Historical
Timeline (1948 – 2010)
Normally an academic would not feel that their age
would have relevance to their topic, however I believe that my age was an
instrumental aspect for choosing this field of study. As of December 2012, I
will be a 40 yr old female, residing in South Africa. I would like to refer to
my generation (both male and female) as the “cusp”[1]
group, having firsthand experience of growing up within a time frame of slow or
little technological advancement, specifically relating to mobile telephony and
internet access (mid 80’s – early 90’s) then transitioning toward a period of
rapid technological changes (mid 90’s – present). Many people like me,
belonging to this “cusp” group have known what life was like having never
‘surfed the net’ or owned a cellular phone, but now live in a world where a
mobile phone is a essential commodity and being plugged into the World Wide Web
is a daily reality. My age and personal experiences from within the South
African context places me at an ideal place for retrospection and commentary on
how this transitional phase has impacted my life.
In order to create a contextual time line for this
study as it relates to the introduction and progressive growth of cellular
technology in South Africa, it would be imperative to briefly touch upon the
political history of apartheid[2]
and how it had direct repercussions on technological development as well as
public and social services. Due to the segregation of racial groups
geographically, fixed line telephone systems serviced more affluent
predominantly ‘white’ residential areas located close to commercial city
centres, which made up less than 10 percent of the country’s total population.
For
the years prior to 1995, supporting research shows ICT[3]
infrastructure was severely lacking in ‘non-white’ residential suburbs as well
as rural areas. The emergence of mobile phone networks in 1994 catalysed the
expansion of infrastructure and extended global communications to previously
marginalised groups.
After the rise of mobile telephony in
South Africa, ICT access began to expand and wide range of communication,
education, and engagement opportunities became more widely available (Beger
& Sinha 2012:9).
Telkom®[4]
was the first government owned and regulated Telecommunications Company during
the early 1990’s. Being the only service provider in South Africa at the time,
Telkom enjoyed a national monopoly on the industry, but the socio-political
climate began to change with South Africa becoming a democratic state on 1994.
When South Africa became a
democratic country on 27 April 1994, not only did it result in a fundamental
change in the political landscape, but it also ushered in a new constitutional
legal order unparalleled in the country's history….…….. For the first time in
the country's history the constitution included a Bill of Rights that has
attracted the greatest interest and has, and continues to have, the greatest
impact on the lives of millions of people in South Africa. (Abrahams[5]
2008: 1)
The ‘impact’ Abraham speaks of refers to the new laws
emancipating people and communities from the yoke of apartheid, however very
few could have predicted the coinciding technological impact mobile telephony
would have on everyday South Africans entering a global world. Vodacom®[6]
began operating officially in South Africa on 1st June 1994 as the
first mobile network service provider. The first month attracted 50 000
subscribers and by the end of October these figures had doubled due to a strategic
move by Vodacom®
to roll out its network on 3,000km of national highway . As the year drew to a close,
many people were embarking on annual vacations, with the national media
highlighting the rising crime statistics related to high jacking and car theft
during this period[7],
many consumers opted to carry a mobile phone for security reasons. After this
initial upsurge Vodacom has continued to attract subscribers and by the 2004
was recorded to have 9, 7 million subscribers[8]
(http://www.africanwireless.com/vodacom_history.htm).
These initial figures were the first indication that there was a growing market
for mobile communication in South Africa.
MTN®[9]
also received its operating licence in 1994 and began operating shortly after
Vodacom had launched. As a JSE[10]
listed company MTN®
has since secured 37% of the market share in South Africa and provides voice,
data and telemetry solutions to 20 million subscribers (http://www.mtn.co.za/ABOUTMTN/Pages/MTNSA.aspx). Cell
C®[11]
opened its doors in 2001 and as soon as 2004 already boasted 3 million
subscribers (http://www.cellc.co.za/explore/additionalinfo/vision-and-mission). Virgin
Mobile®[12]
joined the approved list of mobile service providers in 2006 and most recently
as the fifth official network provider, 8TA®[13] in
2010. All these companies are currently competing within the GSM[14]
environment for a market share in South Africa’s growing demand for the latest
mobile devices and reliable signals.
Since the growth of ICTs, many South
Africans living in urban and rural communities are able to explore, share, and
access digital information through mobile and computer Internet connectivity.
From 2005 to 2009, the number of South Africans owning, renting and/or having
access to a mobile phone increased by 20 per cent, and the country now
experiences 100.48 per cent mobile penetration89 among its total population of
50 million……..Expanding quickly, with over 620 million mobile connections as of
September 2011, Africa bears the second largest mobile market in the world. In
the last ten years, the number of mobile connections in Africa has grown an
average of 30 per cent per year and is forecast to reach 735 million by the end
of 2012. South Africa houses the third largest number of mobile subscribers in
the continent, after Nigeria and Egypt. (Beger
& Sinha 2012:5-6)
The rapid expansion of mobile usage in South Africa can
be measured in terms of subscriber growth which has been documented in the
figures above, as well as on many sites that reflect the latest international
GSM statistics[15]. Continued research and the collecting of
market related data in this industry would be beneficial for key stakeholders
and even government, in order to provide better service delivery and products.
[1] ‘When one situation ends and
another begins. A time when one situation or stage ends and another begins’
(Encarta Dictionary: English UK)
[2] “A system of institutionalized
racial segregation and discrimination for the purpose of establishing and
maintaining domination by one racial group over another. In South Africa it was
a system of legal racial segregation enforced by the National Party government
between 1948 and 1994, during which time the rights of the majority 'non-white'
inhabitants of South Africa were curtailed and minority rule by white people
was maintained”
(http://www.unicef.org/southafrica/SAF_resources_mobilegeneration.pdf).
[3] Information & Communications
Technology.
[4] ‘Telkom has been operating
as a commercial company since October 1991 and is the largest provider of
communications services in Africa, according to operating revenue and assets’
(http://www.info.gov.za/aboutsa/communications.htm#telkom).
[5] Charles Abrahams is a lawyer & Senior
Partner who has worked for plaintiffs on cases including: Anglo Platinum
(displacement in South Africa); AngloGold Ashanti (silicosis in South Africa);
Gencor (asbestosis in South Africa); various companies (re apartheid in South
Africa).
[6] The first South African based
mobile telecommunications company.
[7] “Several serious crimes increased
at a faster rate than the average between 1994 and 1999 such as rape (21%), car
hijacking (20%), serious assault (22%), housebreaking (25%) and common robbery
or robbery without a weapon (121%)”
(http://www.gatedcomsa.co.za/crimeinsa.html).
[8] Vodacom South Africa Statistics
(http://www.cellular.co.za/africa/south-africa/vodacom/vod-details.htm)
[9] A Multi-national
telecommunications company based in Africa and the Middle East (http://www.mtn.co.za/ABOUTMTN/Pages/MTNSA.aspx).
[10] Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
[11] Cell C is South Africa's third
cellular operator
[12] Virgin Mobile is the 4th
mobile network service provider as a
result of a joint-venture between Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group and Cell C
(http://www.virginunite.com/Templates/bio.aspx?bioType=SouthAfricanBusinessActionCaseStudies&nid=521199a2-5847-4ec0-bca1-19052a110da8&id=502c722f-8215-4b65-a597-668bbb8f2c36).
[13]‘The local mobile telecommunications
market, with fixed-line operator Telkom launching its own cellular offering,
branded as 8ta (Heita!). (http://www.southafrica.info/business/economy/infrastructure/8ta-151010.htm)
[14] Global System for Mobile
Communications
[15]
(http://mobithinking.com/mobile-marketing-tools/latest-mobile-stats/b)
Beger, G, Sinha, A. South African mobile generation:
Study on South African young people on mobiles. Available at: http://www.unicef.org/southafrica/SAF_resources_mobilegeneration.pdf
(accessed on 25/09/12).
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