Interview: ICT policy expert Charley Lewis

Loading player...
Thank you for downloading the TechCentral podcast. In this episode, Duncan McLeod chats to former lecturer and ICT policy and regulatory expert Charley Lewis on the ICT sector in South Africa and how it's developed over the past 23 years.
Lewis, a former senior lecturer at the Link Centre at the School of Public and Development Management at Wits University and now an independent ICT consultant, is working towards his PhD, where he is focusing on universal service and access.
In the podcast, Lewis talks about the good and bad policy decisions that have been made in South Africa's ICT sector since the dawn of democracy in 1994.
What is the best way of ensuring universal broadband access - should it be left to the markets, or government intervention in the sector warranted and necessary? A former unionist - Lewis headed IT for trade union federation Cosatu between 1994 and 2001 - he talks about the partial privatisation of Telkom, the emergence of mobile, why underserviced area licensees failed and what's gone wrong with digital television migration. Lewis also provides his views on the ICT policy white paper, and explains what his top three priorities would be if he were appointed as minister of telecommunications & postal services. It's a great discussion. Don't miss the podcast.
2 Aug 2017 English South Africa Technology · Business

Other recent episodes

Meet the CIO | Inside the JSE’s tech engine with CIO Tebalo Tsoaeli

Technology sits at the heart of modern capital markets, and nowhere is that more evident than at the JSE. In the latest episode of Meet the CIO, TechCentral editor Duncan McLeod sits down with Tebalo Tsoaeli, the bourse’s CIO, to unpack how technology underpins Africa’s largest stock exchange – and…
2 Feb 47 min

TCS+ | Cloud On Demand and Consnet: inside a real-world AWS partner success story

The cloud revolution has challenged businesses of all sizes by changing how IT teams go about implementing projects and managing infrastructure. IT service firms have been doubly challenged, having to sell a new computing paradigm to their clients while also practising what they preach and adopting cloud-first technologies in-house. Consnet…
30 Jan 25 min

Watts & Wheels S1E3: ‘BYD’s Corolla Cross challenger’

TechCentral’s electric car show Watts & Wheels is back for episode 3 of season 1, and while EVs remain the focus, the conversation takes a detour into something far less planet-friendly – and far more jaw-dropping. Duncan McLeod and co-host William Kelly kick off by drooling over a wild new…
30 Jan 36 min

Watts & Wheels S1E2: ‘China attacks, BMW digs in, Toyota’s sublime supercar’

Chinese car makers continue their rapid push into the South African market, raising uncomfortable questions for incumbents. With aggressive pricing, fast product cycles and increasingly polished vehicles, the competitive landscape is shifting faster than many expected. There is also an update on Stellantis’s manufacturing plans and what they could mean…
23 Jan 38 min