UNIVERSAL SERVICE AGENCY WORKSHOP

Issued by: Government Communications (GCIS)

25 January 1999

The Universal Service Agency, established by the Telecommunications Act of 1996, has started a process to initiate discussions around the definition of Universal Service and Access within the South African context. Invitations have been sent to all the relevant stakeholders, including the general public and various sectors of civil society, to attend the provincial workshops and give input. The South African Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, Satra, will also be involved in this process that will try to set national goals that are achievable. These will serve as targets for South Africa to work towards and will be reviewedannually.

The process will start with workshops in the morning from 9am and continue with hearings until 3pm in the afternoon. The same format will be used in all nine provinces. The venues are:

  1. KwaZulu Natal, Durban City Hall;2. Eastern Cape, January 26, Gompo Library;
  2. Western Cape, January 27, Cape Town Civic Centre;
  3. Northern Cape, January 28, Bantu Hall;
  4. Northern Province, January 28, Bantu Hall;
  5. Mpumalanga, February 1, Drumrock Environmental Affairs;
  6. Gauteng, February 2,its Business Sch¿ûol;
  7. North West, February 3, Tlhabane Sun; and
  8. Free State, February 4, Bunga Hall

BACKGROUND:

Currently, Universal Service refers to all households in a country having a telephone, while Universal Access refers to all individuals having reasonable access to a telephone they can use - be it at home, work or public facility.

The present status quo of telecommunications in South Africa is that there are vast inequalities between rural and urban areas, including white and black citizens. While government tries to ensure that all have access, the issues of affordability, availability and accessibility cannot be ignored.

In many European and North American countries, universal service remains an issue, with service figure of over 80%. In South Africa the main focus is on extending the network into areas currently with no service - hence Telkom's licence condition to roll out 1.8 million lines in rural areas before the end of its exclusivity period in the year 2002.

Like all essential services, telecommunications is a basic right - in the same way as access to water, electricity and health. Being connected to these networks and services influences a people's access to jobs, education, health care and full participation as acitizen.

Issued by: Happy ZondiUniversal Service Agency (USA)
(011) 726-5241 Telephone
(011) 726-5250 Fax