What to expect in 2013
iWeek is a South Africa ICT news magazine published weekly. In 2013, industry observers and analysts predict that this year will most likely be a year of mixed fortunes for the different segments that make up the local ICT sector. While some significant movement can be expected in the Internet and telecoms space, the outlook for ICT in government is less optimistic.
OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES
World Wide Worx MD Arthur Goldstuck has identifi ed three predominant trends in South Africa that will influence the Internet and telecoms space and that will add up to both an explosion in data consumption and in mere usage of the Internet. These will transform communication between individuals, and change the way people expect business and government to communicate with them.
“The year 2013 has always loomed large in our expectations, mainly because of the fact that all the trendlines we have been producing for the past five years have pointed to 2013 as an inflection point in the uptake of digital services,” says Goldstuck.
KEY FACTORS IN 2012
Looking back at key factors last year that are expected to have an influence on the Internet and telecoms sectors in 2013, Goldstuck identified Cabinet pulling the plug on the Telkom deal with Korea Telecom as “probably the single most significant event of 2012”.
Adrian Schofield , the African ICT Alliance
This is because it signaled government’s intention to use Telkom as a political tool, and because it put on hold the potential for Telkom to transform its consumer offerings into something that was both world class and that met its customers’ needs. “History will probably show that to be a key moment in the beginning of the end of Telkom as a competitive consumer player – unless an equally startling tie-up, merger or acquisition comes along to kick-start the company again.”
