EDITOR’S VIEW

Cutting data costs could trigger jobs

IN THE not-so-distant past, the internet was the sole preserve of business people, those in professions and the wellheeled. But all that has changed.

Today, the ubiquitous mobile phone can be found anywhere and everywhere. People in remote rural areas, commuters on public transport, the unemployed, learners at schools and students at universities, and even those earning low salaries rely on the internet and use it regularly.

But many cannot take full advantage of this technology because of the high cost of data.

It is precisely because of the large numbers of people who have come to rely on mobile communication in their lives that the government has embarked on a campaign to have the cost of data reduced as a matter of urgency.

And a major step in this direction was taken last week when the Competition Commission held a three-day market-related inquiry in Pretoria to examine “features in the market and value chain that drive the cost of data upwards”.

The focus included whether prices are higher than they ought to be; the causes and remedies for high prices; and the impact of data prices and access to data on low-income customers, rural customers, small businesses and the unemployed.

After the inquiry, the commission will hopefully make recommendations that would result in lower prices for data services. This will be a welcome relief to a wide cross-section of South Africans in all communities, including workers, the youth, students and women who have been negatively impacted by local data costs that rank among the highest in the continent’s major economies.

It was recently reported that in South Africa, 1 gigabyte of data costs an estimated seven times more than the cheapest price in the rest of Africa.

This newspaper fully supports the government’s commitment to work with all relevant stakeholders to ensure that the majority of people are able to enjoy the benefits of the digital economy in South Africa.

Apart from making life easier for ordinary people, it has the potential to boost economic growth and unlock opportunities for the development of small businesses in both the formal and informal sectors.

With our unemployment rate sitting at just under 30%, the potential for creating new jobs will be a major boon for the country.

Reeling from an increase in VAT, regular petrol prices hikes and crippling food price increases, South Africans are hoping to hear some good news for a change.

A drop in the price of data by mobile operators could be just the catalyst that is needed to improve the job market in this stagnant economy.