ICT driving economic growth

Kenya is often sighted as one of the countries which saw significant economic growth as the ICT sector in that country took root. The mobile telephony sector, specifically, has been leading the way. Mobile money platform, “M-pesa” was launched in Kenya in 2007 and has since become an African phenomenon, giving many unbanked people access to financing via their mobile devices. As a direct result of M-pesa, there are more Kenyans with access to finance now than before the mobile money platform was launched.

Of course, M-pesa would be meaningless without wide mobile network coverage across all areas of Kenya.  As such, for mobile telephony to truly have a big impact, there must be wide network coverage both in rural and urban areas. It is safe to say that in South Africa, most parts of the country now have mobile network coverage. However, broadband 3G coverage still leaves a lot to be desired. Although there is much talk about LTE, the next generation of mobile broadband technology, much work still needs to be done by all the networks operating in South Africa to make 3G pervasive or indeed ubiquitous.

Fibre optic cable laying, Sandton

Broadband

By the end of 2013, South Africa will be connected to the rest of the world via a number of undersea cables on the east and west coasts of the country. The EASSy cable has already gone live, giving South Africa in excess of 4,7 Terabytes of capacity.  This however pales into insignificance when compared to the combined 23 Terabytes of capacity which the WACS, ACE and SAex cables will add by the end of 2013. Of course, all this capacity will be meaningless without  on-land backhaul connecting to homes and offices. To this end, all telecoms companies in South Africa, including state-owned fibre optic company, Broadband Infraco, are investing heavily in underground fibre optic cable.

Overtime, a combination of all the undersea cables landing in South Africa, along with underground fibre optic, will make South Africa a country with one of the best broadband connectivity in the world. This broadband connectivity will no doubt open up many economic opportunities. In my view, broadband will become the foundation for innovation in South Africa, indeed broadband will facilitate more Foreign Direct Investment. ICT is as important, if not more important than transportation infrastructure.

Our Politicians must show willingness to create effective government!!