TechCentral TechCentral (main feed)

Interview: ICT policy expert Charley Lewis

--:--
Thank you for downloading the TechCentral podcast. In this episode, Duncan McLeod chats to former lecturer and ICT policy and regulatory expert Charley Lewis on the ICT sector in South Africa and how it's developed over the past 23 years.
Lewis, a former senior lecturer at the Link Centre at the School of Public and Development Management at Wits University and now an independent ICT consultant, is working towards his PhD, where he is focusing on universal service and access.
In the podcast, Lewis talks about the good and bad policy decisions that have been made in South Africa's ICT sector since the dawn of democracy in 1994.
What is the best way of ensuring universal broadband access - should it be left to the markets, or government intervention in the sector warranted and necessary? A former unionist - Lewis headed IT for trade union federation Cosatu between 1994 and 2001 - he talks about the partial privatisation of Telkom, the emergence of mobile, why underserviced area licensees failed and what's gone wrong with digital television migration. Lewis also provides his views on the ICT policy white paper, and explains what his top three priorities would be if he were appointed as minister of telecommunications & postal services. It's a great discussion. Don't miss the podcast.
2 Aug 2017 English South Africa Technology · Business

Other recent episodes

TCS Legends | An interview with David Frankel

David Frankel played a pioneering role in the commercial development of the internet in South Africa as co-founder and CEO of Internet Solutions. Since then, he’s gone on to a successful investing career in the US, where he is co-founder and managing partner at Boston- and New York-based Founder Collective,…
23 Apr 1 hr 02 min

TCS | Meet the CHIPendales – South Africa’s biohacker duo

In this special episode of the TechCentral Show (TCS) – presented by MTN Business – Duncan McLeod chats to two South African biohackers, Daniel de Kock and Jarryd Bekker, about why they have voluntarily installed microchips in their bodies. Respectively the chief technology officer and CEO of Riot Network –…
17 Apr 44 min

TCS+ | What MTN has to offer government clients

From the internet of things (IoT) to private 5G networks, MTN Group has a lot to offer public sector organisations, according to David Behr, CEO of MTN Converged Solutions. Behr, a stalwart of the local ICT industry and a recent recruit to MTN, tells TechCentral’s TCS+ business technology show about…
10 Apr 20 min

TCS Legends | South African internet pioneer Mike Lawrie

TechCentral is thrilled to bring you an interview with Mike Lawrie, a pioneering figure at Rhodes University who helped bring e-mail and later the internet to South Africa. In this episode of TCS Legends – the podcast series that features interviews with (and about) some of the leading figures who…
8 Apr 1 hr 27 min

TCS | From Namibian start-up to regional powerhouse: the rapid rise of Paratus

Paratus Group is rapidly emerging as a major player in the telecommunications industry in Southern Africa. But who’s behind Paratus, and what’s its history? From landing Google’s Equiano subsea cable in Swakopmund and building a new fibre route between South Africa and Namibia – providing a new data corridor between…
21 Mar 32 min
All episodes