South Africa had to become an advanced information-based society in which information and communication technology (ICT) tools were the drivers of economic and societal development,” President Thabo Mbeki said on Sunday.
To do so, the whole government would have to be quickly rallied, he said after a two-day meeting with the Presidential International Advisory Council on Information Society and Development (PIAC) in Mpumalanga.
The council found that the country was still short of ICT skills and needed a development programme which took into account local and global imperatives.
Although South Africa had a diverse and dynamic telecommunications market with world-class technology, there were still many untapped opportunities in rural and densely populated urban areas.
”These opportunities could contribute to faster economic growth,” the PIAC said.
”Government, service providers and operators need to look into innovative approaches to expand connectivity in rural areas as cost is a key factor in that area,” it added.
The PIAC said the protocol on the ICT broadband infrastructure network for Eastern and Southern Africa would improve international broadband access and lower the cost of broadband services.
The council agreed to six-monthly reviews of the implementation of its decisions. – Sapa