Apps can be tech neutral – go on diff infrastructure
Content can ride on various apps & infrastructure
But historically, providers of content via airwaves (unlike newspapers) have conditions: local content, watershed periods, electoral obligations
Under new law?:
Suppose SABC is licensed as content provider (via airwaves) …
Does not need license for its website.
But what when the same website content travels on wireless?
Licensing of websites???
Is diffs between broadcast push & internet pull significant? (even wrt webcasting?)
What impact for future?
Or: will all content producers need licenses? Even newspapers with sites, or stand-alone sites, or bloggers? And not just audio-visual, but text content producers?
Or will those other than “spectrum-hogs” be exempted as a class?
Point: content licenses should not be relevant to channel (i.e. airwaves, but how this vehicle is used) = not tech neutral!
…. Until digital broadcasting comes along.
Telecoms industry:
Telkom: SDC, Malaysians.
Universal service targets but failure.
USA levy but failure.
Cellular operators success.
Vodacom (Telkom, Vodafone)
MTN, Cell-C
Predicted <500 000, now 18 million
African business expansion
Broadband blues
Telkom: ADSL
2nd national operator – 2 years overdue (Transtel, Esitel)
Sentech: 3G
Evolution: content, other
SMS – 17 a month per user
Voice services
Costly to use GPRS
MTN going into M-commerce.
Journalists & ICTs
Barely use cameraphones.
Poorly skilled at web research.
Inadequate access in newsrooms.
Under-researched content in general.
Not multi-skilling, SABC bi-media reversed.
Negligible convergence of native & online newsrooms.
We see African journalists, empowered by the skills, understandings and access to technology, contributing to a communication and information enriched community, country and continent.
NML 2004 Mission:
Educate and train journalism students and the media industry;
Advance knowledge through research and disseminationof that research;
Innovate and experiment with technology;
Engage with industry and relevant interest groups.
2005-2008
Highway Africa history:
2001: all African countries connected
Highway Africa history:
2001: all African countries connected
1997: HA commenced – 65 people
2004: 430 external delegs, 17 sponsors
Aims:
Raise awareness
Impart skills
Bridge industry-academy
Continental networking
HA themes:
HA themes:
HA themes:
For HA, Info Society spans:
freedom for new & old media.
quality of information, African voices, policy issues.
global ICT potential.
And: it frames this big picture.
Highway Africa since 2000:
Website, daily paper
Radio, TV, cellular output.
Newsroom of the Future
Award for innovation
Exhibitions
2004: Highway Africa vision:
A vibrant & growing networkof African journalistsempowered to advance democracy & development through understanding & use of appropriate technologies.
Highway Africa mission:
sensitize journalists on role of ICT in society & media;
train journalists & journalism teachers in understanding & using technology to access, generate and distribute information;
network journalists, & link them with key stakeholders (academics, policy makers, civil society etc)
Networking examples
Highway Africa mission cntd:
Advocate for a media & technology environment which enables journalists to play their full role in democracy and development
Research the use and impact of ICTs in Africa with particular ref to the media
Publish and disseminate research and information across a range of platforms
Celebrate innovation & excellence & to promote better practice thru peer review
Celebrate example - awards:
Highway Africa programmes:
Five complementary interventions:
Research
Training
Policy reform
Information
Conference
1. HA research
Viability of newssites;
Web software used;
Coverage of IS policy in
Ethiopia, Senegal, DRC, Mozambique, Kenya, Nigeria, (SA still under way);
