policies, legislation and regulations are lagging behind developments in ICT (Information and Communication Technology) over the past 15 years. And we’ve said we’re going to do something about this. Well, we are! Next Wednesday, 4 December, Cabinet will decide on our Broadband Policy, Strategy and Plan, Broadcasting Digital Migration, and draft National Integrated ICT Policy Paper.

These three major issues are related to the National Development Plan (NDP) and New Growth Path (NGP), in particular the commitments to ensure that South Africa’s capacity to develop as an information society and knowledge economy are enhanced. 

In the late nineties when our policies were shaped, the communications sector was divided into broadcasting, telecommunications and postal services.  We had separate White Papers on Telecommunications (1996), Postal Policy (1998) and Broadcasting (1998). These three areas were regulated as silo sectors.

Since then markets have changed as a result of the entry of new players, technological developments have taken place and there has been new thinking on how services can be delivered and used. There has been increasing convergence that blurs the boundaries between the sectors. Infrastructure can be used to deliver voice, video and content. Different services can now be received using the same devices.

At the time of our White Papers televisions and cellphones were… well, almost, the same size and operated in different technological domains. Today smartphones and flat screens characterise our daily digital lives and you can just as easily watch television on your phone and make a Skype call using your television.

The need for change is glaring, with, for those of us connected, both our home and office environments having changed drastically. A person of today entering the office environment of just twenty five years ago would be puzzled by the equipment found there: telex machines, floppy-disc computers, tape cassettes and monochrome computers devoid of graphics and, of course, without a mouse.

To make a telephone call you needed to be still as mobile devices were still emerging; to get in touch with people urgently you “paged” them, which involved phoning an operator, who would send a text message to the recipient on a device that would beep to inform them to call you back.

Remember back when having a pager was a status symbol? The fastest way to get a document across the world was to fax or telex? To conduct research you needed to read a printed book or use microfiche? Cables connected your computer to your printer, you watched TV in real-time and recorded programmes on your VHS or Beta recorder. Today all this can be done with a simple smartphone!

Today mobile technology, broadband, digital television, smartphones, the cloud, tablets, and new media technology dominate our home and office landscapes. These changes have far-reaching implications and have to be dealt with in new policies and legislation. The net effect of these technological trends is to reduce the cost of construction of the transmission networks as one transmission system can be used for many services.

Technology convergence is of particular interest to policy makers and regulators as it changes the nature of services, allowing an operator who was licensed under one category to be able to do things that would have required different category licences in the past. So, in other words, what do we do when one of our cellphone subscribers wants to apply for a tv licence and run a channel for mobile devices?

This is what the National Integrated ICT Policy Green Paper seeks to enourage public discussion on, and on the basis of these and other issues finalise a White Paper as the framework for a new ICT legislative dispensation.

Changes in technology over time

Three major technological developments influence the communications landscape in a radical manner:

• The first is the shift to Internet Protocol (IP)-based technologies that have affected the cost of networks, at the same time offering opportunities for innovation and new services. Examples of these are Voice Over Internet Protocol, which has been in existence for about a decade, and internet broadcasting.
• The second is the deployment of fibre-optic technologies that have increased the speed and size of data that can be transmitted from one point to the other.
• The third is the entrance and use of wireless technologies.

The convergence of internet and the media is of particular concern to the media industry. Just think of the fundamental changes in the industry that you work in. From the early days of the humble typewriter to the “green screens “of the first electronic Word Processors.

Who remembers the Wang, Philips and IBM systems? And do you remember how Apple’s Macintosh (Mac) became a newsroom phenomenon because of its Desk Top Publishing capabilities in the mid-1980s?

Thie 1980s saw the introduction of computers to many newsrooms globally, which made everything from finding archived stories to the mayor's home phone number easier. Networks and some stations even added satellite news-gathering trucks, which allowed them to drive across a country to beam back news reports.

In the 1990s, the Internet started to become a part of South African homes and businesses, and news organizations developed their first email systems and websites to communicate with the public in a new way. Of course, you could not have known then about the computer revolution that was about to come, that would challenge your dominance as news providers.

Convergence of technologies in newsrooms

Changes in technology since have seen newsrooms, newspapers and news broadcasters facing huge challenges in terms of getting stories out to the general public. Website developments have allowed video stories to be posted easily. News organisations had to choose whether to put stories on the Internet immediately to beat their competitors, or hold off until after their on-air broadcasts so that they don’t lose viewers.

Facebook launched in 2004, followed by Twitter in 2006. Initially both social networks were developed to allow users to interact with each other on a “social” basis. However, today the social media platforms have allowed users to become “on the spot” news reporters.

In the last few years, newsrooms are changing their priorities to become information providers across a variety of platforms. Websites are only part of the delivery system. Facebook, Twitter and other forms of social media have become important ways to reach potential viewers where they're hanging out. Mobile devices, from cellphones to tablet computers, are forcing on newsrooms strategies to reach people on the go.

Clearly, the advent of the Internet and social media has allowed anybody to get access to news and stories at an instant and in many cases for free. Social media has meant that almost any person can become a “reporter” and submit live news to the media from virtually anywhere at any time. This has caused the news media to relook at how you use technology to produce and distribute information to their customers.

The switch from analogue to digital will further change the broadcasting industry as more channels will become available. Traditional boundaries between broadcasting content and content on the internet have eroded. Hybrid services that belong to both the Internet and broadcasting worlds have emerged. For instance, newspapers now offer both audio and visual content online, and the major broadcasters are now offering textual services online. Many of our traditional newspapers also have online content that includes video and pictures sourced from the public.

The days of newspapers being primarily a print medium are gone. What does this mean for the traditional newspaper industry from which many of you emerge? Sunday Times and Business Day now offer limited content online while the rest is avaiable through payment options. Are other newspapers to follow suit to survive?

The weight of the ICT sector

The convergence of technologies has affected all industries and has been further intensified by the prevalence and uptake of technology in society. The ICT sector in South Africa is characterised by an exponential growth of the mobile sector, with a penetration rate of about 136%. Statistics South Africa reports that the contribution of the ICT sector to GDP in 2012 was 6%, and that the telecommunications sector market alone had grown to more than R179 billion in 2011. 

According to Statistics South Africa, the 2011 Census survey shows that 89% of the 14.5 million households in the country have access to mobile phones, while 75% of households have access to a television set and a further 68% have access to a radio. However, penetration of radio is much higher, reaching nearly 90% of the population. The Census survey also reveals that only 35% of households have access to the internet and only 15% have access to a landline phone.

This role that ICTs play in the broader society is underscored by the 2010 World Bank study that found that for every 10% increase in broadband penetration in emerging markets, there is a 1.38% increase in GDP growth. This means that reducing the cost to communicate, especially for voice and data, would have profound implications.

Since 1994 we’ve made some significant progress in the communications sector. Television viewership has increased from 68% of the adult population in 2002 to 92% today.  Satellite subscription television service, DSTV, has grown its audiences significantly since 1998 – from 2% in 1998/1999 to 28% of the adult population in 2012 or 9.9 million viewers. Audiences for the community radio sector as a whole have shown growth –from about 16% in 2005 to 25% in June 2013.

E-commerce in South Africa has grown significantly in the past several years with reports showing that in 2010 alone, R2 billion was spent in online shopping and in 2011 the number was targeted to reach R2.8 billion, a 30% increase. South Africa is considered a leader in e-Commerce development in Africa.

Based on a survey conducted by MasterCard, South Africa takes the lead in terms of the 54% of respondents who say that they usually use the internet for online shopping. This percentage is twice the regional average.

Some policy issues to be addressed

These are some of the elements that characterise the South African communications sector currently. So how do we address some of the challenges prevalent in this sector? How do we create an enabling environment that tackles issues such as:

• the creation of new market structures to take account of changes in the ICT sector and likely changes in the future.
• affordability of ICT services as the cost to communicate is still too high.
• coordination of infrastructure planning and deployment.
• the promotion of fair competition and reduction of monopolies or duopolies in a context in which convergence encourages integration and the use of a single platform to deliver a variety of services.
• the availability and management of scarce resources such as radio frequency spectrum and numbering.
• the management the proliferation of e-services and the increase in cybercrime.
• the coordination of e-government services.
• the role of the regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA).
• the role of the Universal Service and Access Agency of South Africa (USAASA).
• the role of the South African Post Office (SAPO) in the internet age.
• the development and diffusion of local content.
• the development of legislation that provides for a measure of flexibility in view of the rapid changes in the ICT sector.

As indicated, central to our review of the ICT policy is ensuring that it stimulates economic and social development in our country. A report by McKinsey, released just last week, identifies South Africa and Morocco as key leaders in driving the growth of the internet on the African continent.

The report states that the continent is going digital and the Internet economy in Africa is about to take off. Africa's "iGDP" - the percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) that is contributed by internet-related activity - currently stands at 1.1 percent, just over half the levels seen in other emerging markets and well below the average of 3.7 percent in developed economies.

McKinsey predicts that Africa's iGDP could account for as much as 10 percent of total GDP - or about US$300-billion - by 2025, with increased internet penetration and use driving private consumption 13 times higher than current levels. The report states that "Demographic trends - including urbanization, rising incomes, and a huge generation of young, tech-savvy Africans - will drive this growth."

Other African countries are ahead of South Africa in some ICT indicators. However, these indicators do not operate in a vacuum. The McKinsey report states that South Africa scores high in what it calls the  "i5F scores" - that is, the highest scores on five pillars that indicate internet growth potential or readiness: national ICT strategy, infrastructure, a healthy business environment, financial capital, and human capital with the requisite technology skills.

ICT holds huge promise for economic and social development. But it has to be managed to ensure that it while it serves the interests of all, ultimately it primarily serves the poor and disadvantaged. We cannot, simply cannot, allow ICT to further divide the haves and have-nots. Its enormous potential must be harnessed to reduce the gaps between the haves and have-nots. 

Ultimately, the new ICT policies, legislation and regulations must serve this goal. This is in the interests of all of us, including the connected and privileged.

Many of the issues I’ve raised here and many I’ve not raised will be part of the discussions that will unfold in the months ahead. You are invited to take part in these discussions and help shape your ICT future. Please do!