Speech By The Deputy Minister of the Department of

Telecommunications and Postal Services,

Hon. Prof. Hlengiwe Mkhize

During the Occasion of the FTTH COUNCIL AFRICA ANNUAL CONFERENCE

City Conference Centre in Cape Town
05 October 2016

Topic: “The Future of Smart”

1. Introduction
Programme director, allow me to start by appreciating the effort taken by Fiber to the Home (FTTH) Africa Council in organizing this prestigious event yet so meaningful and critical. Looking at the world at large, developing and developed, we are in an era whereby computing or activities in the cyber world are ubiquitous and most importantly done through mobile supercomputing. There is existence of artificially-intelligent robots, self-driving cars, neuro-technological brain enhancements, genetic editing etc. All these are as a result of a dramatic change which is all around us and happening at unimaginable speeds.

2. The 4th Industrial Revolution
The existence of all these technological advancements is evidence enough that the Fourth Industrial Revolution is upon us. This is envisaged to contribute substantially to innovation and as a result it becomes the new driver of economic growth in Africa. This is about how we understand and shape the new technology revolution, which entails nothing less than a transformation of humankind.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution concept, includes integrated economies, mechanization and automation, and builds on the digital revolution of the last century. The movement is characterized by an availability of technologies including the Internet of Things, robotics, artificial intelligence and 3D printing that is revolutionizing industries across the globe.
The fourth industrial revolution is building on the three previous industrial revolutions. The First, in the last third of the 18th century, introduced new tools and manufacturing processes based on steam and water power, ushering the transition from hand-made goods to mechanized, machine-based production. The Second, a century later, revolved around steel, railroads, cars, chemicals, petroleum, electricity, the telephone and radio, leading to the age of mass production. The Third, starting in the 1960s, saw the advent of digital technologies, computers, the IT industry, and the automation of process in just about all industries.

The fourth industrial revolution will have an impact on three segments; business, government and individuals. Aligning government with 21st century technological, economic and social realities will require innovations at least as disruptive and profound as those embraced by the private sector. For Africa, the continent has an opportunity to make a significant contribution to the success of the revolution as it means some of its biggest challenges can become unique opportunities.

3. Growing Connectivity Trend in the African Continent and Strategies Adopted
The proliferation of fibre optic infrastructure in South Africa and Africa as a whole is rapidly changing the way in which we work and live. As a result, people’s lives are changing on a daily basis. Governments and regions continent-wide are readjusting their strategies in order to accommodate for this ongoing trend.

African Union Agenda 2063

We have seen how the African Union Heads of States have adopted Agenda 2063: “The Future We Want for Africa by 2063”. This vision has been translated into action. Agenda 2063 is an approach to how the continent should effectively learn from the lessons of the past, build on the progress now underway and strategically take advantage of all possible opportunities available in the immediate and medium term, so as to ensure progressive socioeconomic transformation within the next 50 years.

South Africa’s National Development Plan
Bringing it back home, as a collective government we have seen the importance of our nation being connected to high speed broadband and we have since came up with a section in the National Development Plan, Vision 2030, to express our ICT vision for the period between now and 2030. The NDP says: “By 2030, ICT will underpin the development of a dynamic and connected information society and a vibrant knowledge economy that is more inclusive and prosperous. A seamless information infrastructure will be universally available and accessible and will meet the needs of citizens, business and the public sector, providing access to the creation and consumption of a wide range of converged services required for effective economic and social participation – at a cost and quality at least equal to South Africa's main peers and competitors.” This national policy is further supported by the national broadband policy, South Africa Connect, which outlines a number of activities to improve broadband rollout in South Africa.

4. The Impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution to the Society
We are witnessing profound shifts across all industries, marked by the emergence of new business models, the disruption of incumbents and the reshaping of production, consumption, transportation and delivery systems. To the society, this has created a paradigm shift in terms of how we work and communicate, as well as how we express, inform and entertain ourselves.

Equally, governments and institutions are being reshaped, as are systems of education, healthcare and transportation, among many others. New ways of using technology to change behavior and our systems of production and consumption also offer the potential for supporting the regeneration and preservation of natural environments, rather than creating hidden costs in the form of externalities. Just to explain transformation of the three sectors that I have mentioned:

• Education – we are more and more witnessing machine to machine learning, virtual classrooms and digitized educational content, amongst others, this stands to reduce the cost of education substantially. The plight of the students for free education can be resolved by considering the benefits of the 4th Industrial Revolution for education.
• Healthcare – inequalities in the provision of healthcare services can be significantly reduced or even totally reduced by making use of the more advanced technology brought about by the 4th Industrial Revolution. Remote rural clinics without doctors can connect with doctors in medical centers within major urban areas for a quick diagnosis and prescription of the relevant medication.
• Transportation Systems – we have seen how revolutionized the transporting sector can be with the introduction of ICTs. A good example is Uber transportation services whereby it’s much easier to get a ride using your mobile device. Scaling this up to include other modes such as trains and buses will simplify life much further.

The society further stands to benefit even more through the following:

• A world of customer experiences, data-based services, and asset performance through analytics, meanwhile, requires new forms of collaboration, particularly given the speed at which innovation and disruption are taking place.
• The emergence of global platforms and other new business models, finally, means that talent, culture, and organizational forms will have to be rethought.

5. Government’s Role in the Realisation of the Fourth Industrial Revolution
Appreciating the full potential of the Fourth Industrial Revolution i.e. through ICT phenomena such as Internet of Things (IoT), big data analytics, smart cities development, etc. necessitates a substantial amount of backing and upkeep from government through policy making. Some of the policies that will need to be developed include:

• policies to protect the privacy and rights of consumers and businesses;
• stronger security requirements for critical devices and systems; incentives that promote fair data sharing across companies; and
• new regulations to help us deal with increasingly intelligent machines, the widespread data and ownership thereof. This has to do with analysis of this data, storage and manipulation.

It should understood that in some instances these policies and legislation might not necessarily emanate from the ICT sector per se.

6. South African Government’s Intervention so Far
Open Access Network
The duplication of infrastructure and commercially driven rollout plans lead to expensive infrastructure deployment, which costs are passed on to consumers. In addition, the limited number of service providers are not able to adequately exert pressure on retail prices.

The goals of the Open Access Framework in the National ICT Integrated White Paper is to allow for effective service based competition, to increase network coverage, and enable the rapid deployment of broadband infrastructure and services across all areas of the country, to promote shared and equal access to broadband infrastructure, amongst others. This is in support of the Fourth Industrial Revolution as these address some of the basic requirements for the citizens to participate.

Interoperability
Government will monitor developments in relation to the Internet of Things to assess whether it will be necessary to set standards or amend privacy and cybersecurity rules to address possible new challenges and encourage interoperability.

Digital Development Fund
We have made our intentions clear that the Universal Service and Access Fund will be replaced by the Digital Development Fund, which will focus on the extension of infrastructure, end user and equipment subsidies, supporting digital literacy and skill development, funding to extend access to digital government services, and support for innovative use by SMMEs of ICTs to improve productivity, sustainability and competitiveness.

Rapid Deployment Policy
The policy provides a framework for ECNS licensees and landowners to work together for the public benefit while upholding the right of ECNS licensees to access property in order to deploy their networks. It also provides that no municipality may use the application process for the deployment of electronic communication facilities as a revenue generating mechanism. Fees for the approval of the deployment of electronic communication facilities must be cost-based.

Spectrum Allocation
South Africa has taken a position of using spectrum to create open access network allowing new entrants to enter the sector, connecting the unconnected and fast-tracking the developmental agenda. This policy provides the basis for the planning and management of the radio frequency spectrum in a manner that maximises the socio-economic benefits derived from the use of the spectrum resource. The new spectrum management regime encourages that licensees work together as far as it is practicable. This includes through the deployment of a Wireless Open Access Network.

A New Regulator for ICTs
Given the different policy imperatives and objectives driving audio and audio-visual content regulation and ICT regulation of networks and electronic communications services, and the need for holistic regulation across the Internet value chain, the ICT Policy Review process recommended that a new economic regulator of ICTs must be established. The new regulator will incorporate the functions of .ZADNA and other functions from the existing regulator. It would also incorporate postal services regulation. This will facilitate decisive intervention by Government to achieve inclusive broadband roll-out targets.

Investment in Post School Education
Our government is currently putting much emphasis investments in post-school education, post-doctoral degrees, research and development, ICT and innovations, science and technology. We have a dedicated Seta, MICT-Seta addressing the post-school ICT training and also have a dedicated agency which works closely with our MICT-Seta to address the country’s ICT skills shortages. As a country we need to really gear-up and prepare for the unknown jobs of the future brought about by the 4th Industrial Revolution.

Access and application are critical. Science and technology are the differentiators between countries that are able to tackle poverty effectively by growing and developing their economies, and those that are not. The extent to which developing economies emerge as economic powerhouses depends on their ability to grasp and apply insights from science and technology and use them creatively. Innovation is the primary driver of technological growth and drives higher living standards.

Our Department of Science and Technology has developed and ICT Research, Development and Innovation Roadmap to support the country’s strategic objective of increasing the impact of ICTs on society and developing the economy. The Roadmap presents a vision that will enable South Africa to become a significant player in the global ICT arena. It provides a coherent framework and plan for South Africa’s future investment and planning in ICT research, development and innovation, as well as provide a single point of coordination of the country’s RDI activities.

I thank you.