SATNAC 2025 – An unmissable event for ICT professionals and AI enthusiasts
SATNAC 2025 was recently held in Cape Town, bringing together the country’s top ICT companies and industry leaders to discuss the technological future of South Africa.
The event was held at the Arabella Hotel, and MyBroadband was invited to attend.
Spanning two days, the event featured insightful talks on various topics related to the growth of the ICT sector in South Africa, with a particular focus on the evolution and adoption of AI technology.
We have outlined a few of our takeaways from the talks below.
Scaling open-access and AI adoption
Robert Jorge, Chief Network Officer for Openserve, discusses autonomous networks as part of his presentation.
One notable presentation was given by Robert Jorge, the Chief Network Officer for Openserve and a veteran telecommunications executive with over 35 years of experience.
In his presentation, Jorge outlined how open-access networks, such as those offered by Openserve, are ideal for improving overall service quality and inspiring innovation.
“Open access allows multiple service providers to operate on the same infrastructure under equal conditions, which creates a competitive environment,” said Jorge.
“This results in customers benefiting from greater choice, improved prices, and enhanced service quality.”
There were also talks on the adoption and implementation of AI by Amit Sharma, Huawei’s Executive for Cloud, AI, and Digital Infrastructure in Sub-Saharan Africa, and Luigi Re, Nokia’s Lead Architect for Optical Networks.
Sharma’s presentation focused on how to leverage AI to achieve greater success, while Re unpacked the development of AI-driven networks.
Amit Sharma, Huawei’s Executive for Cloud, AI, and Digital Infrastructure in Sub-Saharan Africa, discusses AI models and their applications.
EV adoption
Along with discussions on AI and open-access networks, the event also featured a panel on the adoption of electric vehicles in South Africa.
This panel was moderated by Openserve’s Head of Technology and Lifecycle Management, Kagiso Modise and had four notable guests, including:
- Paul Plummer – Chief Commercial Officer, EVERLECTRIC
- Greg Cross – Principal Director for Automotive and eMobility, ACCENTURE
- Tshetlhe Litheko – Chief Policy Officer, NAAMSA
- Grant Locke – Managing Director, VOLVO
Notable topics of this panel included the global rate of EV adoption relative to lower local adoption rates, and why South Africa is lagging behind.
“We’re going through an inflexion point around the world, and South Africa will not be an exception to this,” said Locke.
“There are certain lessons we can take from the rest of the world to help South Africa’s adoption of EVs.”
Panel hosted by Kagiso Modise, Openserve’s Head of Technology and Lifecycle Management (Leftmost), with industry leaders (from left to right) Paul Plummer (Chief Commercial Officer, EVERLECTRIC), Greg Cross (Principal Director for Automotive and eMobility, ACCENTURE), Tshetlhe Litheko (Chief Policy Officer, NAAMSA), and Grant Locke (Managing Director, VOLVO).
SATNAC 2026
SATNAC 2025 was a huge success and an unmissable event for those in the ICT industry or anyone interested in AI.
For anyone who missed SATNAC 2025, make sure you attend the 2026 event next year.
Click here to learn more about SATNAC 2025.
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