TY - GEN
T1 - A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF URBAN AND RURAL BROADBAND PENETRATION AND ACCESS TRENDS IN SOUTH AFRICA
AU - Ngwenya, Sicelokuhle Oscar
AU - Heymann, Reolyn
AU - Swart, Theo G.
AU - Lysko, Albert
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© ICT 2023.All rights reserved.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Various studies have suggested that broadband connectivity is an enabler of rapid development in the socio-economic landscape, in countries where it is readily accessible. Consequently, the demand for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has risen sharply, as countries continually recognize the benefits and potential of ICT as a tool for social and economic development. However, while this adaptation is seen globally, the observed trend is that it is mainly readily accessible in urban areas, while in rural communities the ICT services, including internet access, is not widely seen. This paper verifies these assertions and findings through non-intrusive research methodologies that are deemed effective in obtaining the relevant information required to that end, in an effort to ascertain the cause of this disparity. It is further asserted that the slow pace of internet penetration and access in rural areas is attributed primarily to the fact that rural areas are commonly characterized by low income, poverty, underdeveloped infrastructure, illiteracy, and unemployment. These are demonstrated in this paper using results obtained from a broadband survey conducted by the authors. This paper further aims to highlight the extent of the digital divide, in South Africa (SA) through the same survey, which has been conducted in both rural and urban areas. This comparative study was done to highlight the disparity in broadband access and penetration statistics between the rural and urban communities in South Africa observed in recent years, with the aim to better understand the extent of the digital divide, as it persists today. The parameters that are used to achieve this is employment trends, availability of enabling infrastructure and broadband services, and technology availability trends, including the broadband data rates thereof. These results will clearly demonstrate the status of the ICT sector, particularly highlighting the discrepancy between rural and urban communities in SA, and these will be unpacked in this paper.
AB - Various studies have suggested that broadband connectivity is an enabler of rapid development in the socio-economic landscape, in countries where it is readily accessible. Consequently, the demand for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has risen sharply, as countries continually recognize the benefits and potential of ICT as a tool for social and economic development. However, while this adaptation is seen globally, the observed trend is that it is mainly readily accessible in urban areas, while in rural communities the ICT services, including internet access, is not widely seen. This paper verifies these assertions and findings through non-intrusive research methodologies that are deemed effective in obtaining the relevant information required to that end, in an effort to ascertain the cause of this disparity. It is further asserted that the slow pace of internet penetration and access in rural areas is attributed primarily to the fact that rural areas are commonly characterized by low income, poverty, underdeveloped infrastructure, illiteracy, and unemployment. These are demonstrated in this paper using results obtained from a broadband survey conducted by the authors. This paper further aims to highlight the extent of the digital divide, in South Africa (SA) through the same survey, which has been conducted in both rural and urban areas. This comparative study was done to highlight the disparity in broadband access and penetration statistics between the rural and urban communities in South Africa observed in recent years, with the aim to better understand the extent of the digital divide, as it persists today. The parameters that are used to achieve this is employment trends, availability of enabling infrastructure and broadband services, and technology availability trends, including the broadband data rates thereof. These results will clearly demonstrate the status of the ICT sector, particularly highlighting the discrepancy between rural and urban communities in SA, and these will be unpacked in this paper.
KW - Broadband
KW - Cellular
KW - Digital Divide
KW - Rural
KW - South Africa
KW - Urban
KW - Wi-Fi
KW - Wireless
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85181772458&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:85181772458
T3 - Proceedings of the International Conferences on ICT, Society, and Human Beings 2023, ICT 2023; and e-Health 2023, EH 2023; Connected Smart Cities 2023, CSC 2023; and Big Data Analytics, Data Mining and Computational Intelligence 2023, BigDaCI 2023
SP - 64
EP - 72
BT - Proceedings of the International Conferences on ICT, Society, and Human Beings 2023, ICT 2023; and e-Health 2023, EH 2023; Connected Smart Cities 2023, CSC 2023; and Big Data Analytics, Data Mining and Computational Intelligence 2023, BigDaCI 2023
A2 - Kommers, Piet
A2 - Macedo, Mario
A2 - Peng, Guo Chao
A2 - Abraham, Ajith
A2 - Rodrigues, Luis
PB - IADIS Press
T2 - 16th International Conference on ICT, Society and Human Beings, ICT 2023, the 15th International Conference on e-Health, EH 2023, the 9th International Conference on Connected Smart Cities, CSC 2023 and 8th International Conference on Big Data Analytics, Data Mining and Computational Intelligence, BigDaCI 2023
Y2 - 15 July 2023 through 18 July 2023
ER -
