L I R N E . N E T

The LINK Centre is holding a free public seminar entitled, ‘South Africa, communications services and 2010 – e-readiness or e-rockiness?‘

The World Cup 2010. Two years and counting. South Africa’s telecommunications and broadcasting infrastructures are being upgraded for the event. Where does the work stand in 2008? Will South Africa’s communications services be up to scratch? Or is it time for a new coach? Or, are we playing for sudden death?

Will Hahn, Gartner Principal Analyst, Carrier Operations and Strategies Worldwide, has been tracking the South African ICT sector for many years. Join us on 17 November 2008 to hear Will’s thoughts on the local communications space, and how South Africa fares with the 2010 countdown clock ticking.

• What policy and regulatory issues urgently need to be addressed?
• How do service providers need to transform to deliver service excellence?
• What is the future for ICT services in a post-2010 converged market environment?

The LINK Centre, Graduate School of Public Policy & Management, Wits University, and the Joburg Centre for Software Engineering cordially invite you to a free public seminar by Will Hahn entitled ‘South Africa, communications services and 2010 – e-readiness or e-rockiness?’

Date: Monday, 17 November 2008
Time: 17:30 for 18:00
Venue: Classroom F, Mwalimu House, School of Public and Development Management, 2 St David’s Place, Parktown
RSVP: lauren.aca2k [at] gmail.com (or 084-582-0422)

This seminar is a must for everyone interested in ICT sector issues, from both a policy and a regulatory point of view, as well as from a business perspective.

Will Hahn is Gartner’s Principal Analyst, Carrier Operations and Strategies Worldwide, where he is part of the worldwide communications group. He assists with a variety of worldwide and public sectors, including public services in Latin America and Middle East/Africa. He tracks the submarine cable markets worldwide, and he is insight lead for the carrier operations and strategies team. Prior to joining Gartner, Will worked as an inquiry analyst for Northern Business Information in New York City. Before that, he taught ancient-medieval history for 13 years at private preparatory schools in upstate New York.

The Research ICT Africa (RIA!) August 2008 Policy Brief is based on the preliminary analysis of the Individual and Household ICT Survey undertaken by the network.
The policy brief provides a snapshot of ICT development in Ghana, which has not been robust despite the country having been amongst the early reformers of the African ICT sector. In spite of improvements in certain sector segments, others such as household fixed line, internet access and public telephones, need policy support to catalyse their development.

Click here to download the RIA! Policy Brief (PDF format)

For further information about this report, contact:
Dr. Godfred Frempong <gkfrempong [at] stepri.csir.org.gh>

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In a new working paper, Ewan Sutherland, Research Fellow at the LINK Centre, considers the role of national auditors in telecom policy oversight. “With almost two hundred NRAs the question of their oversight, or the regulation of regulators, is now a very general concern. The processes auditors general use can and do improve the overall system and the workings of both ministries and regulators.” Sutherland sketches out the roles of auditors in ten countries and draws conclusions around the advantages that national auditors can bring to national telecom regulation in terms of processes and oversight; and the parliamentary level requirements to benefit from auditor’s assessments.

Click here to download the full paper in .pdf format.

Click here to go to the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) and here for the Intosai Development Initiative (IDI).
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It is naturally assumed that evidence based research and indicators feed into policymaking. However, the degree to which these do enter into policy process discourses and influence policymaking is rarely documented. This week, LIRNEasia had a big win in their attempts to introduce the issue of lowering intra-SAARC call charges into the agenda of inaugural session of the 15th summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC). Although they were told it was too late to introduce the issue via the technical committees, LIRNEasia appears to have succeeded not only in getting it into the agenda, but into the SAARC Chairman’s speech! As part of a multifaceted strategy, in addition to documenting and making price benchmarks available online, LIRNEasia also worked to ensure that the story was covered in the media of different SAARC countries. As noted by LIRNEasia, the real success will be when the rates are actually lowered to levels that are not above extra-SAARC rates.

Click here for LIRNEasia pricing benchmarks.
Click here for LIRNEasia post with links to media coverage on this issue and here for the post on the SAARC agenda.
Click here for the full text of the speech by Sri Lankan President and SAARC chairman Mahinda Rajapaksa.

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Scott Wallsten’s recent paper (April 2008), Reverse Auctions and Universal Telecommunications Service: Lessons from Global Experience, provides an update on the use of reverse auctions (or least cost subsidies, or reverse subsidies). This mechanism allows market actors to bid for what they calculate will be the minimum needed subsidy to extend networks to rural and remote areas, with the concession awarded to the lowest bid. This has been an effective way of setting competitive terms for serving what were perceived to not be attractive or viable markets. Wallsten’s paper reviews experiences with reverse auctions in Australia, Chile, Colombia, India, Nepal, and Peru – and further discusses their implications for the US.

Click here to go to the free download page at the Social Sciences Research Network.

See also LIRNEasia research in this area: “Smart Subsidies – Getting the Conditions Right: The experience of expanding rural telecoms” in Nepal by Harsha de Silva & Ratna Kaji Tuladhar, Chapter 7 in Diversifying Participation in Network Development (2007).

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