End May 2013 marked the completion of the three-year rollout phase of the Johannesburg Broadband Network. Here’s how information technology is enabling growth in South Africa’s busiest city.

Information and communications technology (ICT) is not just responsible for instant data transmission such as emails or access to the World Wide Web. Its importance extends intelligent traffic management, swipe card technology on board public transport, smart metering solutions for municipalities and e-health services, among others. In fact, possibilities would be very limited without efficient, effective ICT systems. Above all, it plays a pivotal role in improving economies and solving social issues.

Becoming a world leader in ICT

Despite these advances, there are still millions of people who don’t have access to basic ICT services such as the Internet. But the City of Johannesburg has identified a new target: to turn itself into a world leader in ICT, as this is a crucial element in the smart city transformation. In line with this goal, the Johannesburg ICT Sector Support Programme aims to increase investment into the sector, with the focus areas being skills development, research and development, promotion of investment and trade, provision of ICT infrastructure, and ICT incubation and venture capital.

But the 2013 Networked Society City Index – a report published by Ericsson – concluded that Johannesburg ranked low in ICT usage, along with Lagos and Cairo. Coming in at 22nd position out of 36 cities worldwide, this ranking makes the city’s target of being a leader in ICT seem rather ambitious. Although (according to the Index), Johannesburg enjoys a high-speed mobile broadband penetration, fixed line broadband penetration and speeds remain very low, with international broadband capacity being even lower. Even though mobile is high-speed, overall smartphone penetration – when compared to other cities – is average, while computer usage is rated modest.

Growing ICT

In line with the Gauteng Development Strategy 2040 (GDS2040), a smart city synthesis was recently held in Newtown, drawing attention to new technologies that will improve service delivery and make life easier for residents by 2040. The Gauteng ICT Development Strategy, which stems from the GDS2040, aims to nurture the potential value that ICT can offer employment levels, growth and economic development in the province. It recognises the need for the ICT services sector to grow together with development in the manufacturing and construction industries.

The high cost of communications in South Africa makes it difficult for small business and poorer communities to participate in the country’s knowledge hub. Hence, investment in broadband infrastructure is important, as this will lead to lowered communication costs. The Johannesburg Broadband Network that was completed last year celebrated over 900 km of fibre infrastructure. The next phase involves making this access available to the broader public by integrating the network into the City’s processes and systems. Approximately, two-thirds of the 1 million SMMEs in the local economy are ‘in-the-now’ businesses, and ICT can open up a host of new opportunities for them. To date, Gauteng Provincial Government has endorsed and funded three huge undertakings: the Gauteng online schools programme, the e-Government programme and the G-link broadband infrastructure project. However, these programmes are still in the teething stages and require a lot more work.

Setbacks aside, ICT is a growing local industry and its market is expected to grow to R250 billion by 2020. ICT remains one of the country’s forerunning sectors, contributing about 7% of the GDP. The ever-evolving nature of the ICT beast makes it imperative for Jo’burg to move rapidly and keep up with global development in the years ahead.

9 objectives of the Gauteng ICT strategy:

• providing universal access to broadband
• building the Network Infrastructure and Information Super-highway
• enhancing economic productivity through ICT infrastructure development
• increasing the ICT skills capacity within the public and private sectors
• improving service delivery through the provision of high-quality ICT services through e-government
• building an economic and industrial sector with a focus on ICT
• ensuring that innovation becomes part of the economic network
• reducing the carbon footprint through Green ICT
• creating employment in the ICT sector.