JOHANNESBURG-The international telecommunications exhibition and forum-Africa Telecom 98-promises to be an important milestone for the African continent.
The event is scheduled for 4 May to 9 May at the Expo Centre (Nasrec), Johannesburg, and aims to attract 300 exhibitors and 15,000 visitors. It is organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and hosted by the South African government. The ITU decided to hold the event in South Africa following President Nelson Mandela’s request in 1995 that it should be held on his home turf.
“Africa is one of the world’s largest potential markets for improved telecommunications,” Mandela stated. “And indeed, the development of Africa’s communication infrastructure is in turn enhancing the opportunities for profitable and productive investment in the continent.”
Telecommunications in Africa suffers from the lack of critical variables such as capital, expertise and technology. Furthermore, in terms of its telecommunications infrastructure, regulatory framework and political and economic development, the African continent is still suffering from an imbalance.
The mammoth challenge for Africa Telecom 98 is how far it will be able to tap into the continent’s potential markets for improving telecommunications in Africa. South Africans believe it can be done. In Minister Jay Naidoo’s words: “We remain confident that we can seize the initiative and invite investors to join us as we put the building blocks to propel Africa into the global information society.”
In preparation for the conference, Minister Naidoo sent 70 invitations to African countries to participate in a workshop in early February in Cape Town to discuss the needs of Africa and develop strategies to attract foreign investment that would place the continent firmly on the telecommunications map.
The number of exhibitors that have signed up for stands seems promising-170 from major international companies. Thirty more are on the waiting list.
African countries, however, are finding it rather expensive to erect their own stands as the hiring cost per square meter is US$246. Preparations, therefore, are underway to create a special pavilion to represent all 55 countries. This Pan-Africa Pavilion also will give ITU the opportunity to demonstrate how recent major advances in information technology have improved the productivity and efficiency of the industry and business sectors.
The African Telecom ’98 Forum will encompass a strategic summit and a technology summit, running in parallel for six days and also will include a two-day Telecom Development Symposium (TDS).
The forum will highlight the challenges facing Africa. Entitled “African Telecommunications-Strategies for Sustainable Development,” the forum is specifically designed to provide a platform for industry players to share ideas of future trends and discuss the strategies for guaranteeing-through the appropriate use of telecommunications-sustainable development for the developing world as well as the industrialized world. Sensitive issues, including regulatory framework, privatization, spectrum management and the Internet, are expected to be discussed.
The TDS will have the theme “African Telecommunication Operators: Building a Customer and Business-orientated Corporate Culture.”
The tentative program of TDS comprises four plenary panel sessions, as developed by the ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau, and aims to address issues raised by the current trend toward progressive liberalization of telecommunications in Africa. Topics to be deliberated include customer-oriented organization; business opportunities in new and traditional services; changing business patterns; and strategic technology shifts. These plenary panel sessions will be open to all Africa Telecom 98 Forum participants, while access to the working-group sessions will be restricted to invited delegates, speakers and experts only.
