A wireless internet portal will soon be available in South Africa — a step towards bridging the “digital divide”. According to a Unicef report released late last year, only 35% of the population had phones and a mere 6% had internet access in 2001.
MyWireless by Sentech, to be introduced over the next few months, will end the need for phone lines to connect to the internet. MyWireless is aimed at the consumer market as well as the small to medium enterprise, and uses a radio-type modem to connect to the Internet. Sentech product manager Winston Smith says the company has rolled out 12 base stations across Gauteng. By March this year a total of 32 stations will have been erected in Johannesburg, Pretoria and Midrand.
MyWireless will initially be available in metropolitan areas. Sentech communications manager Maureen Mphatsoe says: “This doesn’t seem to bridge the divide as people in rural areas won’t have access to the service as yet. We’re just starting to raise enough money in order to roll out in areas where people don’t have money or access to phone lines. With wireless it’s possible to roll out to more locations within a shorter time frame,” she says.
Sentech does not believe that the minimum monthly cost of R649 for a 128 kilobits per second connection is prohibitive.
Satellite is a more useful way of bridging the gap between those who have access and those who do not, says Mphatsoe. “We are working with the Government Communication and Information System [GCIS] to identify areas where there is a greater need.”
Once commercially available, the devices will find a home in multi-purpose community centres (MPCCs). “We have to use what we have to improve the lives of people. ICT [information and communication technology] was identified by the president as one of the key issues to improve society in his State of the Nation address in 2002,” says Mphatsoe.
There is already a functioning satellite telecentre at Orange Farm, south of Johannesburg.
There are 47 operational MPCCs nationwide, says Deven Moodley, director of administration at GCIS. Here residents can contact government departments, learn new skills such as entrepreneurship, apply for passports and learn how to compile a curriculum vitae that can be faxed or e-mailed.
But Ewan McPhie, policy director at bridges.org, an international organisation promoting ICT for development, told the Mail & Guardian: “There is no point in having computers if you don’t have electricity.” The issue of the digital divide must be addressed alongside other divides, he adds.
McPhie says affordability of the internet is a key issues — South Africa is one of the most expensive countries in terms of internet access.
Guy Berger, head of journalism at Rhodes University, says that while access to basic amenities such as water is more important than access to the internet, it is a vital communication tool for sharing information. “We can draw from global experiences.”
Sally-Jean Shackleton, information co-ordinator at Women’sNet, another group focusing on ICT for development, with an emphasis on gender, said the “digital divide” is not just about connectivity. “The developing world is being left behind by developed countries. Much technology is not appropriate in an African context.
“We need technology that is adapted to our circumstances, for example when physically transporting computers from one place to another; they need to be able to withstand that.
Then there are issues such as language and content on the internet: “Very little information on the internet is in the local languages.”
One solution in rural areas is universal access stations. These are one-stop centres with fax machines, telephones and photocopiers. Such stations are not always financially viable, but Shackleton believes that the social contribution would outweigh monetary issues. “They provide access to the outside world.”