 The power of technology: Unveil of TVWS in Limpopo
What if broadband was affordable to communities who have never
been
connected to the information highway?
Microsoft South
Africa, in partnership with the University of Limpopo, Department
of Science and Technology, the Council for Scientific and
Industrial Research (CSIR), local networking firm Multisource
and with regulatory support from ICASA celebrated the official
implementation phase of the highly anticipated TV White
Spaces pilot project at the University of Limpopo.
The immediate beneficiaries of this project will be five schools
and the University of Limpopo, plus hundreds of learners and
students who will be exposed to 21st Century teaching techniques
that will make them more employable in future. Currently, the
World
Economic Forum estimates that, of the 25% unemployment rate in
South Africa, 70% comprises unemployed youth. Another potentially
significant benefit of the Limpopo TV White Spaces programme is
making cost effective broadband available to residents in the
area,
using cutting edge wireless technologies that leverage unassigned
and unused broadcast frequencies.
This pilot project has the potential to positively impact the
lives of millions of South Africans, as the affordability of
broadband remains a formidable barrier to universal access within
many parts of rural South Africa. By simply reducing the cost of
broadband access, millions more South Africans could get online,
creating new opportunities for education, healthcare, commerce and
the delivery of government services across the country.
“Imagine a world in which broadband internet was as common
a learning tool as the blackboard. Microsoft is attempting to
achieve just that by enabling quality education for all and
creating opportunities for the youth through technology,
partnerships, and programmes such as the Limpopo TV White Spaces
pilot project,” says Microsoft South Africa managing director
Mteto Nyati.
“By extending access to affordable services such as
broadband, devices and, ultimately, the national reach of the
government’s public service delivery capabilities,
initiatives like these help close the digital divide that exists
within and between Africa and other regions such as the European
Union,” adds Nyati.
The pilot project is spear-headed by Microsoft’s 4Afrika
Initiative and perfectly encapsulates the initiative’s main
goals. These include the provision of technology to make public
service delivery accessible to more Africans, to accelerate
capacity building and skills development for Africans, and to
help
ignite African innovation for the continent. One such example
in place in the area is the current partnership with the Limpopo
Economic Development Agency (LEDA) to ensure teachers are trained
to use technology in the classroom and in the
community.
Nyati adds, “We need to enable our
citizens to live, work and play on the global stage. Almost 60%
of
employees in a recent 21st Century Skills study said they
developed
most of the skills they use in their current jobs outside of
school. Imagine if we could swing that around by giving them
access
to affordable cloud services, devices and broadband, as well as
with teacher training programmes such as Partners in Learning, to
equip our young learners with the skills they need to become the
workforce of tomorrow.”
Department of Science and
Technology Minister Naledi Pandor, says, “The Limpopo TV
White Spaces pilot project can be used as a testing ground for
developing a nationally applicable model that will meet
government’s goal of providing low-cost broadband access to
the majority of South Africans by 2020.”
 The five high schools in Mankweng
– Mountainview, Doasho, Mamabudusha, Mphetsebe and Ngwanalaka
– form an 8km radius hub around the university. Professor
Mahlo Mokgalong, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University
of
Limpopo, says the project will provide the learners in the
identified schools with the tools they need to reach their full
potential. “Some of the schools in the area have a shortage
of materials. So, it will definitely benefit the learners in
those
schools and expose them to computer usage to become true 21st
Century students and, eventually, employees.”
The schools have already received a bank of 32 Windows 8 Tablet
devices with Office 365, a mobile projector, 1 laptop, Wi-Fi
internet and education-related contents.
“The
possibilities are tremendous. If we can address the most pressing
issues our youth and rural areas face today, including access to
affordable and quality technology, the digital divide will soon
be
a thing of the past and affordable broadband will become a basic
utility for all citizens. By working together with our private
and
public sector partners on projects like TV White Spaces, we can
enable new consumer experiences, while encouraging governments to
make the needed legal and regulatory changes that allow this
technology to be deployed more broadly to all” says Nyati.
Microsoft is having tremendous success with similar TV
White Spaces pilots in Kenya, Tanzania and, more recently, Ghana,
and in other parts of the world like Singapore and the United
Kingdom.
Date created: 2014-06-19 12:55:45
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