Briefing to Parliamentary Committee on

Communications

The case for “Wireless” Municipal Networks: A City of Cape Town

perspective

Presented by: Nirvesh Sooful and Raven Naidoo

Date: 9 June 2006

Agenda

Context:City of Cape Town’s Smart City Strategy

ASGISA Strategy and National Agenda

From Strategy to ImplementationDigital Inclusion and Access to opportunities: Smart Cape

Other initiatives

The critical role of telecoms for Local Authorities and issues

City of Cape Town Vision

Conclusions and Discussion

Agenda

Context:City of Cape Town’s Smart City Strategy

ASGISA Strategy and National Agenda

From Strategy to ImplementationDigital Inclusion and Access to opportunities: Smart Cape

Other initiatives

The critical role of telecoms for Local Authorities and issues

City of Cape Town Vision

Conclusions and Discussion

Cape Town ICT in Context

Recognised nationally and internationally as a leader in the space of E-Government (utilising ICT to enhance the city’s service delivery capability), as well as in the space of ICT for socio-economic development. Numerous national and international awards have been bestowed upon the city.City’s case studies have been used nationally, on the African continent and internationally as an example of best practice. The City of Cape Town has also implemented certain ICT for development projects on behalf of the Western Cape Provincial Government.There has also been several discussions with other local authorities in the Western Cape about the sharing of resources and skills from the City Of Cape Town (related to ICT). Also with DPSA and SITA

Address by Minister of Communications at Nedlac ICT Annual Forum Meeting, 25 January 2005

City of Cape Town has positioned itself to become one of our most technologically advanced cities, through successful IT sector intervention.

By implementing its visionary transformation strategy, Cape Town is now a frontrunner in South Africa’s National IT Strategy.

The benefits for all have been enormous. E-government services have been developed; the service to its citizens has been improved. All city employees

have access to mainstream banking giving low-income employees a measure of economic empowerment. The cherry on top of the cake for this project, is that

they have instituted the largest IT training programme in our history, boosting the IT skills of the city by training thousands of employees.

IT businesses owned by the formerly dispossessed are also benefiting through this partnership. In order for Cape Town to establish itself as a municipal services

leader there had to be a partnership between, business, labour and the community.

I am sharing this success story with you because I want to see more of such initiatives.

ContextICT for Development and ASGISA

We re-affirm the vision that Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have a strategic and important role to play, both as an enabler of growth in the economy and as a development trampoline to leverage our people out of poverty

-Deputy Minister of Communications, MP Radhakrishna Roy Padayachie, Budget Vote Speech 2006/07

Agenda

Context:City of Cape Town’s Smart City Strategy

ASGISA Strategy and National Agenda

From Strategy to ImplementationDigital Inclusion and Access to opportunities: Smart Cape

Other initiatives

The critical role of Telecoms for Local Authorities

City of Cape Town Vision

Conclusions and Discussion

Smart Cape Access Project

Objective: to ensure that all citizens of Cape Town have access to basic information and communication technologies (ICT).

Public access model that allows computing facilities to be provided cost effectively, using open source software and piggybacking on existing infrastructure and resources.

Word processing and other applications

Connected to the Internet

Web sites

E-mail

Enabler of other social and economic development initiatives by the City

Where are we now

100 communities connected (500+ access points)+ 80 000 users. Rapid growth in new users (5000 per month)Access to relevant local content key to a successful e-government programmeMobile Smart Cape launched by Premier earlier this year

“Entire communities need to be exposed to the benefits of ICT and positive attitudes created

towards the cultivation of awareness and everyday access and use of this technology so as to bring all our people into the information

age.”

The President says….

From Strategy to Implementation - Other initiatives: ERP implementation (Largest ICT transformation project in South Africa)

Very successful, collection rates increased from 84% to 96% i.e. R794 Million per annum

Entrepreneur Support and Business Development: Digital Business Centres

3 launched, 2 planned for next year, voucher scheme, etc.Youth Development and Job Creation: Kulisa Project

130 youth, 95% employment ICT for the masses

ICT skill a basic requirement for entry into the economy, 20 training centresOpen Source

OSS Competency Centre, real projects that touch real peopleIntergovernmental/ Multi-sector action

DPSA, USA, SITA, PGWC, CITI, HP, Dell, Microsoft, Ghana (Accra), Spain (Basque Govt.), etc.

Agenda

Context:City of Cape Town’s Smart City Strategy

ASGISA Strategy and National Agenda

From Strategy to ImplementationDigital Inclusion and Access to opportunities: Smart Cape

Other initiatives

Critical role of telecoms for Local Authorities & issues

City of Cape Town Vision

Conclusions and Discussion

Key IssuesCost effective telecommunications is essential to:

connect local government and enable government service delivery (Goal 1: Connected Local Government)

create connected local communities to uplift, empower and improve the lives of all residents (Goal 2: Connected Local Communities)

Extensive use of telecommunications by municipalities

Key Limitation: High Cost of Telecommunications prevents any of these being achieved

Goal 1: Connected Local Government

The use of ICT within local authorities has become far more important than ever before.

ICT is needed for communications between offices and staff, to enable local authorities to effectively collect revenues due to it, to be able to service citizens equitably in all areas, to improve customer relations, to inform communities about programmes and initiatives, etc.

Connecting local government will allow it to:

Create highly efficient and effective local government service delivery

Reduce transaction costs

Improve revenue collection

Allow anywhere, anytime service to citizens

Provide one-stop shops for citizens to deal with all aspects of local government services in an integrated manner

Make local government more customer friendly and citizen oriented

Create better accountability, responsiveness and transparency of all systems (reducing bureaucracy and providing performance metrics)

Reducing discretion and arbitrariness

Goal 2: Connected Local Communities

Access to information and the ability to exchange and process information is increasingly the key to personal upliftment and economic competitiveness. LGs need to bridge the 'digital divide' between those who have access to connected computers and the skills to use them, and those who do not. Provision of telecommunications networks in municipalities is a critical infrastructure impacting the economic growth, development and competitiveness of local communities in the global economy, (incl. expansion of the network to include provision of computers for use by citizens)

‘A community is a community through the connections among its people.’

Why is Telecoms so fundamental to Cape Town?

Internal Operations Cash Offices, email, depots, stores, SAP, HR, Intranet, etc.

Security- CCTV

Citywide telephony system

City Call centre

Traffic lights

Emergency services (radio)

Electronic Road signage

Telemetry system for electricity management and SCADA for water

Telecommunications in the context of social and economic development of City.

Current telecommunications bill is estimated at more than R100 million annually

High Cost of telecoms (City of Cape Town example)

Not including SCADA, Traffic Control, Smart Cape, etc.

NO CONNECTIVITY To Clinics, Youth Centres, etc.

Agenda

Context:City of Cape Town’s Smart City Strategy

ASGISA Strategy and National Agenda

From Strategy to ImplementationDigital Inclusion and Access to opportunities: Smart Cape

Other initiatives

Critical role of telecoms for Local Authorities & issues

City of Cape Town Vision

Conclusions and Discussion

Thinking Outside the Box

Moving telecommunications from a cost centre to an economic enabler

Smart City Telecommunications vision: by 2010 Cape Town will be…

A City whose residents, businesses and institutions are connected to each other and the world

A City where every house and business will be connected to the City Administration and to the Internet

A City in which all residents will have access to digital information and communication and the skills to use it

A City where high-speed connectivity to the Internet is a basic infrastructural service guaranteed by the City Council in a manner similar to water, electricity and solid waste collection.

It was this thinking at drove us into applying for the PTN license which was granted on 30 December 2004.

PTN License

The City will be able to install and manage its own telecommunication network infrastructure in the roads, servitudes and pavements over which it has control. Thereby it can reduce the costs of telecommunications for the City whilst also enabling the provision of low cost connectivity to service centres, libraries, clinics and other community facilities.

The PTN License places the City in a good position to reduce its costs and promote socio-economic development in the City.

Current Telecoms Activity

Progressively migrate to a telecommunications network better suited to serve the City and at lower costs

The City has issued a tender for Telecommunication services to the City, including the option to build a network for the City.

Based on using wireless technologies, the City expects to save up to 40% of its current annual expenditure on Telecoms.

The City is assessing its Telecommunication needs for hosting the 2010 World Cup and will gear its telecommunications network towards accommodating the high demands of that event.

Agenda

Context:City of Cape Town’s Smart City Strategy

ASGISA Strategy and National Agenda

From Strategy to ImplementationDigital Inclusion and Access to opportunities: Smart Cape

Other initiatives

Critical role of telecoms for Local Authorities & issues

City of Cape Town Vision

Conclusions and Discussion

Conclusions (1)

Connecting facilities and staff is a critical enabler of government service delivery. The current high cost of telecommunications and a purely commercial regime for dealing with local government is therefore one of the key issues affecting service delivery at a local level.Local government is also best suited to addressing the digital divide at a local community level and has a particular interest in the development of the information society and the knowledge economy as these are key to its socio-economic development mandate. Local government needs to ensure that all local communities have access to telecommunications in the same way as they are provided with access to roads, potable water and electricity.

Conclusions (2) – we would like to see:

That all local governments be licensed on application to be able to provide telecoms infrastructure within their boundaries. This infrastructure can be in the form of fixed line infrastructure within the roads, pavements and servitudes run by the local authorities, or in form of wireless infrastructure.That all local authorities may use this PTN infrastructure to provide services to themselves.That all local authorities can lease access to this infrastructure in the form of available unused network capacity to other licensed operators. This could help stimulate the economy within disadvantaged areas.That all local authorities can interconnect with licensed operators, on the basis of the interconnect rates determined by ICASA.

Open Invitation

The City extends an open invitation to all members of the Portfolio Committee to visit its Smart City

Projects to see how ICT is making a difference to the lives of ordinary people

Discussion

Let us work

togetherfor a

better country

Contact Details

Nirvesh C Sooful

Chief Information Officer (CIO)

City of Cape Town

4th Floor Podium Block

Civic Centre

12 Hertzog Blvd

Tel: +27 21 4001250

Fax:+27 21 9570026

Email: nirvesh.sooful@capetown.gov.za

Web Site: www.capetown.gov.za/smartcity