PODCAST | Solar panels are not enough to stop your connectivity from dropping

The negative impact of power outages on internet access is the focus in this edition of the Business Day Spotlight. 

Our host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined by Paul Colmer, an executive management committee member at the Wireless Access Provider’s Association (WAPA). 

The WAPA has about 250 members across SA, 200 of which are licensed internet service providers such as Vox, BitCo and Herotel. 

Colmer says load-shedding continues to be a drag on access to the internet, which is a major economic driver for the country. This is especially true in rural and outlying parts of SA where little coverage exists across various forms of connectivity like mobile, fibre and satellite. 

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So there is a danger that the longer the power crisis continues the further the already big gap in access to the internet between rich and poor in SA — known as the digital divide — will widen.

Topics of discussion include: the impact of load-shedding on telecommunications networks, including mobile, fibre and wireless; how it’s affecting large versus small cities and towns; and the possible solutions.