In Cape Town, South Africa, the Ministers of Communications and Digital Technologies, along with member states of the African Telecommunications Union (ATU), recently convened for the Ministerial Forum on Building a Future-Oriented, Intelligent Digital Infrastructure for Africa. Co-organized by the ATU and the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT) of South Africa, the forum aimed to propel the digital transformation agenda across the continent.
The event, held alongside AfricaCom, the premier ICT conference and exhibition, provided a platform for constructive dialogue and an exchange of perspectives on the development of a future-oriented intelligent digital infrastructure crucial for achieving Africa’s socio-economic development goals.
In the backdrop of the global digital economy’s rapid growth, the focus was on Africa’s need to strengthen high-speed networks (4G, 5G, and fiber) and implement high-performance cloud computing capabilities.
John Omo, Secretary General of the ATU, emphasized the forum’s role in creating consensus on building a future-oriented digital infrastructure for Africa. He highlighted the crucial role of collaboration among governments, private sector entities, research institutions, and international organizations to realize the full potential of collective efforts. Omo stressed the guiding principle of inclusivity to ensure technological benefits reach every corner of society.
Philly Mapulane, Deputy Minister of the Department of Communications & Digital Technologies, echoed the importance of collaboration, marking the forum as a significant milestone in the collective pursuit of a digitally empowered Africa. He envisioned a future where digital infrastructure is seamless, intelligent, and accessible to all, laying the foundation for the continent’s socio-economic emancipation.
Leo Chen, President of Huawei Sub-Saharan Africa, provided insights into the progress and areas for improvement in Africa’s digital infrastructure. He advocated for the “One Network, One Cloud” approach, emphasizing the importance of national broadband backbone networks and extensible backbone networks for comprehensive connectivity.
Chen outlined the benefits of such a network, including increased GDP, enhanced government service delivery, and improved connectivity for individual households. He stressed the importance of cloud technologies at a nation-state level, highlighting the potential of a national cloud platform for advanced technological innovation and improved government and enterprise capabilities.
Other dignitaries reinforced the need for collaboration in shaping the future of African digital infrastructure, addressing challenges such as connection costs and advocating for collective efforts to achieve connectivity goals.
The joint communique issued at the end of the forum committed African countries to collaborate and align policies and strategies in promoting digital infrastructure development, in line with the African Union Agenda 2063, the ATU Strategic Plan 2020-2024, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
As a practical example of the collaboration urged during the event, the South African Fibre Broadband Development Initiative was presented. A partnership between DCDT, Digital Council Africa (DCA), and Africa Analysis, the initiative’s position paper, titled “Toward a Gigabit Society in South Africa,” analyzed the positive impact of increased fixed broadband adoption in the country, outlining current status, challenges, and recommending strategies and policy interventions for South Africa to become a gigabit society.
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