Development, Universal Access and
Governance in South Africa
 CPSR Symposium: One Planet, One Net - The Public Interest in
Internet Governance Boston, 10th - 11th October 1998.
 Tracy Cohen, Part-time lecturer
 Telecommunications Law, Wits Law School
 Assistant to Council, SATRA
 The views expressed do not necessarily represent the views of SATRA, its Council or
any of its employees.
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Areas of focus
 Context and Vitals
 Definitions: Universal Service v. Universal Access
 Universal Access in South Africa
Poverty
Telecommunications Teledensity
Internet Penetration on the Continent
 Governance
Policy and Legislation
Role of the Regulator
 Issues
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South Africa
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Definitions - Dedicated service v.
reasonable access
 Universal Service
 3 Components - Availability, Affordability, Accessibility -ITU
 “affordable, access to basic voice telephony or its equivalent for
all those reasonably requesting it, regardless of where they live.”
- Oftel
 Universal Access
all of the above, BUT communal and within a reasonable
distance
 Definition depends on the nature of the market
 Definition informed by technical, social, political
considerations e.g. RDP
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Universal Access in South Africa
 Poverty
36% of all households below the HSL
HSL = R1050/month ($180)
• Poorest 20% hh (27% pop) <3% total income
• Richest 20% hh (3% pop) >65% total income
 Telecommunications Teledensity
•
•
•
•
2.8 million residential lines
1.5 million business lines
28 000 farm lines
90 000 Public Pay Phones
National average = 9
• Richer areas = 50
• Poorer areas = 0.001
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The Phone Gap
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In Summary
8.7 million households in SA
2.8 million have telephones
55% of the 2.8 million are in white households
5.9 million households have no phones
2.1 million households have NO ACCESS to a
telephone within 5km’s of their home
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SA - ISP Industry Structure
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Internet in Africa
Source: Mike Jensen, AISI
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Cost Comparative
Source: Mike Jensen, AISI
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The role of Governance in delivering
Universal Access in SA
 Universal access requires regulation aimed at balancing economic
growth and social/policy objectives
 History, Policy and legislation - Telecommunications Act
No. 103 of 1996
 State institutions supporting universal access
 SATRA
• The public interest - Telkom v Internet Service Providers Association,
1997
The Universal Service Agency
• Lifespan - 5 years
• Universal Service Fund - Section 59
• Administered by the USA subject to the control of SATRA
Department of Communications
• Multimedia Projects/ Public Access Projects
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A nation’s wealth is correlated with its
telecom infrastructure
Source: Formus SA
Internet Host Computers - Jan 1995
10,000,000
USA
Norw ay
Finland
1,000,000
Denm ark
South Africa
Hong Kong
Poland
New Zealand
Portugal
Singapore
Israel
Czech Rep
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Slovenia
Greece
Chile
Slovakia
Malaysia
Estonia
100,000
10,000
1,000
100
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Costa Rica
Latvia
Luxem bourg
Ecuador
Lithuania Bulgaria
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$1,000
UK
Germ any
Netherlands
Sw itzerland
Austria
Belgium
Spain
Korea, S
Taiw an
Brazil
Mexico
Russian Fed
Turkey
Thailand
Argentina
Ukraine
Kuw ait
Peru
Uruguay
Macau
Moldavia
Guinea
Canada
France
Japan
Italy
Rom ania
Jam aica
Cyprus
Zam bia
Tunesia
Nicaragua
Zim babw e
Panam a
Arm enia
Fiji
Australia
Sw eden
India
$10,000
Indonesia
Egypt
Puerto Rico
Iran
Algeria
Venezuela
Philippines
Colom bia
Kazakhstan
Belarus
Azerbaijan
China
Saudi Arabia
$100,000
$1,000,000
$10,000,000
1993 GNP ($M)
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Issues
 Infrastructure
Sub-Saharan Africa teledensity - <1 in 200
Analogue, unreliable network, urban concentration
 Affordability and Costs
 Services - basic or advanced
 Sustainability
Social
Economic
 Infrastructural Priorities
 Literacy and Language Hegemony
Software solutions
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Conclusion
 Regime is irrelevant - other factors are the
determinants.
 Socially positive role and purpose of regulation:
State has a role in ensuring universal access (more so under the
exclusivity model?)
USF Ceiling of R20 Million/year must be raised - post exclusivity
 Public/private sector partnerships will be vital to success
 International and regional co-operation is crucial
 Degree of success correlates proportionately to degree
of sufficient political will, systematic planning and coordination
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Contact Details
E-mail: Cohet@satra.gov.za
Post: SATRA, Private Bag X1, Marlboro,
Sandton, 2063, South Africa
Tel:
27-11-321-8384
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Useful Sites
 http://www.satra.org.za/
 http://www3.wn.apc.org/africa/mj.htm
 http://www.sangonet.org.za/
 http://wn.apc.org/technology/
 http://demiurge.wn.apc.org/africa/projects.htm
 http://www.doc.org.za/
 http://www.telecom98.co.za/
 http://www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/AS.html
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Snapshot - SA Industry Structure
Telkom
Future fixed line providers
Mobile Cellular
Vodacom, MTN, 3rd and 4th?
PTNs - Transnet and Eskom
Mobile Data, Radio Trunking,
VANS
- including ISPs
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Governance = Regulation?
 Fact: Government involvement in the creation and
extension of services
 Regulation aims to achieve:
 the delivery of basic services
 acceptable ranges and quality of services
 fair competition
 facilitate economic growth and global competitiveness
 Regulation is aimed at balancing economic growth and
social/policy objectives
 Universal Access requires regulation
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24 Months Ago…
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Africa - Continental Connectivity
Indicators
- Source: Mike Jensen, AISI
 46/54 Countries and territories in Africa have Internet
access in the Capital cities
 6 Countries have plans for full Internet access in the
capital cities
 2 Countries remain without plans for full Internet access
 7 Countries have only one full public access ISP after 12
months
 11 Countries have local ISPs or POPs in some secondary
towns
 10 Countries have local dial-up Internet access
nationwide
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Comparatively Speaking…
Source: Mike Jensen, AISI
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