By Ntombi Mhlongo
Available, affordable, and quality internet and connectivity are what countries in the SADC region are striving to provide for their citizens.
However, there are challenges they face that they need to deal with before they can succeed.
As a result, this is top of the agenda at the 23rd Capacity and Traffic Southern Africa Conference held at the Happy Valley Hotel and Casino in the Kingdom of Eswatini.
The conference is hosted by Southern Africa Telecommunications Association (SATA) in conjunction with the Eswatini Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (EPTC).
Delivering his remarks, SATA Executive Secretary Jacob Muwandawafa said the association has to put more effort into policy development that will ensure increased and affordable connectivity in the SADC region.
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He invited all the attendees including carriers, operators, and service providers in the telecommunications industry to submit all issues that need to be addressed to ensure connectivity in all Member States.
“Once these issues are discussed, we will be able to work on policies that will address the needs of the people as far as telecommunications is concerned,” he said.
EPTC Managing Director Themba Khumalo said the conference was of national and regional significance and it brings together operators and service providers with one main objective which is to collectively engage on ways of improving connectivity in the region.
Khumalo said without connectivity, revenues will no longer be sustainable.
“We must try to expand the value chain for the future and growth of our separate companies. We have the capacity and skills to offer customers the best connectivity and it will be a disappointment if we do not achieve this goal,” Khumalo said.
He explained that ICT is playing a pivotal role in the socio-economic development of all countries and therefore it is important to always offer the best affordable solutions in bilateral negotiations.
Khumalo said during the bilateral negotiations between the members, there was a need to ensure that the result is a win-win situation.
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“It does not matter how small or big the country is, what matters is affording each other a win-win set-up through agreeing on good policies. If we do not do that, there is no future for our industry,” he said.
He said the role of the industry in telecommunications is to ensure that services are affordable, efficient, and reliable. Speaking about EPTC, Khumalo said the parastatal is re-inventing itself and currently implementing a strategy that will ensure that it has the best infrastructure and affordable services.
“We shall continue to leverage the investment in our sector because convergence has become the buzzword and reality today,” he said.
He said many opportunities exist in the market, one of them being data centres.
