Bridging the digital divide in South Africa and the possible role of municipalities
Date
2011-03-10
Authors
Andrews, Don
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
The digital divide presents all under-developed communities with a challenge. Not to
participate in the Internet revolution will leave whole communities behind. To be able to deal
with this divide, it is necessary to understand it fully, and to understand the roles of the
current players in the telecommunications market who are expected to deliver the tools to
the whole population to enable them to keep pace with this new global revolution. This
study examines a South African perspective of the problem, and particularly why incumbent
operators do not successfully bridge the digital divide, and whether the municipalities which
are entering the telecommunications arena might contribute positively to a solution.
The study explores the connectivity, skills, confidence and beneficial usage aspects of the
digital divide in depth, and then compares these parameters of the digital divide against the
strategies and goals of the major telecommunications operators in South Africa for a match.
It appears from such comparison, that the major operators are strongly focused on
conventional business, and beyond the connectivity component, do not appear to address
the digital divide in its totality.
Many municipalities are investing in telecommunications networks, based on their existing
electricity and water management backbones, and are entering the public
telecommunications operator space. Municipalities have a mandate to deliver to provide
services to residents and businesses, on perhaps different bases from conventional
telecommunications operators. In this respect, their goals and strategies in this field appear
to suggest that municipalities might go further in bridging the digital divide than the
conventional operators.
Description
M.B.A. - WBS
Keywords
Digital divide, Information technology, Municipalities