Interview: Alison Gillwald on the state of ICT in SA

Loading player...
In this episode of the podcast, Duncan McLeod interviews Research ICT Africa executive director Alison Gillwald about the state of South Africa's ICT sector.
Gillwald, who also serves as adjunct professor at the University of Cape Town's Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance, talks about what the country is getting right - and wrong - in expanding access to technology and the Internet.
Why have smaller and better-priced mobile operators struggled to win over customers from the dominant players? How can South Africa get smart devices in the hands of more people? What is the role of a universal service fund? Should government be involved directly in the telecommunications industry, or should it get out?
Does government's planned wholesale open-access network make sense? How should radio frequency spectrum be licensed? Are Vodacom and MTN too dominant, and if so what could and should be done to address this?
Gillwald discusses all of these questions, and much more, in the podcast. Don't miss it!
11 Sep 2018 English South Africa Technology · Business

Other recent episodes

TCS | Donovan Marsh on AI and the future of filmmaking

Award-winning South African film director Donovan Marsh has pivoted to artificial intelligence filmmaking and believes generative AI tools could fundamentally reshape how movies are made – and who gets to make them. Marsh, whose 30-year career includes directing the Hollywood submarine thriller Hunter Killer starring Gerard Butler and Gary Oldman,…
7 Apr 52 min

TCS+ | Vodacom Business moves to crack the SME tech gap

Everyone agrees that small and medium enterprises are the backbone of the South African economy. But the reality on the ground tells a different story – too many small businesses are still running on spreadsheets and WhatsApp, locked out of the tools that could help them compete. In this episode…
5 Apr 34 min

TCS | MTN’s Divyesh Joshi on the strategy behind Pi

MTN South Africa has launched Pi, a digital-only mobile operator that runs on MTN’s network but operates as a standalone brand, offering contract-free mobile and home 5G connectivity through a single app, with no call centres, no credit checks and no lock-in. In this episode of the TechCentral Show, TechCentral…
1 Apr 21 min

TCS | Anoosh Rooplal on the Post Office’s last stand

The South African Post Office has been in business rescue – a form of bankruptcy protection – since July 2023. Business rescue practitioners Anoosh Rooplal and Juanito Damons have made it clear to parliament that the entity will not survive liquidation unless a R3.8-billion bailout is received soon. With some…
27 Mar 27 min

Meet the CIO | Healthbridge CTO Anton Fatti on the future of digital health

Anton Fatti, chief technology officer of HealthBridge, says the doctor-patient relationship must remain at the centre of digital transformation in healthcare, even as AI reshapes how medical practices operate. Speaking on TechCentral’s Meet the CIO podcast series, brought to you by NTT DATA, Fatti said AI and cloud computing are…
23 Mar 45 min