"The move is about government transforming and all about e-government bringing public services to citizens, but the uptake is slow," says Ashley de Klerk, public sector director at Microsoft South Africa (SA). Like many others, Zolisa Masiza, councillor at Icasa, asks how the implementation of digital cities can be justified if government has not yet sorted out basic services, such as sanitation, running water and housing, for all citizens of the country?
Linked with this are the questions: Who will really benefit from this? Will it be possible to implement this dream if the most basic needs of citizens have not been met? And who will be responsible for making it happen? - thus making the debate a difficult one.
Says country manager at 3Com, Johnathene Beyers-Clements: "The answer lies in public private partnerships (PPP) and a parallel strategy, whereby both government and the private sector look at resolving the issues of basic services simultaneously with establishing digital cities." She believes that public domain interest groups must lobby for the proliferation of community services, and notes that the private sector must drive this.
Faux pas
Beyers-Clements also adds that it would be a 'faux pas' if we do not exploit the idea of digital cities now, and says that, if attention is not given to this issue, it will again put SA far behind the rest of the world. "Following a linear approach would be a huge mistake. Digital cities would be an important catalyst to a total solution," she says.
Referring to President Thabo Mbeki's state of the nation address, where he said that national government will look to local authorities to deliver national services to citizens, De Klerk says: "National government must take the leading role, but cities' major role is making it work." He adds that this is happening, and cites the cities of Cape Town, Tshwane and Johannesburg, where current digital city pilot projects are successfully running.
He believes that local authorities are taking charge because they are very competitive, and want to build revenue by using infrastructure to create sustainable economies.
Alan Bacher, product manager at Internet Solutions' access division, says government first needs to put together a proper broadband policy and a national strategy. He notes that the US government is currently experiencing problems with broadband access because it did not do this, and says that SA must avoid this at all costs.
Closely related to Bacher's point of view is that of Steve Nossel, regional enterprise business manager for Intel Middle East, Turkey and Africa. Nossel's view of government requires the establishment of a dedicated ICT ministry to focus on the issues of technology and service delivery. "Government should maybe just look at other countries which have done this and see that it can work," he adds.
Dr. Andrew Hutchison, business manager: telecommunication services at T-Systems SA, says: "The driver for cities is the high cost of telecoms infrastructure that they are paying for. They can see the benefits in wireless infrastructures, but the current impediment is still regulations." However, he believes that government can achieve the objective of digital cities and delivering e-services to citizens.
Business development director at Storm Telecom, Dave Gale, says: "Leadership should come from municipalities. They should not lose sight of their own mandates and what they aim to achieve. Everyone talks about technology bridging the communication gap, but they should look at the socio-economic issues, with technology as an enabler."
Mark Baptiste, director for Cisco Systems, says: "I do not think that digital cities is an empty promise by government, but it is all about timing, if the timing is not right the business case will not work." He also believes that the private sector should educate government on possibilities, and how to go about achieving set goals.
The majority of industry players are positive, and believe that this is not going to be an empty promise from government. It will take hard work, through partnerships, and it will not happen overnight, but it will happen, they believe.
Legislation
The issue of legislation has been a great focal point in the digital cities debate and how to get around it is a question that many have asked, but, says De Klerk: "It is not about getting around legislation, but finding legislation that is supportive. Legislation is important, but should not be prohibitive."
Bacher believes in an open market, and says that local loop unbundling is the key to reaching that goal. He adds that co-opetition between Telkom, the SNO, government and the private sector is the only answer for making digital cities and e-services a reality.
Hutchison says it all boils down to who will get what licences, such as Private Telecoms Network licences (PTN) and Value Added Network Services licences (VANS), as well as the ability to re-sell spare bandwidth capacity.
These issues are still under discussion, but it seems that Icasa has been given more freedom in deciding who will be allowed certain licences, and it seems probable that municipalities will be able to re-sell spare bandwidth capacity to service providers.
Yes, the telecoms market was opened to an extent in February this year, but the rules and regulations of playing the game have not yet been clearly defined, specifically regarding licensing, interconnection, the re-selling of spare capacity and local loop unbundling.
There is, however, light at the end of the tunnel, with the Electronic Communication Bill (Convergence Bill) having been adopted by the National Assembly, and sent to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) for approval. It is expected to be signed into law by the president before the end of the year.
Services
Most people agree that social services and education should be the first points to cover when digital cities becomes a de facto standard.
Andy Brauer, chief technology officer for Business Connexion, says: "The average man on the street stands to benefit most from these developments. If service delivery is a the focus area this could be a real way of addressing education, training and skills development issues through access to'Virtual Library or Knowledge Centers in areas which are under developed. Alternatively, service delivery could include partnerships in order to provide larger service offerings to the larger communities."
"In terms of services we must see this as several phases. But the potential is there for an array of services, including municipal information channels, IPTV, voice, emergency'assistance and even municipal digital subscriber lines."
Bacher says: "Children's education and teaching should be the first priority for government when access is established through the digital cities initiative."
Beyers-Clements adds: "Education and information services, for instance to assist people to find jobs and the homeless to find shelter, through kiosks etc, will be at the forefront of delivery. Giving advice, direction and a solution to those who are struggling would be a good starting point."
Hutchison says that once digital cities are established, the field will be open for endless possibilities in terms of services that can be supplied. He notes that, after supplying basic services, it will basically be up to creative thought and innovation to lead the way for additional services. Gale believes that the e-services that will be supplied should not just come from government's side, but that citizens should come to the fore, and tell government what services they need and what is critical to them.
Baptiste says: "Public sector focus should be on the softer issues, with health and education at the top of the list."
Digital cities are no longer just a dream. They are possible and PPP will see them become a reality for the benefit of all citizens of this nation. How long it will take depends on the vigor and determination of both government and private organizations.