It also empowers citizens with better access to knowledge and information. The Telecommunications Amendment Act, 2001 has enabled the Department of Communications to liberalise the South African telecommunications market, increase competition and, as a by-product, stimulate the sector to bring down the costs of communications and remove constraints on growth.
The National Information Society and Development Plan, as the Department of Communications' National E-Strategy adopted in 2007, remains one of the blueprints that guide the engagement in the building of an advanced information society. The continued implementation of this plan will bring opportunities for creating decent and sustainable jobs, especially targeting the youth through the Youth Information Society and Development Programme.
By June 2009, the Department of Communications was working on the development of an Integrated National ICT Policy Framework. The policy framework will seek to promote the convergence of technologies and stimulate the growth of the economy in line with the objectives of the National Industrial Policy. It aims to encourage e-commerce activities and expand ICT infrastructure, linking rural and urban communities as well as uplifting the poor.
The National Broadband Policy was expected to be finalised in 2010. The policy will provide a holistic, coordinated national approach to the provision of affordable, reliable and secure broadband infrastructure and services. The New Partnership for Africa's Development Broadband Project is a continental initiative that aims to connect African countries to one another and to the rest of the world through a fibre-optic cable network that will result in the provision of affordable broadband capacity.
In recent years, South Africa has witnessed tremendous growth in the cellphone industry. South Africa has four operators, namely Vodacom, MTN, Cell C and Virgin Mobile.
In December 2008, there were an estimated 34,1 million cellphone users in South Africa.
The number of South African Internet users passed the five- million mark for the first time, finally breaking through the 10% mark in Internet penetration for the country. This is the key finding of the Internet Access in South Africa 2010 study, conducted by World Wide Worx and released in January 2010.