The theme of the event was “Harnessing Technology to Improve People's Lives”.
“This theme surely conveys to us the need to work as a collective – the three spheres of government, the private sector and civil society – to realise the goals advocated by the theme,” said the deputy minister.
Apart from unveiling the incubator, Bapela emphasised the importance of ICT service delivery as a vehicle for developing better lives in society.
Read more: ZA: Department of Communications incubates ICT businesses
The Minister of Communications, Roy Padayachie, the Department of Communications and ICT industry leaders have today, 31 July 2011, signed an ICT Industry Competitiveness and Job Creation Compact, that commits to 100% broadband penetration by 2020 and the creation of one million additional jobs throughout the ICT industry.
Read more: 100% broadband penetration in South Africa by 2020: DoC
Speaking at the inaugural summit on mobile health last week, deputy minister Obed Bapela said SA has been chosen to host the next three summits by Global Society Mobile Health and the Mobile Health Alliance.
He added that the summit's aim is to come up with practical solutions, relevant to developing countries, on how mobile health can help improve healthcare delivery.
ISPA is still finding that there is a huge need for affordable broadband services accessible from these schools. Furthermore, according to ISPA’s Regulatory Advisor, Dominic Cull, there remains a massive amount of work to be done. “We are moving from an access challenge to an affordability challenge. The role of the Universal Service Agency of SA (USAASA) and the Universal Service Access Fund (USAF) in meeting this challenge remain critical,” he says.
Noting that mHealth services could be distributed easily across the country due to the high mobile penetration rate, Bapela listed four key ways in which South Africa would benefit from such services. These included raising the average life expectancy, reducing infant mortality rates, fighting disease including HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, and augmenting the country’s health ecosystem.
Read more: Communications deputy trumpets importance of mHealth services in South Africa