Go, Ivy, go! Communications gets cracking

[AdLo]

http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=311914&area=/insight/insight__converse/

An article from an over-excited journalist.
Ivy's term of communication minister will be ending and this Guy Berger thinks she is DA MAN.

 

[Telkomisaloser]

And Guy Berger is te suxxors

 

[ToxicBunny]

That boy is smoking crack...

It makes no difference if things are starting to happen now.... They SHOULD have happened 5 or more years ago.... so she should still go for being totally incompetent

 

[Debbie]

Among the more significant steps [presumably taken by minister] are:

* From November 1, terminating Telkom's monopoly on undersea international connectivity -- by getting the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) to declare this an essential facility and to start setting its pricing.
* Directing Icasa to let comms operators set up their own infrastructure (instead of having to use Telkom, as is mainly the case right now).
* Ending Telkom's monopoly on the "local loop" between customers and their local exchange by letting competitors use the company's wires to provide cheaper voice and internet services to homes and businesses. Although Telkom will still own the cable...

1) Simple fact is, ICASA should have started regulating SAT-3 years ago. Cheaper international access through SAT-3 is going to take a while. We're waiting on ICASA, the regulator that the minister has persistently meddled in the affairs of and has never funded properly.
2) Self-provision was declared official policy by the minister in sept 2004. And don't forget, we'll be waiting further on ICASA for this.
3) The local loop belonged to taxpayers. Local loop unbundling should have started in 2001/2002. The minister's achievement is not in igniting this process, it's in stalling it.

Some of Matsepe-Casaburri's recent policy decisions also affect especially the lower ranks of the market. An example is post offices becoming multipurpose information centres served with wireless broadband through state-owned Sentech.

Oh please. The government is using taxpayer money to prop up fully-state-owned Sentech because Sentech is sinking- too many people who don't know how to run a business, and too many cronies who are assured of a fat salary no matter how poorly they perform. Post offices are becoming multi-purpose information centres because of the failure of Telkom's monopoly period to extend fixed access, along with the failure of the Universal Services Agency and unsustainable 'telecentres'.

Between her department's policy and actual implementation are still myriad practical hurdles to be overcome. But, for now at least, Matsepe-Casaburri has stilled the fiercest of her critics, and South Africans can finally focus on communications lift-off.

"Stilled the fiercest of her critics"? Not quite!

 

[krycor]

When reading that he doesn't mention how long SA has suffered under her rule.

 

[rpm]

Just for you guys I made it headline news on our news page

BTW: I also don’t know why people are still impressed with words...action is what any politician should be judged on, and doubly so for Ivy!

 

[riaan_pta]

Maybe (just maybe) http://www.telkom.co.za/pls/portal/docs/PAGE/CONTENTS/COMMON/JOURNALIST/history_pa_frame.htm was the reasoning behind this piece?

 

[dominic]

guy berger is a professor of journalism at rhodes who is consistently intelligent about broadcasting and convergence

that said this is not his best work - the Minister has been, is and will no doubt continue to be a disaster for SA communications for the commons

 

[Vice]

Ivy is "bornagain"

I think this is a good time for her to exit/resign. If she hangs around any longer the old Ivy is going to show up and she's going to spoil the party.

Anyway we all know all this is going to happen one day, it's imminent, so for now it's IBIWISI!!

 

[BTTB]

the minister has persuaded the Cabinet to approve a vision for "the establishment of South Africa as an advanced information society in which information and information and communication technology tools are key drivers of economic and societal development"

Oh please.
Not like everyone else in this country who isn't a Telkom Shareholder hasn't added their 2 cents to the fray already.

Economic Development? Note the Major Shareholders in Telkom below and their Dividend Payouts come the 9th of July next month.
1. RSA Government - 38.80% | R2.28 Billion
2. The Public Investment Commissioner - 16.20% | R0.95Billion
3. Elephant Consortium - 5.70% | R0.33Billion
4. Unknown - 39.3% | R2.30Billion
Total Dividend Payout R5.86Billion give or take.

That money could be circulating within the economy now instead of Shareholders pockets, perhaps helping the country achieve that illusive 6% growth figure that The Government desires.

By the time ADSL comes of age in South Africa, as in proper decent broadband, Wimax and the next generation of Broadband offerings will be looking more attractive and they won't need to Nationalise The SAT3 Cable nor Unbundle the Local Loop.
All that potential wasted for profit.

 

[riaan_pta]

Thing is - to a starving person even a stale piece of bread seems like a piece of delicious cake.

Any progress (half-assed as it may be) made by the dear Ivy and her dept will be seen as an achievement in SA.

 

[Tux]

This guy is a South African and living in SA? Or from Mars?

 

[Kasyx]

And it is delicious cake. We must eat it.

 

[ic]

But, for now at least, Matsepe-Casaburri has stilled the fiercest of her critics, and South Africans can finally focus on communications lift-off.

Must be a typo, should read as follows:

But, for now at least, Matsepe-Casaburri has distilled the fiercest of her critics, and South Africans can finally focus on communications lift-off.

The fact remains that the Grim Poisonous Ivyness Creep is incompetent and narcoleptic, and the sooner her ministry expires, the better it will be for South Africa as a whole.

I would not be surprised if Ivy has appeared to suddenly start doing her job, in order to vie for the position of SA's next president.

 

[DOOMIE61]

Oh please.
Not like everyone else in this country who isn't a Telkom Shareholder hasn't added their 2 cents to the fray already.

Economic Development? Note the Major Shareholders in Telkom below and their Dividend Payouts come the 9th of July next month.
1. RSA Government - 38.80% | R2.28 Billion
2. The Public Investment Commissioner - 16.20% | R0.95Billion
3. Elephant Consortium - 5.70% | R0.33Billion
4. Unknown - 39.3% | R2.30Billion
Total Dividend Payout R5.86Billion give or take.

That money could be circulating within the economy now instead of Shareholders pockets, perhaps helping the country achieve that illusive 6% growth figure that The Government desires.

By the time ADSL comes of age in South Africa, as in proper decent broadband, Wimax and the next generation of Broadband offerings will be looking more attractive and they won't need to Nationalise The SAT3 Cable nor Unbundle the Local Loop.
All that potential wasted for profit.

by the time South Afirca has cheap broadband you are still going to be left behind technology moves on!! here in UK there getting ready to deploy FTH (fibre-to-home) and they have already gotten rid of ISDN

 

[Tommygun]

Indeed, "Let them eat cake".
It seems that if we want
"the establishment of South Africa as an advanced information society in which information and information and communication technology tools are key drivers of economic and societal development"

It would be a good start to get text books into school and up the literacy rate of the general population, as and M&G article pointed out recently there is litle point in computers if peole cant read.

Im intrigued by the self provisioning though. Will wireless technology still only be available to aproved licence holders and what kind of hoops will people have to jump through to get a new licence. Its all very well self provisioning but I cant see any companies paying to dig up roads and lay their own cables. Or does it mean people will be able to "self provison" by leasing from Neotel and *cough* Infraco amongst others...Sentech anyone?

 

[DragonLogos]

This is making me hungry... lets call this dude Cheese Burger

 

[bekdik]

I also don’t know why people are still impressed with words...action is what any politician should be judged on, and doubly so for Ivy!

This would appear to be a totally alien concept to our rulers

 

[dominic]

2 500 superhero points to the first person to get a piece likening the Minister to Marie Antoinette into any mainstream(ish) publication

.....let them eat do-nuts....

i suspect nothing would piss her off more

(except may be a dual comparison with Ms Antoinette and Homer Simpson...."SA's Minister of comms resembles nothing so much as an unholy mixture between tow of history's most controversial figures etc etc etc...." - for this i will break the superhero points bank)

 

[LabAnimal]

Articles like this should not be under news, but should be under a new thread like "Joke of the day"