Pule, Shinn clash in parliament
Communications minister Dina Pule and shadow minister Marian Shinn clashed in parliament on Tuesday over government policies in the information and communications technology (ICT) industry and a recent department of communications colloquium that discussed
Digital TV ‘on track’
The switch to digital television broadcasting is on track, communications minister Dina Pule told MPs on Tuesday. “I want to affirm to this house that we are on course on the DTT [digital terrestrial television] process,” she said in the opening debate on her
Roy Padayachie dies on visit to Ethiopia
Former communications minister Roy Padayachie has passed away while on an official visit to Ethiopia. Padayachie, who was serving in President Jacob Zuma’s cabinet as minister of public service & administration, was also a former deputy communications minister under the late Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri
Government’s recipe for telecoms failure
Last week’s national policy colloquium, organised by the department of communications, drew a degree of cynicism from the telecoms industry. The view among many industry players is that it’s the same old rhetoric with no action. Will this time be different? The industry can be forgiven for suffering from “colloquium fatigue”. Politicians
TalkCentral: Episode 63 – ‘High-fibre diet’
In this episode of TalkCentral, your hosts Duncan McLeod and Craig Wilson chat about last week’s big department of communications’ policy colloquium. We discuss whether anything will flow out of the event and the likely impact that communications minister Dina Pule and her director-general Rosey Sekese will have on the technology
The sound of business not holding its breath
I’d like to respond to communications minister Dina Pule’s call for a policy overhaul at this week’s information and communications (ICT) policy colloquium in Midrand. Pule should be applauded for taking action in her call for a policy review for the ICT sector, it should come as no surprise that some in the industry remain deeply sceptical
Pule promises action on spectrum
Communications minister Dina Pule hopes government will have a draft policy direction on spectrum ready sometime next month. She says her department has not rushed the process because “whatever process we undertake must benefit all South Africans”. “We don’t want to rush things.” Telecommunications operators
How ANC is squandering SA’s digital future
The release last week of Research ICT Africa’s report on mobile phone pricing in Africa has provoked a little controversy. The facts are quite damning. SA has some of the highest mobile costs on the continent. This is odd given the country’s comparative wealth and infrastructural advantages. By rights, SA ought to have the cheapest phone
Pule calls for full ICT policy review
Communications minister Dina Pule has called for a complete overhaul of government policies governing the country’s broad information and communications (ICT) sector, with new legislation to be gazetted before the end of next year. Pule was speaking at the department of communications’ ICT Colloquium in Midrand on Thursday
Pule eyes September for digital TV switch-on
SA will switch on digital terrestrial television services “around” September, starting a period of “dual illumination” of both analogue and digital signals, communications minister Dina Pule said in a statement on Thursday. Pule said Sentech, the state-owned company charged with deploying the broadcasting