Strategy Intervention

Aspects addressed by the strategy

Intended Outcomes

Indicators

• Institutional capacity
• Regulation and administrative bottlenecks
• Efficiency and effectiveness
• Data and analysis for monitoring and evaluation and policy reformulation
• Establishment of the National Broadband Council
• Rationalisation of SOCs

• An enabling regulatory and administrative environment that facilitates broadband rollout
• Broader public interest preserved
• Level playing fields with fair market conditions
• Dedicated council to advise Minister on policy, planning and implementation
• Autonomy, accountability and efficiency of regulator
• Access, price and quality of broadband
• Time and cost of network build approval
• Degree of disruption due to network build
• Environmental impact of network builds
• Targets met
• Coverage price

• Autonomy, accountability and efficiency of regulator
• Access, price and quality of broadband
• Time and cost of network build approval
• Degree of disruption due to network build
• Environmental impact of network builds
• Targets met
• Coverage price

• Pooling of public sector demand
• Public sector networks
• Open access to network regulation

• High capacity future-proof network capacity procured for key public sector broadband needs at more affordable rates
• Government’s on-going operational communications expenditure reduced through upfront capital expenditure
• Risk of investment in network extensions for operators reduced through anchor tenancy

• Speed, quality and cost of network capacity at Government facilities
• Speed of rollout and quality of service
• Network reach and price of access
• Increased investment by network operators
• Take up of services in public sector, schools and clinics

• Mechanisms for sharing of infrastructure
• Coordination of infrastructure rollout
• Enhanced use and licensing of spectrum

• Where competition is viable this will produce the best outcomes but infrastructure sharing and cooperation to be enabled on network builds to reduce cost
• Economies of scale enabled in medium density and low income areas through government investment and guarantees in network extensions

• Network reach
• Cost to communicate
• Speed, quality and cost of network capacity
• Speed of rollout
• Increased investment by network operators
• Improved penetration

• Capability and capacity
• R&D, innovation and entrepreneurship
• Industry development
• Local content and applications

• Uptake and use enabled through institutional capacity and individual capability and institutional absorption
• More equitable access to higher quality government services
• Reduce pressure on scarce public sector facilities by moving resources online
• The benefits of broadband in terms of economic growth and enhanced quality of life is realised through relevant content and applications
• Promote growth through enabling economic infrastructure and associated industrial development

• Fund local content
• Support apps to market
• E-government services
• ICT startups
• Registration of ICT related patents
• Increase demand side skills: ICT specialists, engineers, lawyers, economists
• Number of PhDs in area of ICT
• % of GDP spent on R&D
• Increase demand-side skills: e-literacy campaign, ICT in school curriculum

• Currently low penetration, high prices, poor quality of service

• ICASA to monitor and evaluate performance against the targets and compliance with quality of service standards on an ongoing basis, which are to be reported annually, and on which basis five year targets will be reviewed

• Vertically integrated incumbents hindering fair competition

• Minister of Communications to consider the viability and impact on competition of establishing open access national wholesale fibre and wireless broadband networks through the establishment of a multi-player entity.

• Appointment process, funding arrangements, institutional design, capabilities and competencies produced negative outcomes

• Review of the regulator and universal service agency governance structure, leadership appointment process and funding arrangements to ensure requisite capability to regulate
  • open access
  • spectrum
  • competition

• Hurdles and bottlenecks hampering broadband rollout

• Authority for enforcement of Rapid Deployment Guidelines to be fast tracked and progressed through DoC and SIP 15 in consultation with ICASA. DoC to engage with DEA on the development of a Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment for broadband infrastructure
• DoC to engage with DEA on the development of a Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment for broadband infrastructure

• Delay in allocating high demand spectrum

• Ministry to expedite policy directive to release high demand spectrum in ways that ensure efficient use, wholesale access and fair competition. ICASA to assign high demand spectrum

• Potential shortcomings in legislative support for Broadband policy

• The Department will undertake a review of all relevant legislation and regulation required to enable implementation of this policy

• Absence of indicators to inform national decision-making and inadequate reporting to UN and other multilateral agencies

• ICASA to prepare information reporting regulations to ensure collection of ITU universal indicators
• DoC to work with Stats SA on regular production of ICT satellite account from the national accounts to assess contribution of sector to national economy
• DoC to budget for and manage demand survey to comply with UN commitments to Measuring the Information Society

• SOCs rationalised to contribute more efficiently and effectively to national objective
• The DoC, DPE, Treasury and the PICC to agree on appropriate transitional measures during the process to arrive at the rationalised entities.

• Broadband Council, made up of public and private sector representatives and experts appointed by Minister

• Coordination amongst all relevant role players to ensure optimal implementation and leverage of resources
• DoC will coordinate implementation of the digital development projects to address broadband needs and to ensure sustainable rollout

• DoC will coordinate implementation of the digital development projects to address broadband needs and to ensure sustainable rollout

• Enabling infrastructure for e- government and government administration

• Requirements analysis, planning, design and mechanism to pool government demand for smart procurement of connectivity required across government and other public sector entities

• Urgently enable teaching and learning as well as school administration through broadband.

• Requirements analysis, planning, design and implementation of a national schools network by an appointed agency
• Establish institutional capacity in the Department of Basic Education or a relevant agency to enable uptake and use of broadband in the basic education environment

• Enable eHealth and National Health Insurance (NHI) for improved health outcomes

• Requirements analysis, planning, design and implementation of a national health network by an appointed agency;
• Establish institutional capacity in the Department of Health or a relevant agency to enable uptake and use of broadband in the health environment

• Rural and poor populations and underserved areas in general not well served by network infrastructure and services
• Free public Wi-Fi at points reached by the public sector networks to stimulate demand by allowing people to access the internet, including government services and to support municipal-wide public Wi-Fi networks.

• Collaborative initiative involving DoC, DRDLR, CoGTA and provinces to identify areas that require community network interventions and implementing such networks.
• Integration of public Wi-Fi into the networks identified above
• Fast-track implementation of Wi-Fi at public facilities by agencies responsible for these facilities and networks where the capacity already exists

• Creation of an open access wireless network

• The Minister of Communications to consider the feasibility and operationalisation of the network
• ICASA to assign spectrum in support of the policy

• Models, design and roadmap towards a fibre rich Open Access National Broadband Network (NBN).

• DoC facilitates process to conceptualise and develop the open access NBN

• The DoC will ensure that research is done to determine the demand gap, i.e. barriers to broadband adoption to inform additional actions and demand-side targets

• Requisite e-literacy and skills to use broadband

• The DoC will engage with the
  • Department of Basic Education on integration of ICT into school curriculum
  • Department of Higher Education on integration of ICT into post matric curricula
  • DPSA to integrate ICT skills development as an administrative and delivery tool in all government
• Department of Labour and SETAs to focus on adult e-literacy, youth development and sectoral programmes

• Development of high level skills and critical mass R&D capability to drive innovation

• DoC will engage with relevant stakeholders to enable public and private investment in ICT R&D through implementation of the ICT RDI Roadmap
• DoC will engage with relevant stakeholders for the development of professionals and postgraduates in multi-disciplinary programmes to meet the diverse skills requirements within the strengthen the ICT ecosystem
• DoC will engage with relevant stakeholders to support entrepreneurship and innovation through a coordinated incubator and mobile applications laboratory programme

• Absence of local content, local production and innovation in content and applications

• Establish a local content/public service content and apps production and innovation fund to incentivise public and private content development that is relevant, in local languages
• Digitise existing government content
• Government departments, private sector and NGOs to promote the awareness of locally developed applications and local content
• DoC in consultation with relevant departments to develop Open Data policy to contribute to broader e-government strategy

• DoC will identify mechanisms and ensure implementation of device subsidies for identified segments of the population