South Africa’s long-awaited Convergence Bill will be passed next year, Director General of Communications Lyndall Shope-Mafole said on Monday.
The Bill has already undergone more than a year of discussion in the private sector, and Minister of Communications Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri was in February understood to want the Bill to come before Parliament after April this year.
Convergence means carrying all types of communication on one digital network — comprising voice, data, internet and other information and communications technology (ICT) platforms.
Shope-Mafole said South Africa is streets ahead in terms of ICT policies, adding that the country prides itself as one of the most advanced in the ICT sector — not just among developing nations, but also across the globe.
This, she said, bodes well. In the long run, it will help yield economic benefits as it supports the country’s vision of becoming a global player in the information society arena.
ICT law specialist Pravesh Singh, of Jan S de Villiers Attorneys, welcomed Shope-Mafole’s timeline.
Singh said he believes the government has taken note of the public sector’s concerns while formulating the Bill and added that he hopes this will be reflected when the Bill is passed next year.
He said what is more important is to deal with pertinent issues thoroughly, rather than just pushing ahead with processes without taking note of the industry’s concerns. — I-Net Bridge