Has the good minister considered that not everybody in South Africa needs or even wants broadband? The more rural regions of the country, such as the former Transkei, and the sparsely populated Northern Cape probably don't lend themselves to the roll out of extensive fibre or copper networks owing to their remoteness and the typically low earnings of those who inhabit these areas. Many people in this country cannot afford a computer or smartphone. These parts of the country might be better served by subsidised internet kiosks/cafes using wireless connections at selected community centres.
The installation of dense fibre and copper networks makes more sense [to me] in urban areas where there are a greater number of residents per unit area who might potentially want to use such services and can afford to pay for means of access. Even here, one should not forget the burgeoning, and claustrophobically packed, and often poverty-stricken inhabitants of informal settlements that have insinuated themselves into our urban settlements. Provision would need to be made for these too if the minister's ambitions were to be realised.
There will still be haves, have-nots, and want-nots...
