The Department of Telecommunications and Digital Technologies (DCDT) has outlined seven priorities for the year ahead.

The Broadcasting Digital Migration (BDM) initiative; the release of spectrum; an infrastructure investment and mass employment programme; the Digital Economy Masterplan and its implementation; digital and future skills; the reindustrialisation of the economy with a focus on small, medium-sized and microenterprises (SMMEs); and the repurposing of State-owned enterprises (SOEs) are the focus areas over the next year.

Telecommunications and Digital Technologies Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams says that, in terms of the BDM, the analogue transmissions within 32 sites in the three priority provinces have been switched off, representing 40% of the planned sites since the start of the programme in March.

“We started with the [analogue switch-off (ASO) in the] Free State, and then progressed to the Northern Cape and the North West provinces,” she explains.

The DCDT achieved 96% ASO in the Free State, with 22 of the 23 planned sites now off, while 26% ASO has been achieved in the Northern Cape, at seven of the planned 27 sites, and 10% in the North West province, at three of the planned 29 sites.

“We are targeting to have the majority of the sites in the three provinces switched off by the middle of July this year,” she assures.

Further, the ASO process is targeting the phased release of the much-needed 700 MHz and 800 MHz digital dividend spectrum on a province-by-province basis by the end of March 2022.

“This process, combined with the digital-to-digital migration, will make available a total of 168 MHz spectrum in each of the provinces.”

Meanwhile, Ndabeni-Abrahams has called on involved stakeholders, including the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa), to resolve the current deadlock on spectrum auction process and find an amicable solution.

Icasa’s planned spectrum licensing was due to start on March 31; however, several legal battles over Icasa’s invitation to apply have once again left the release date of high-demand spectrum in limbo.

“The current litigations on spectrum auctioning and licensing of the Wireless Open Access Network hamper our determination to rebuild our economy,” she says.

Ndabeni-Abrahams, noting that spectrum in South Africa is a highly contested space, says that the DCDT attempted to deal with some of the challenges, such as competition, transformation and opening space for new entrants in the industry in its policy and policy direction.

“I believe that it is within the industry’s ability to find an out-of-court dispute resolution mechanism and avert the delays and stagnating economic impact.”

Another focus area for the year ahead is infrastructure investment and mass employment.

“We believe that partnerships and collaborations are key to taking our sector to greater heights,” she says, highlighting the collective R27-billion pledge by operators and vendors to expand the fourth-generation network and to deploy fifth-generation (5G) and fibre technologies in South Africa.

This network expansion is also extending to rural and underserved areas.

“Through investment in digital infrastructure expansion, 5 920 jobs have already been created by the sector and it is envisaged that there will be an increase of at least 25% of this target,” she continues.

Further, the sourcing of locally manufactured products remains a key priority focus under the DCDT’s Digital Economy Masterplan and the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) programme.

“Together with the industry, we have identified a number of products that can be locally produced.”

These include phones and accessories; components for infrastructure/5G network expansions; sensors and telematics such as lidar, smart meters for water and electricity and other tracking applications; and satellites and drone components.

The DCDT is working with the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition to facilitate the establishment and operationalisation of an information and communication technology (ICT) special economic zone (SEZ).

“To date, a suitable land site has been identified where this SEZ will be situated. The two departments are working towards the local manufacturing of digital products, with government procurement capacity being used as a lever to enable the sector,” she says.

Concomitantly, the DCDT is focusing on the growth of small businesses and the reindustrialisation of the economy.

“The DCDT and its entities always endeavour to support SMMEs through various procurement opportunities. To this end, our department has supported 393 SMMEs.”

Further, it is expected that the ICT Sector Council will publish its sector code to provide for 50% target procurement from majority black-owned suppliers, an increase from 40% in the current code.

Icasa has also recently announced new regulations aimed at promoting historically disadvantaged South Africans in the ICT sector, which will require licensees to comply with the black equity ownership requirement of 30% and achieve Level 4 broad-based black economic-empowerment status.

As part of the DCDT’s ambitions to digitally empower South Africans, a Digital Economy Masterplan has been finalised. The department is currently engaging various stakeholders in the development of the implementation plan.

“The DCDT’s vision is to see all South Africans digitally empowered to create and participate in technology-enabled opportunities that drive inclusiveness, employment and economic transformation across our cities, towns and provinces,” Ndabeni-Abrahams says.

“It is envisaged that the implementation of the Digital Economy Masterplan will see the achievement of economic contribution upwards to 4.5% of gross domestic product a year, the creation of one-million jobs over the next ten years [and the creation of] massive opportunities for SMMEs.”

The DCDT has also developed a National Digital and Future Skills strategy to establish an education and skills development ecosystem that provides all South Africans with the required skills to create and participate in the digital economy.

“We are partnering with both the public and private sectors with the intent to bridge the digital divide,” Ndabeni-Abrahams says, pointing out that the speed of change in science and technology demands an equal speed in acquiring the skills that the industry demands.

A partnership with the Department of Higher Education and Training will result in 20 000 youth trained in 4IR and related skills, with six technical and vocational education and training (TVET) colleges in the Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, the North West and KwaZulu-Natal targeted this year.

“We are deliberate about exposing and stimulating the young minds in these TVET colleges to be innovators and not just end-users of technologies. Google, through the Google For Education programmes, will be training teachers in digital teaching,” she adds.

Work with the Department of Employment and Labour is also under way to train 73 000 unemployed youth.

The DCDT has also partnered with the Digital Council for Africa, Huawei; Coursera, the National Electronic Media Institute of South Africa, Microsoft; GIZ, and Ericsson.

The DCDT is also working to reconfigure the SOEs under its portfolio to be in line with its new mandate.

“We know that the SOEs have not been performing as desired; however, we remain committed to addressing this,” she concludes.