The advisory council responsible for driving the implementation of South Africa’s newly tabled broadband plan has been selected.

The Department of Communications on Tuesday launched the National Broadband Advisory Council (NBAC) for the roll-out of the National Broadband Policy, Strategy and Plan, also known as ‘South Africa Connect’.

“It is critical that we focus on how to implement South Africa Connect. We see our role as enabling South Africa to develop a competitive economy that encourages innovation and attracts investment through broadband,” NBAC chairperson and Council for Scientific and Industrial Research president Dr Sibusiso Sibisi said in a statement.

“We have an excellent team in the council and their advice will assist in rolling out broadband faster and more effectively. We need to move faster, with greater cooperation of the stakeholders, to deliver broadband,” Communications Minister Yunus Carrim added.

Research ICT Africa director Professor Alison Gillwald has been appointed as deputy chairperson.

NBAC’s other members comprised independent technical experts and representatives of business, trade unions and civil society, including University of Pretoria Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering Department head and Professor Sunil Maharaj, Pygma Consulting Founder and MD Mandla Msimang, World Wide Worx founder Arthur Goldstuck and Square Kilometre Array project director Dr Bernie Fanaroff.

Mlamli Booi, Geoffrey Qhena, Jyoti Mistry and Jesse Maluleke were also appointed to the council.

South Africa Connect aimed to fast-track South Africa’s broadband backbone and access infrastructure, particularly within rural and underserved areas, and meet the country’s vision of broadband for all by 2020.

The plan outlined a four-pronged strategy, with supply- and demand-side interventions, that would close identified gaps between the current status of broadband and the vision of a “seamless information infrastructure” by 2030.

The new broadband plan would be realised through four complementary interventions, namely digital readiness, digital development, digital future and digital opportunity.

The plan envisaged that a universal average broadband speed of 5 Mb/s would be accessible by 50% of South Africa’s population by 2015. By 2020, the department envisaged 100% access at a minimum speed of 5 Mb/s, with about 50% of the population able to access speeds of up to 100 Mb/s.

By 2030, 100% of the population was expected to have access to a minimum speed of 10 Mb/s, while 80% was expected to access speeds of up to 100 Mb/s.

The connection of government facilities, schools and health facilities would follow a similar path.

Carrim pointed out that, since December, when the broadband plan was adopted, 782 schools had been provided with computers. Further, a new e-skills institute, Ikamva, was launched two weeks ago.