COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY
AYABONGA CAWE: Policy document ideas must be tested much more widely
In the age of SnapChat and YouTube, it is surprising that the ANC feels the entry of OTT services such as Skype, Netflix and Google Hangouts ‘could result in unfair competition to existing licensees’
The SABC, at the end of daily programming, used to run multicoloured "testing messages" that read "SAUK/SABC, Toets/ Testing". This went on well into the early 1990s, a remnant of the National Party broadcasting project. It was long before Dali Mpofu’s golden handshake or Hlaudi Motsoeneng gave us 90/10 local content. Then broadcasting lived on a commonly regulatable platform, with a similar and "leviable" point of access. That is why we have TV licences. Yet much of the content now lives on WhatsApp, Facebook live and other over-the-top (OTT) services edging into the turf of traditional providers, regulators and TV licence collectors. Why do I mention all this? The trigger must have been the ANC’s discussion document for its policy conference, entitled Communications and the Battle of Ideas. In the age of SnapChat, YouTube and other voice and text services such as Skype, it is surprising that the ANC feels the entry of such OTT services (such as Skype, Netflix and Google Hangouts) ...
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