Read the Framework

A Framework for a Comprehensive

National Broadband Strategy in South Africa

April 2009

The undersigned, representing a diverse array of South African citizens and stakeholders in South Africa’s broadband future, call on the next Government, elected on 22 April 2009, to make the development and implementation of a comprehensive National Broadband Strategy a high national priority in 2009/10.

We believe that the following framework for a comprehensive national broadband strategy can serve as a basis for building consensus on such a strategy between all stakeholders. The framework was developed with input from stakeholders from several sectors at a workshop held on March 24 in Johannesburg. The workshop was hosted by the South African National Broadband Forum, an initiative of four organisations which share the common goal of creating cheaper and affordable access for South African citizens: the Shuttleworth Foundation, SANGONeT, South Africa Connect, and the Association for Progressive Communications (APC).

Goal

All South Africans should have affordable broadband access to the Internet.

Objectives

Maximize fibre and wireless broadband infrastructure in urban and rural areas in an equitable and environmentally responsible manner
Stimulate the creation of digital broadband content by content providers and citizens
Enhance e-governance and e-citizenship in a broadband environment.
Accelerate the adoption and use of advanced broadband connections so that the potential of information and communications technologies (ICTs) for learning and teaching can be fully realized.

To achieve these objectives, all stakeholders should commit themselves to the activities under the following core themes:

Access to infrastructure

Broadband should be recognised as an essential facility in line with other basic infrastructure such as water, sewerage and electricity. Essential access (or the most basic level of access) should be conceptualized as a right.
Incentives should be created for building more fibre and wireless broadband infrastructure. The needs of education, health, government services and job creation - e.g. access for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) - should be prioritized in the short-to-medium term.
Incentives should be established for the construction of broadband networks to under-serviced areas.
Clear, enforceable regulatory frameworks should be prioritised to ensure fair access to infrastructure and infrastructure sharing towards maximizing the network effect of having as many people online as possible.
A strategy to roll out broadband networks to smaller municipalities should be implemented so that equitable access to broadband in areas outside major centres is ensured. This could be done as part of a public works initiative to create jobs, stimulate private investment, and deliver public services.
Local governments should be mandated to support the roll-out of municipal broadband networks, including enabling other stakeholders, such as the private sector, to build these networks.
Additional spectrum for the deployment of wireless broadband access should be made available – timeously, equitably and affordably – to maximize the rapid deployment of infrastructure across the whole country.
Coordination mechanisms should be established to ensure an integrated approach to fibre optic cable deployments in co-operation with other infrastructure build-outs, particularly with regard to power lines and roads and in new spatial developments. The potential of regulating this co-operative framework should be explored.
All new broadband infrastructure build-outs should rely on renewable energy sources from the outset.
Strategic coordination among national, provincial, and local governments for broadband infrastructure roll-outs should be the norm. In addition, roll-out plans should be made publicly available by default in coordination with the private sector
All government departments should develop broadband strategies related to their mission delivery.

Content, applications and services

While the availability of affordable bandwidth will stimulate the development of commercial content and services, strategies to incentivise the production of necessary content and services that are not likely to be profitable need to be developed. These could include:

Content industries and creators should be incentivised to develop high quality local digital broadband content. Incentives should be equitably distributed across the different stakeholders in the industry, including stakeholders in the private, non-profit, and academic sectors, in the arts, as well as individuals, groups or communities.
Research and development (R&D) and innovation in content, networks, software and new technologies through universities and other existing centres of excellence should be undertaken.
New non-discriminatory intellectual property models, and progressive policy and legislation on digital rights and copyright should be explored. These should take into account the communication and socio-economic rights of people, as well as the strong developmental potential of open access copyright regimes, while paying heed to the reasonable need for the recognition and protection of intellectual labour and content ownership.
Libraries, archives, and educational institutions should be encouraged to digitize content responsibly and make the transition into a broadband environment. Archives of public value and importance that have, traditionally, remained closed or inaccessible should be made publicly available.
National, provincial and local governments should prioritise the production of digital content, particularly in local languages, to drive the take up of e-government services which have the potential to improve service delivery in a broadband environment and stimulate demand for broadband infrastructure.

e-Governance and e-citizenship objectives

Broadband internet has enormous potential for strengthening community voice in public debate and decision-making and in maintaining transparency and accountability by government. All stakeholders, particularly government, civil society and the media, should take steps to enhance governance and citizenship in South Africa in a broadband environment.

National, provincial and local governments should make use of broadband to provide access to public sector information, ensure transparency, facilitate citizen participation in decision-making, and improve access to government services.
Parliament should not only disseminate information online, but enable citizen engagement in the legislative process by making full use of the interactive potential of broadband internet.
Wide-spread public internet access facilities should be guaranteed so that ALL citizens are able to interact with local, provincial and national government and utilise online government information and services.
Commercial and community media should utilise the potential of broadband to improve production and dissemination of news.
Civil society and community organisations should actively make use of broadband in their efforts to strengthen democracy and citizenship. This can be done through better monitoring of implementation, recording and reporting of corruption, direct interaction with members or parliament, and through facilitating public debate and deliberation.

Education and training objectives

Steps must be taken to stimulate the adoption and use of advanced broadband connections in order to fully realise the potential of ICTs and digital media to support learning and teaching.

Every school and university student, teacher and lecturer should have appropriate technologies that can connect to the network through high speed broadband connections to be able to communicate, collaborate, and participate in effective learning and teaching practices.
Every municipal library should have an internet-based learning centre in which citizens can receive guidance in foundational information literacy skills so that they can enjoy meaningful access to the Internet.
Workplace skills development programmes should prioritize Internet literacy.
Broadband access should be identified as a critical delivery mechanism of outcomes-based education given that Web 2.0 enables students to collaborate and interact on educational projects. This should be teacher and curriculum led.
Teacher training and re-training programmes focusing on the use of ICTs and the internet and other broadband platforms should be conceptualised by government in partnership with other stakeholders.
Relevant government departments should develop and roll out a free broad-based national e-citizen training programme. This should focus on basic computer literacy, how to use e-government services, and how to leverage economic opportunities using broadband.