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Rudolph Muller

Rudolph Muller is the editor at MyBroadband and covers telecoms and broadband news. Rudolph comes from an academic background, but left the University of...

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The South African National Broadband Forum recently held a workshop focusing on a framework for
a national broadband strategy.  This workshop gained input from various stakeholders, including industry players and consumers.  

Willie Currie, on behalf of the South African National Broadband Forum (SANBF), today released a document compiling all the input received from participants and released a Comprehensive Broadband Strategy.  The SA National Broadband Forum further called on the public to support a Comprehensive Broadband Strategy.

The goal of this initiative is to ensure that “all South Africans should have affordable broadband access to the Internet.”  
The objectives of the “Framework for a Comprehensive National Broadband Strategy in South Africa” are:

1. Maximize fibre and wireless broadband infrastructure in urban and rural areas in an equitable and environmentally responsible manner
2. Stimulate the creation of digital broadband content by content providers and citizens
3. Enhance e-governance and e-citizenship in a broadband environment.
4. Accelerate the adoption and use of advanced broadband connections so that the potential of information and communications technologies (ICTs) for learning and teaching can be fully realized.

The SANBF wants to archive the following milestones by 2014:

1. have broadband access in every town and village;
2. have the cheapest broadband access on the continent; and,
3. be number one in terms of broadband penetration on the continent.

Calling on your support

“The South African National Broadband Forum invites everyone who believes that affordable broadband access is a national priority to express their support for the development and implementation of a comprehensive National Broadband Strategy for South Africa,” the SANBF said.

“A draft framework has been developed with input from multiple stakeholders at a workshop held on March 24 in Johannesburg. We believe that this framework can serve as a basis for building consensus on a comprehensive national broadband strategy.”

The full Broadband Strategy is available on the website http://www.broadband4africa.org.za/ and users are encouraged to support this initiative by ‘signing the framework’:  http://www.broadband4africa.org.za/sign-declaration

National Broadband Strategy – did you give your support?