https://www.engineeringnews.co.za

SADC Ministers commit to reduce cross-border communications cost

Yunus Carrim

Yunus Carrim

Photo by Duane Daws

26th March 2014

By: Natasha Odendaal

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

  

Font size: - +

Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries this week agreed to seek private-sector cooperation to reduce the cost of communicating across the borders within the region.

This followed a meeting between SADC Communications Ministers in Johannesburg this week to discuss postal services, mobile roaming, broadband and digital migration between the regions, where a progress report on the “roam like a local” project was examined.

“It was agreed that within the policies and laws of the respective countries, regulators and, where appropriate, Ministers will seek to get greater cooperation of the mobile operators for this programme,” said Communications Minister Yunus Carrim.

“Given the considerable interdependence of our countries in the Southern African region, we agreed to cooperate more effectively in strengthening the information and communications technology (ICT) sector in the region,” he noted in a statement.

Carrim pointed out that broadband, mobile roaming charges, postal services and digital migration, which were all linked, remained crucial to the ICT sector’s contribution to economic growth and development in the SADC countries.

The Ministers also agreed to accelerate progress towards universal broadband access and “harmonise” policy and regulations for effective use of spectrum and frequency allocation plans to increase economies of scale and meet growing demand for broadband services.

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

Comments

Showroom

SABAT
SABAT

From batteries for boats and jet skis, to batteries for cars and quad bikes, SABAT Batteries has positioned itself as the lifestyle battery of...

VISIT SHOWROOM 
VEGA Controls SA (Pty) Ltd
VEGA Controls SA (Pty) Ltd

For over 60 years, VEGA has provided industry-leading products for the measurement of level, density, weight and pressure. As the inventor of the...

VISIT SHOWROOM 

Latest Multimedia

sponsored by

Photo of Martin Creamer
On-The-Air (26/04/2024)
26th April 2024 By: Martin Creamer
Magazine cover image
Magazine round up | 26 April 2024
26th April 2024

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION







sq:0.084 0.141s - 137pq - 2rq
Subscribe Now