It is necessary to distinguish between the roles of the three spheres of Government, namely National, Provincial and Local Government. The policy further articulates the roles of the SOEs, and the private sector.
| 5.1.1) |
National Government |
| 5.1.1.1) |
Involvement by National Government will be focused on the following goals: |
| • |
investment in the provisioning of electronic communication network services towards increasing access to and improving affordability of Broadband services; |
| • |
provisioning of an infrastructure platform for facilitating public access points towards increasing access to Broadband services; |
| • |
connecting government and its entities through Broadband services at all levels for enabling e-government services, towards increasing uptake and usage of Broadband services; |
| • |
investing in the development of local content and Broadband awareness to support uptake and usage of Broadband services; |
| • |
promote access to SMEs, co-operatives, rural areas and private households, and bridge the digital divide including through community and workplace access facilities; and |
| • |
promote and advance economic development goals through infrastructure build as well as in broadband provision by the public and private sectors. These goals include opportunities to grow employment and identify local industrial opportunities, rural development and strengthening the knowledge based economy. |
| 5.1.1.2) |
National Government will by means of policy, direct the Authority to create an enabling regulatory environment for the private and public sector to develop infrastructure, services and applications towards the increase of access to and affordability of Broadband services. |
| 5.1.1.3) |
The Department of Communications, as the custodian of ICTs in South Africa, will be ultimately responsible for the implementation of the policy as a whole. |
| 5.1.2) |
Provincial Government |
| 5.1.2.1) |
This policy acknowledges the different ICT initiatives in provincial government as well as the unique requirements of the different provinces. The role of the provincial government is: |
| • |
to implement and align existing policies with the national Broadband Policy; |
| • |
defining the requirement for Broadband services in the province to enable the provisioning of access; |
| • |
to develop and align existing broadband strategies in line with the national Broadband Policy; |
| • |
ensuring the provision of electronic communication network services in the province by requesting the required services from the relevant SOEs; |
| • |
connecting the provincial government and its entities with Broadband services and enabling the distribution of e-government services to drive the demand for Broadband and promote uptake and usage; and |
| • |
investing in the development of local content and Broadband awareness to support uptake and usage of Broadband services. |
| 5.1.3.1) |
This policy acknowledges the different ICT initiatives in local government as well as the unique requirements of the different municipalities. The role of local government is: |
| • |
to implement and align existing policies with the national Broadband Policy; |
| • |
defining the requirement for Broadband services in the municipalities to enable the provisioning of infrastructure; |
| • |
to develop and align existing broadband strategies in line with the national and provincial Broadband Policies; |
| • |
ensuring the provision of electronic communication network services in cooperation with the provincial and national government; |
| • |
connecting the local government and its entities with Broadband services and enabling the distribution of e-government services to drive the demand for Broadband and promote uptake and usage; and |
| • |
investing in the development of local content and Broadband awareness to support uptake and usage of Broadband services. |
| 5.1.4) |
State owned enterprises |
| 5.1.4.1) |
Government will use SOEs such as Sentech and Infraco for the provisioning of electronic communications networks services. |
| 5.1.4.2) |
The Authority and all SOEs and Agencies should fulfil their various mandates as stipulated in the EC Act. The Authority (lCASA) will contribute by implementing the policy through regulation. The Agency (USAASA) will consider the targets set in the Broadband policy when allocating funding to various projects. |
| 5.1.4.3) |
All SOEs in the ICT sector will also be utilised to achieve Governments developmental agenda and to contribute in bridging the digital divide. |
| 5.1.5.1) |
The role of the private sector, as included here, does not provide an exhaustive list of functions, but merely seeks to establish the general concept. |
| 5.1.5.2) |
The private sector will provide both wholesale and retail ECNS and ECS within the regulatory environment / framework as determined by the Authority. |
| 5.1.5.3) |
The private sector will also be utilised to achieve Government's developmental agenda and to contribute towards bridging the digital divide through their license obligations. |
| 5.1.5.4) |
The private sector will also, in partnership with Government facilitate the implementation of specific developmental initiatives. |
| 5.2.1) |
Broadband Inter-Governmental Implementation Committee |
| 5.2.1.1) |
A Broadband Inter-Governmental Implementation Committee, incorporating all spheres of Government, will be established. |
| 5.2.1.2) |
The terms of reference of the Broadband implementation committee will include: |
| • |
developing an implementation plan that supports the national Broadband Policy (the implementation will include skills development, research and development); |
| • |
the overall coordination of Broadband implementation at national, provincial and local government levels; |
| • |
facilitating the monitoring and measurement of Broadband penetration in South Africa and be responsible for the reporting thereof; |
| • |
identifying mechanisms to realise the potential benefits of Broadband; and |
| • |
preventing duplication of investment by advising National Treasury on government investment in Broadband electronic communication infrastructure on national, provincial and local government levels. |
| 5.2.1.3) |
The Committee will report to the Minister of Communications, who shall: |
| • |
finalise and add to the terms of reference; |
| • |
facilitate the realisation of all Broadband initiatives; |
| • |
address all issues of national and provincial importance as related to Broadband; and |
| • |
be the custodian of all issues on Broadband and related matters. |
| 5.2.2) |
Monitoring and evaluation |
The Broadband Inter-Governmental Committee in facilitating the implementation of the Broadband policy, through an implementation plan, will ensure that short and long term targets are achieved.
| 5.2.2.1) |
Short term targets |
| 5.2.2.1.1) |
The Broadband Inter-Governmental Implementation Committee will be tasked to conduct a survey on the current status of Broadband in South Africa as well as the relevant market players in the industry. |
| 5.2.2.1.2) |
Broadband penetration as well as ECN connectivity to municipalities will be used as the measure to determine the success of this policy. To ensure the measurability of penetration in terms of individuals this goal will be set per household, as this is the unit currently in use by Statistics South Africa. |
| 5.2.2.1.3) |
The Broadband Policy shall be reviewed from time to time as determined by the Minister of Communications. |
| 5.2.2.2) |
Long term targets |
| 5.2.2.2.1) |
In terms of access penetration, South Africans shall have universal access to Broadband services by 2019. Universal access meaning, for example, that there will be a public ICT access point within a two kilometre radius of any person in a sparsely populated area. |
| 5.2.2.2.2) |
In terms of service penetration, household Broadband penetration should be at least 15% by 2019. |
| 5.2.2.2.3) |
ECN connectivity should be available to all municipal areas by 2019. |
Public Service Commission Act, 1997
