Preparing South Africa for information society ‘e-services’ : the significance of the VANS sector
Date
2003
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Southern African Journal of Information and Communication (SAJIC), The Edge Institute / Research ICT Africa, Braamfontein, ZA
Abstract
New Value-Added Network Services (VANS) provide the foundation for the wide variety of
applications (e-commerce, e-government, e-education, etc.,) that will make-up the e-economy in
new information societies. Internet services are only a part of the VANS sector. The development of
VANS is influenced primarily by three factors – technological improvements, government policies/
regulations, and the market structure of the VANS sector. South Africa has announced clear
information society policies, but has not yet implemented them. Although the national fixed telecom
network has experienced declining coverage in recent years, for those connected, the network is
fully digitalised and makes increasing use of Internet Protocol. Technologically, South Africa is
well prepared to be a leader in VANS development. However, its policy and regulation arena has
been a site of continuous conflict and indecision, which has resulted in VANS development being
restricted rather than promoted by government policy. Telkom’s aggressive activity in attempting
to maximise its service exclusivities has restricted VANS development even further. Telkom’s
exclusivity period under the government’s “managed liberalisation” policy ended 7 May 2002. If
South Africa is to see its information society and e-economy policies implemented, it will have to
establish, and implement through strong regulation, a commitment to promoting an innovative
VANS sector. The forthcoming convergence legislation provides an opportunity to do so.
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Keywords
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS, ELECTRONIC ECONOMY, POLICY MAKING, GOVERNANCE, REGULATION, SOUTH AFRICA