Comments on: Connecting South Africa: Communities that transcend technology

By: mundundu

mundundu — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 17:52:44 +0000

darren, i hear the same thing when i’m at telkom. usually when i’m in a telkom shop, i turn on my american accent, just to see what lies they will tell me.

when i switch to the accent which i grew up speaking and call them out, point by point, on their lies. [they are really scared of me on adderley street. shame.]

it’s tough to be well-versed in tech when it costs so much to have a landline in your house, much less dsl. [and we won’t begin to get into the wireless internet services.]

this government is doing everything it can to EXACERBATE the digital divide, not diminish it.

in some west african countries, the internet cafe penetration in the slums is greater than even that of cape town cbd [and cheaper, too.], with free or low-cost classes on web-page creation, research and coding.

people working as techs in europe or the usa who are originally from those areas either go “back home” on their annual leave to set up such classes, or they pay someone from a tech company in the city to do it. it’s great to see.

here… i see little such investment; i think that in 4 years in south africa, i’ve only been in 2 internet cafes run by south africans. [both of which were in port elizabeth, which has greater rich/poor divide than almost anyplace i’ve been in latin america.

what is necessary is old boys who made good to go back and give a hand up, but you really don’t see it happening here. and it’s really sad.

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By: Darren

Darren — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 14:11:02 +0000

A tough gap to bridge in a third world country. You’ve hit on something incredibly important here Andy, something which only those well-versed in the opportunities provided by technology, like you, can really see.

Let’s hope that we see more people seeing the possibilities and making it happen, whether through starting companies, investing/funding, creating structures or whatever works.

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By: mundundu

mundundu — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 05:11:48 +0000

[[In the United States, SMS never took off. They missed it. Instant messaging and direct dialing were just cheaper. ]]

unlimited local calls. in a country with UNLIMITED LOCAL CALLS, sms is just never going to be #1. compared UNLIMITED LOCAL CALLS to HIGHEST TELECOMS COSTS IN THE WORLD on a PPP level, and would still be at the top of the absolute league table if the rand hadn’t fallen 30% over the past 2 years. [south africa is now number 2 or 3, depending on whose numbers you use.]

telecommunications cost TOO MUCH here. TOO BLOODY MUCH. you can dress it up, dance around it, mention connectivity until you’re blue in the face, but the fact remains…. IT COSTS TOO MUCH.

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