Perhaps the question is quickly answered by many with a scoffing “YES”, but I’ve been using a dial up connection (56kps) for the last 2 weeks and must say I have been pleasantly surprised by how few problems I’ve had with it. Granted I have only been using it in the evenings for recreational purposes and not for work, but it makes me wonder why so many other recreational surfers get caught up in the ADSL worries that comes with living in Joburg, having to deal with Telkom and having to pay what they do for ADSL.
When my husband Brett and I first knew we would be coming to Johannesburg from Grahamstown (where I used the Internet for about 8 hours a day at work and didn’t want it at home) we found out about getting ADSL for the few months we’d be in Joburg (until we moved to Leeds). I did some research (using the Internet at work) on local ISP’s to find the most reliable, but reasonably priced. Once I found one I was happy with, I phoned to find out about costs, conditions and the small print associated with any contract. After being pleasantly surprised by the price (about R100 for the contract) I was told I would have to phone Telkom (the fixed network operator – the ONLY one in SA – hopefully not for long) to install an ADSL line – here is where the confusion began.
After telling me about the great packages associated with getting ADSL and choosing Telkom as my ISP I was told that it would take at least 4 weeks to get someone to phone me back who would then put me on a list for a line to be installed – who knows how long this could have taken, though I’ve known people who live in busy areas who have waited 6 months for their ADSL line to be installed. I decided it wasn’t worth the wait – plus I couldn’t imagine even a week without being able to surf the net, check my email and MSN some friends. The problems (so I’ve heard) don’t stop once you get the line installed. The service is flaky at best and I’ve decided definitely not worth the installation fee.
Instead, I’m comforted each evening by the bleeps and burps of my modem connecting and although I’ve had to learn the art of patience, organization (I’ve got to plan each trip online so that I don’t waste time and money) and being quite ‘Scrooge-like’ with my time and the sites I visit – no more frivolous, aimless wandering – I get on with a purpose and am always impressed with how quickly I accomplish it.
Even as I read through this (which I’ve typed before hand to save time online!) I realize how lucky I am. I’m still a tech minority in South Africa where less than 10% of the population have access to the Internet – most at work and most not representative of the country (not even close).
Monday, February 26, 2007
Thursday, February 22, 2007
The funding phenomenon
I’m in the process of getting ready to move to Leeds from South Africa to undertake a PhD in communication studies. I’ll be researching the ICT policy development process in Kenya and the role of the media in that process. It’s been quite surprising to someone like me, who has an immense interest and enthusiasm for ICT policy and research, that it has been so difficult to secure full funding to pay for the tuition of the first year of study (which for a South African is practically unaffordable).
Perhaps the hype around ICT policy in the developed world has died down and there is a lack of vision for what still needs to be done in developing countries. Despite the apparent success of the World Summit on the Information Society and the Principles adopted by countries that attended, there is much to do in the developing world and especially in Africa (where my interest lies). While there is a need for practical policy processes at different levels, there is also a serious need for research in the area of ICT policy development – which is something that I hope to undertake in my research.
Many developed countries today have well established ICT policies (despite certain issues which arise from time to time such as intellectual property rights and security) and too many people take it for granted that this is the trend across the global village – it isn’t! Too many African countries are currently grappling with (or are still to grapple with) establishing their own ICT policy, while having to deal with other important policy issues (which usually means ICT policy is last in the line of priorities). Not enough research is being done in the area to ensure that ICT policy is made a top priority for developing countries and for international organizations which need to mentor and provide assistance where possible – though the challenge is to ensure that African countries don’t adopt international norms without adapting them to their unique circumstances.
There are so many issues (as the previous paragraph attests to) and so much information that should be disseminated and shared between those with the practical experience and those without. But, without the support of funders (who seem to have less of a focus on ICT policy than a few years ago) developing countries are going to have to learn from their mistakes (very costly mistakes) before getting things right – rather than learning from the mistakes and successes of others which have been researched and then adapting those lessons to their ICT, development, political and social environments.
Perhaps the hype around ICT policy in the developed world has died down and there is a lack of vision for what still needs to be done in developing countries. Despite the apparent success of the World Summit on the Information Society and the Principles adopted by countries that attended, there is much to do in the developing world and especially in Africa (where my interest lies). While there is a need for practical policy processes at different levels, there is also a serious need for research in the area of ICT policy development – which is something that I hope to undertake in my research.
Many developed countries today have well established ICT policies (despite certain issues which arise from time to time such as intellectual property rights and security) and too many people take it for granted that this is the trend across the global village – it isn’t! Too many African countries are currently grappling with (or are still to grapple with) establishing their own ICT policy, while having to deal with other important policy issues (which usually means ICT policy is last in the line of priorities). Not enough research is being done in the area to ensure that ICT policy is made a top priority for developing countries and for international organizations which need to mentor and provide assistance where possible – though the challenge is to ensure that African countries don’t adopt international norms without adapting them to their unique circumstances.
There are so many issues (as the previous paragraph attests to) and so much information that should be disseminated and shared between those with the practical experience and those without. But, without the support of funders (who seem to have less of a focus on ICT policy than a few years ago) developing countries are going to have to learn from their mistakes (very costly mistakes) before getting things right – rather than learning from the mistakes and successes of others which have been researched and then adapting those lessons to their ICT, development, political and social environments.
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