Photo by: Bloomberg
Johannesburg secured a ranking of 29 in telecommunications giant Ericsson’s latest Networked Society City Index, with the company examining the strengths and weaknesses of the “telecommunications hub of South Africa.”
The report, ranking 40 cities and measuring their economic, social and environmental development, also showed the city performing better in the triple bottom line index than in information and communication technology (ICT) maturity.
The Networked Society City Index showed medium improvement in Johannesburg’s ICT maturity, despite its underdeveloped ICT infrastructure, which ranked 18.
While there was “room for development” in the city’s ICT affordability, it scored “relatively well” in ICT use.
Johannesburg’s mid-level ranking was also bolstered by a “relatively” good performance in the environmental dimension, with a ranking of 82; however, its overall ranking was weighed down by weak performances in the social and economic dimensions of the index, ranking at 59 and 27 respectively.
The report pointed out that Johannesburg had slow fixed broadband speeds, with many of the population still lacking access to the Internet.
The city’s mobile application coverage was rated average with above-average smartphone penetration, and the share of people using the Internet was “relatively high” despite the low access rate.
“Although the overall score is relatively weak, Johannesburg presents a mixed picture when it comes to the ICT dimension,” the report stated.
This despite Johannesburg, which was the economic and financial hub of South Africa, producing 16% of national gross domestic product, being based in a country that boasted one of fastest growing Global System for Mobile Communications, or GSM, markets in the world.
Ericsson pointed out that Johannesburg had launched several projects and partnerships with business and the ICT industry to raise awareness of ICT and boost investments in the region.