1,721,019 research outputs found
African open source digital infrastructures: evaluating the landscape
No full textICT for development, gender studies, work, and organisational psychology, as well as evaluation reports and commissioned research from international development agencies and
"A black coup" : Inkatha and the sale of Ilanga
No full textThe black press in South Africa influences hundreds of thousands of readers in English and indigenous languages. The author considers the Durban-based and Inkatha-owned newspaper Ilanga and how it appears to succeed despite the political odds
The public sphere, th emedia and democracy
No full textThe author looks at the ways a democratic media regime could come about in South Africa in trying to pass beyond the polarised liberal and Marxist debate positions that have dominated this subject
Between Two Stools: Broadband Policy in South Africa
Get PDFThis paper explores the underlying causes of South Africa’s relatively poor broadband penetration despite Government’s acknowledgment of its centrality to a modern economy and information society. South Africa’s broadband policy has emerged from two apparently contradictory policy approaches. Until these are resolved, the sector will remain inert between two strategies, unable to move forward on either. On the one hand, broadband has evolved within the context of “managed liberalisation”, a local adaptation of the international telecommunications reform model. This has created a market structured around a number of vertically integrated operators, fixed and mobile, whose services have evolved to offer broadband. The latest phase of this model is expressed in the Electronic Communications Act which came into force in 2006 and reforms the regulatory and licensing framework to address the challenges of convergence. Within this context, broadband uptake has been relatively poor and costs of ADSL and mobile HSDPA services remain high as a result of limited competition and ineffective regulation. This has prompted Government to adopt another strategy, in parallel with its current reform process. It has initiated a fully state owned broadband operator, which is also expected to address the high cost of international cable bandwidth currently provided exclusively by the incumbent. This paper examines the underlying reasons for the development of these two potentially contradictory processes and their institutional arrangements to assess the implications for the achievement of national policy objectives on broadband extension
Mobilising upland Filipino youth to serve as infomediaries
No full textPurpose: The purpose of this paper is to operationalise infomediaries in an agricultural context, specifically upland rice farming. Infomediaries are people who facilitate access to information and communication technologies (ICTs). This offers a socially grounded solution to the nagging issue of the digital divide. Design/methodology/approach: This research is predominantly qualitative. The methods used were time transects, mobility mapping, photovoice, individual and key informant interviews. In total, 38 farmers' children from the upland communities in the provinces of Albay and Aurora participated in this research. Theoretically, this paper aims to contribute to literature on ICT 2.0. Findings: The participants showed strong desire to help their parents on the rice farm, directly or indirectly. They had varying levels of proficiency in using ICTs. Average weekly expenditure on purchasing prepaid mobile phone credits was US$1.50. Evidence of mobile addiction (sending more than 200 text messages daily) was noted. Their youth's intimate relationship with ICTs increases hope that they can serve as infomediaries for their farmer-parents. Research limitations/implications: This research is anchored on giving context-specific solutions to ICT issues. Transferability is emphasised over generalisability. Practical implications: Based on the mobility maps of the participants, their respective schools can serve as the nuclei for agricultural extension. The schools serve as their convergence point. This offers an alternative to the difficulty of individually visiting the farmers in the area, which is confounded by the scarcity of agricultural technologists tasked to do the job. Originality/value: The paper offers an alternative extension mode, drawn from the intimate relationship between young people and ICTs. This is a welcome initiative, particularly because such initiatives to engage youth in agriculture, directly or indirectly, remain scarce. The ideas forwarded in this paper will benefit agricultural agencies in the Philippines and other developing countries
Regulation of complex adaptive digital systems: optimizing competition and consumer welfare outcomes in Nigeria's converging telecommunications market
Get PDFThe thesis explores how emerging digital ecosystems would benefit from new regulatory approaches that differ from the traditional models applied in the telecommunications sector. The historical model is typically based on an analysis of static efficiency, which does not appropriately acknowledge the often complementary nature of the evolving digital ecosystem and its dynamic efficiencies. Informed by the increasing complexities of the converging telecommunications ecosystem, the corroboration of this core proposition required the examination of not just the technical but also the socio-economic and institutional elements of advanced communication systems. Findings from existing academic literature on pro-competition regulatory challenges of digital markets focus more on mature competitive markets in the Global North. There is a paucity of empirical studies on the predominantly pre-paid mobile markets of the South — where competition laws and institutional arrangements that facilitate market competition are still nascent. More so, extant studies of telecommunications market regulation were mostly supply-side focused, not taking into full consideration demand-side elements, especially the social and public value of the converged telecommunications ecosystem. In addition, most of the studies focused on quantitative methodologies largely based on econometric analysis. To fill a gap in the research literature, the thesis explores these issues within the context of a developing country, Nigeria. The research responds to the dearth of critical policy enquiry within the domain of applied social policy research that relies on qualitative interrogation to examine the interrelated ecosystem elements and arrive at answers to questions that generally cannot be understood through quantitative methods. Although there is a rich vein of literature regarding telecommunications market regulation, explaining network competition principles and the institutional conditions under which they thrive, instances of such research in a developing country context are few and far between. The thesis bridges these gaps by applying a systemic approach based on complexity theory and institutional analyses drawing on the institutional analysis and development (IAD) framework to answer regulatory questions of competition policy under conditions of constraint, such as in emerging markets. By developing a conceptual framework drawing on these two approaches, the effects of demand-side access and willingness to pay are assessed via an in-depth qualitative analysis to examine the resulting dynamic impact on social welfare. The thesis provides a case study of Nigeria to examine these issues in a developing country context. The research questions examine the complexities of regulating dynamic markets to achieve often competing objectives of competition, investment, innovation, and consumer welfare. The author deployed the conceptual framework to analyze the evidence for the case rather than for purposes of theoretical contestation or theory building. Therefore, the thesis methodology leans towards an inductive research paradigm within the episteme of interpretive constructivism. The author adopted a qualitative methodology for the study based on the nature of the research questions and the conceptual framework. However, empirical insights were generated by the author from a combination of methods. The research process comprised a country-specific causeeffect analysis of the regulatory challenges of OTT-MNO competition in the context of Nigeria's converging telecommunications industry and its imperatives for both innovation and investment policy outcomes. Incorporating in the methodology a process tracing mechanism allowed for the elucidation of critical junctures in the structural evolution of the country's telecommunications market and the path-dependent outcomes for alternative policy options. Consequently, the author undertook an initial step in mapping the converging Nigerian telecommunications ecosystem, which detailed its complex interrelationships in relation to ecosystem stakeholders and institutions, regulatory governance mechanisms, and outcomes to complement the qualitative analysis. The ecosystem mapping was then used to identify critical opportunity pathways for regulatory evolution both in the 3 short and long terms for effectively addressing the competition dynamics related to OTTs and MNOs within the converging Nigerian telecommunications market. The thesis contributes to the existing body of knowledge on regulating complex adaptive systems by exploring competition and consumer welfare optimization in Nigeria's converging telecommunications market. It does so by building on the literature on socio-technical systems' governance and policy design within adaptive external environments, deploying key concepts from complex adaptive systems theory. In extending and problematizing the domain discourse, a key regulatory challenge that crystallizes in assessing the converging Nigerian market is an appropriate regulatory structure that optimizes investment and innovation incentives on both sides of the market — infrastructure development and next-generation services provisioning. In addressing this regulatory challenge under conditions of institutional and resource constraint, the thesis considers the preconditions, necessary and sufficient institutional arrangements for effective competition regulation within Nigeria's converging telecommunications sector to maximize dynamic efficiency and social welfare. This contribution provides an evidence base in support of claims of the value of the converged telecommunications ecosystem for developing countries. It evaluates how ecosystem stakeholders can find an optimal balance along multiple emerging telecommunications policy trade-offs and their implications for competition policy and regulatory option
Côte d’Ivoire ICT sector performance review, 2009/2010
Get PDFThe study provides an introduction to the macroeconomic environment in Côte d’Ivoire, followed by a description of ICT policies and the regulatory environment in the country; an analysis of the Ivoirian ICT market and its billing; and the presence of ICT through electronic applications and short message service (GSM) networks services. An analysis of the contribution of ICT to the economy of the country is discussed, and the study concludes with the perception of role players on the regulatory environment of telecommunications in Côte d’Ivoire
Revue de performance du secteur des TIC Bénin, 2009/2010
Get PDFVersion anglaise disponible dans la Bibliothèque numérique du CRDI: Benin ICT sector performance review, 2009/201
Kenya ICT sector performance review, 2009/2010
Get PDFThrough network development Research ICT Africa (RIA) works to build an African knowledge base in support of ICT policy and regulatory design processes, and to monitor and review policy and regulatory developments on the continent. This report is based on a review of the ICT sector in Kenya from a supply side perspective. The national ICT policy of March 2006 is currently under review. Developments within the sector include increasing convergence of broadcasting and telecommunications, increased need and availability of undersea-fibre bandwidth, and the economic blueprint as factors that policy needs to take into account. This report is detailed and comprehensive
Mobile termination benchmarking : the case of Namibia
Get PDFThe debate over the regulation of mobile termination rates in Europe concluded in 2009 with the recommendation by the European Commission for national regulators to reduce termination rates to the cost of termination of an efficient operator. The debate in Africa is ongoing. The case of Namibia is presented as an example of termination rate benchmarking as an alternative regulatory strategy in order to overcome regulatory and institutional bottlenecks. Operators have argued that a reduction in termination rates will force them to drop subsidies on handsets and calling prices. This paper makes several arguments against these claims
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