27 November 2006

By Anish Abraham

Hosting matches of the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup is not only about the game, supporters and visitors. It is an opportunity for the City of Johannesburg to lay the foundations to turn itself into a truly digital, smart, world-class African city.

This was one of the views expressed at an information communication technology (ICT) conference, titled Connect IT: Joburg 2010 - Making IT Happen, taking place at the Sandton Convention Centre yesterday and today.

The conference, hosted by the City in partnership with ITWeb, the technology news site, brings together ICT players from the public, private and educational sectors to discuss what technology preparations are necessary for the soccer showpiece.

Its aims are to create a platform for information sharing, to focus on the power of technology across all aspects of infrastructure and service delivery, to identify trends and opportunities and to support the City's long-term socio-economic development strategy.

"The City is a critical player in the 2010 world cup, with two venues for hosting matches," said Xolile George, the executive director of Joburg's Department of Economic Development. "We have to use [it] for the promotion of tourism, attracting foreign direct investment and to ensure that South Africa is entrusted with hosting more such events in the future."

Joburg was using the approaching event as a focal point to create a city with world-class ICT infrastructure, providing increased access to net-based communications to the community. To maximise awareness during the event, the City will ensure that information for both leisure and business tourists is easily available.

"We are living in exciting times and it is up to us to make full use of the opportunities being presented," said Sibongile Mazibuko, the executive director of the City's 2010 unit.

She said the South African government had signed several guarantees to Fifa, some of which ensure the provision of high-quality telecommunications and broadcasting services and facilities.

The world cup presents the city with a wide range of ICT challenges, in areas ranging from infrastructure and stadiums to transport, safety and security, emergency services and tourism and hospitality. Opportunities during the preparation were numerous, with Mazibuko making special mention of the stadium infrastructure. Instead of investing only in the stadiums, the City had engaged in total precinct redevelopment in the greater Ellis Park and Nasrec areas.

"However, we also want to ensure efficient and affordable telecommunications post 2010. The full benefit of ICT can only be realised if everyone is able to participate," she said.

Mazibuko also reminded people at the conference that world cup-related developments in Tshwane, Rustenburg, Nelspruit, Polokwane and Bloemfontein provided them with business opportunities, because of their proximity to Johannesburg.

"I'm really taken back by the ICT capabilities and talent available in South Africa," said Norman Silins, the general manager for telecommunication solutions at Bell Canada.

Bell Canada is the telecommunications sponsor and provider for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games being held in Vancouver, and Silins gave a presentation on the preparation work being done by his company.

The event would require substantial human resources and he said the company would recruit people from around Canada to ensure all went smoothly during the games. Requirements for ICT systems during the games were reliability, capacity and survivability.

"We have to use the opportunity to showcase our technology and the best of what our country has to offer," he said.

In an effort to bring down their internal telecommunications costs, several of the metros are looking into setting up their own wireless broadband networks to carry data traffic, with future hopes of expanding into VoIP (voice over internet protocol) telephony.

Present at the conference to discuss their municipalities' efforts in the broadband arena were senior ICT representatives from Ekurhuleni, eThekwini and Cape Town.

According to Jacquie Subban, the head of geographic information and policy at eThekwini, the Metro had spent some R45-million to complete its broadband network and was looking at providing commercial services in 2007. She expected it to be able to provide a broadband service to residents for about R150 a month.

Ekurhuleni, one of the early pioneers of municipal broadband, uses over 1 500 kilometres of fibre optics in its network, which links libraries, municipal buildings, metro police offices and emergency services.

"We have spent in excess of R100-million over the last four years, but have seen a return on investment within four months," said Nilesh Singh, the executive director for ICT at Ekurhuleni.

He added that even though the provision of broadband access was not considered to be a municipal function, local government was closest to communities and had to be active in delivering more affordable services to them.

"Since local municipal consolidation, there is a need for efficient communications solution over large areas. ICT can make government more effective, deepen democracy and contribute to the local economy," said Nirvesh Sooful, the chief information officer of the City of Cape Town.

The City of Johannesburg has also been making steady headway with its own wireless broadband network, making use of it for its entire data traffic. In addition to the core City departments, Joburg's municipal-owned entities will also make use of the network.

Joburg's Department of Economic development has been spearheading the project to have the whole of Joburg's territory covered by the City's wireless broadband network.

Co-operation in the field exists between the three Gauteng metros as a result of the province's global city region vision, while Joburg also co-operates on wireless broadband issues with other large municipalities in the country that form part of the South African Cities Network.

"We have already submitted a request for qualification and should roll out the project commercially in the second quarter of 2007," said Teddy Naidoo, the manager of telecommunications at City Power. "We recognise we are not a telecommunications provider, so we will be entering into partnership with one or more private sector ICT service providers."

City Power is also currently experimenting with transmitting broadband signals over its power lines.

During the day, various conference workshops and discussions were held, with topics ranging from handling network bandwidth to safety and security, innovation, contact centre opportunities, legal and regulatory obstacles, mobility, converged communications and digital cities and digital stadiums.

Representatives from local and foreign companies such as World Wide Worx, Siemens, IBM, Microsoft, Juniper Networks, T-Systems and Bell Canada conducted the sessions.

In wrapping up the first day's proceedings, Patrick Mayaba, the City's chief information officer, gave a roundup of Joburg's role in the ICT sector preparations and how far it had come.

"Information technology (IT) is the future leader of the city's economy; it is an important tool for local government to interact with its constituents and it will become crucial to the way citizens access information and services offered by the government," he said.

The office of the chief information officer ensures the transformation of Johannesburg into a world-class African city through the implementation and optimal use of IT.

It is a priority for the City to create an enabling environment for IT service providers, to leave behind a legacy that looks beyond football-related opportunities and to improve the long-term marketability of Johannesburg.

"The City's IT vision is to provide a robust, flexible IT delivery environment which supports its ambitions of becoming a world-class African city in an economical, efficient and effective manner," Mayaba said.

Discussions on the second day of the conference covered ICT aspects such as information availability, traffic management, integrated venue management, the IT skills challenge as well as economic development opportunities before, during and beyond 2010.

According to George, the City was planning to host such a conference annually up until the start of the 2010 world cup, while making announcements of achievements along the way.

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