Much ink has been spilled over the so-called “digital divide”, “connecting the unconnected” and “digital exclusion”. But have we ever paused to ponder where these buzzwords originate?

It seems South Africa’s mobile network operators (MNOs) coined these terms, perhaps to spook governments and society into favouring their services – all while maintaining prepaid pricing models that could make a billionaire blush. Ironically, this “exclusion” stems not from a lack of infrastructure but from these operators’ sky-high pricing structures.

According to data from communications regulator Icasa, South Africa boasts 100% 2G coverage, 99% 3G coverage and 98.5% LTE/4G coverage. If these figures held water, there’d be no digital divide due to infrastructure; the chasm, if anything, is a result of pricing that leaves the underprivileged out in the cold.

After the Vodacom-Maziv deal was blocked by the Competition Tribunal, Vodacom Group CEO Shameel Joosub criticised the decision, describing it as a “travesty” for South Africa. Vodacom lamented that the poor would bear the brunt, claiming it was a tragedy because they were poised to bridge the “digital divide”. They even suggested it was a blow to foreign investment.

However, in the aftermath of this collapsed takeover, as the dust settled, it became evident that these assertions were more melodrama than reality. Contrary to Vodacom’s gloomy forecast, South Africa is charging full steam ahead with network roll-outs in underserved communities nationwide.

Shining examples

Here are some shining examples:

The South African government’s broadband access fund has empowered smaller service providers to roll out connectivity to thousands of homes and hotspots in underserved areas.
Many established wireless internet service providers (Wisps) and ISPs have been extending their reach into these communities for years, using both wireless and fibre technologies. Notably, government aims to connect over a million households within six months, offering data packages starting as low as R5/day for uncapped access.
Vodacom and MTN’s smallest daily prepaid offering costs R5.50, where you may “eat as much as you like” of a whopping 35MB bundle. Is this not really the true definition of what the digital divide really is?
Fibertime has been making strides in townships, connecting more than 70 000 homes across 13 townships in four provinces. With hundreds of thousands more sites under construction, they’re planning to scale up to an additional million homes.
Ilitha, backed by investment from Meridian, is rolling out wireless and fibre services in underserved communities. Its ambitious goal is to connect 500 000 homes, bolstered by the very type of foreign investment Vodacom claimed was jeopardised by its failed merger.
Having acquired 11 000km of fibre from ATC, Frogfoot Networks is expanding into smaller towns, offering cost-effective services to lower-income groups. This expansion also provides valuable fibre backhaul to small Wisps and entrepreneurs, allowing them to connect neighbouring townships with fibre and wireless services.

Phantom menace

Additionally, companies like Too Much WiFi, Wire-Wire, Ikeja, Net99, AdNotes, ThinkWiFi and Project Isizwe are just a few of the many actively rolling out services in these underserved areas and townships.

Considering all these initiatives, it’s clear that Vodacom’s claims of being the sole saviour for these areas are, at best, exaggerated. Moreover, the alleged damage to foreign investment appears to be a phantom menace.

Communications minister Solly Malatsi is championing digital inclusion from a pricing standpoint, advocating for more affordable cellphones and devices to help more people benefit from the digital economy, thereby narrowing the connectivity gap between rich and poor.

The author, Wapa's Paul Colmer — The author, Wapa’s Paul Colmer

Plans are under way to remove ad valorem taxes on smartphones. As the minister aptly put it, smartphones are no longer luxury items; they’ve become necessities for participating in the digital economy.

Of course, this will require the major mobile operators to adjust their prepaid pricing structures to accommodate the influx of new users. But will this really happen? Fat chance! It’s more plausible that smaller service providers will step up to bridge the gap between demand and reality.

Other initiatives currently making headlines, like Starlink’s “Space to Device”, will only function where there’s no cellular signal, rendering them both impractical and unaffordable for most target users.

There’s a lot of buzz about this in the media, but little of it is grounded in practicality. We need to shift our focus away from both the science-fiction hype from the likes of Starlink and the smoke and mirrors from large mobile operators. Instead, let’s concentrate on what will truly work: the people on the ground who are rolling up their sleeves to bridge the digital divide.

The narrative that only large mobile operators can bridge the digital divide is a myth perpetuated to maintain their market stronghold. What’s more, the MNOs have now formed the Association of Comms and Technology (ACT) and chaired by Vodacom’s CEO to “create cohesion in the industry”.

Cohesion, in my view, is the last thing this will create, and if anything, it will widen the divide between the haves and have-nots even further.

Read: 2025 will usher in the era of ‘Wi-Fi everywhere’

Indeed, the real heroes are the smaller, agile companies and government initiatives tirelessly working to connect the unconnected. It’s high time we recognise and support these efforts, rather than buying into the scare tactics of industry giants.

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