SAJIC Issue 8, 2007

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://wiredspace.wits.ac.za/handle/10539/28143

This issue of the journal represents the research outcomes of a bilateral research project between the LINK Centre at the Graduate School of Public and Development Management, Witwatersrand University and SMIT at the Vrije Universiteit Brussels. Researchers from both institutes gathered in Johannesburg and Brussels to exchange views and insights into infrastructure, applications, usage patterns and policy related to broadband. Despite the obvious differences between the two countries, circa 2007 neither country had seen the uptake and usage that had characterised broadband frontrunners such as South Korea and Iceland.

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    Why Broadband? The Meaning of Broadband for Residential Users
    (LINK Centre, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Johannesburg, 2007-12-15) Van den Broeck, Wendy; Lievens, Bram
    In the society we live in today, access to information is crucial. But because of the increased amount of data as well as the nature of the content, a simple Internet connection is no longer sufficient. The EU government, which has followed an Internet access policy for many years (see eEurope programme), has shifted the focus to broadband Internet. Yet, despite these efforts, the uptake of broadband Internet is still quite low. And the situation in developing countries is even more critical. But is access to information the only enabler for users to switch to a broadband connection? With the wide range of Internet services and applications in the domains of entertainment, communication, commerce etc, now more than ever the Internet is a part of people’s everyday life. In this article we will not only look at the benefits and motivations for people to subscribe to a broadband Internet connection, but also at the different barriers to the uptake and usage of such a connection.
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    Analysing Sector Specificity Regarding ICT and Broadband Usage by SMME Businesses
    (LINK Centre, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Johannesburg, 2007-12-15) Pierson, Jo; Baelden, Dorien; Lievens, Bram; Marsigny, Christine
    In the transition of the techno-economic paradigm from a (post) industrial to an information society, it is crucial that ICT and broadband become embedded within the whole of the socio-economic system. However figures show that SMEs and micro-enterprises – the backbone of European economy – are still lagging behind, despite the numerous policy initiatives. In this paper we focus on the specificity of the sector for understanding ICT usage in small business, instead of the common generic SMME approach. In February2006a survey was done with966 Belgian enterprises that answered an online questionnaire. The goal was to better understand how professional activity is linked with ICT usage. The latter was measured by means of four compound indicators (adoption, usage, knowledge and attitude). The three sectors with the lowest degree of ICT usage were identified: construction, retail trade and manufacturing. Within these sectors a thorough study was done by means of interviews with professional organisations and focus group interviews with a carefully selected sample of SMME business owners. This resulted in the identification of sector-specific elements as well as issues that transgress different sectors. These findings are to be integrated in a public initiative by the Federal Ministry of Economy for stimulating ICT usage among Belgian SMMEs