Our regulatory environment, possible SARS or Reserve Bank restrictions, or our relatively small Internet community may be to blame for South Africans not being able to access some of the world's leading Internet technologies.
Leading technologies driving Internet trends around the world are not available to South African Internet users - in spite of the fact that SA has produced some of the masterminds behind them.
PayPal, co-founded by born-and-bred South African Elon Musk, is not available locally, nor is iTunes, one of the world's largest providers of digital music.
PayPal, a global leader in Internet payment solutions, has gone a long way to build confidence in shopping online. It has played a critical role in boosting e-commerce internationally, and could potentially offer a much-needed shot in the arm for local e-commerce enterprises that are still trying to get off the ground.
It is not clear whether South Africa's regulatory environment, possible SARS or Reserve Bank restrictions, Africa's history of online fraudulent activities - Nigeria has one of the highest online fraud ratings in the world - or our relatively small Internet community are responsible for the current status quo.
However, the fact remains that SA continues to lag behind the Internet technology curve.
It's old news that SA doesn't enjoy the speed of Internet connectivity of other countries; that our regulated environment has hampered growth; that Telkom's monopoly has fixed prices above other countries' connectivity. But perhaps we're now beginning to feel the knock-on effects of these facts.
The truth is that Internet connectivity is financially and logistically out of reach for 90% of the population. And, South Africans with Internet connectivity have to cope with slower speeds and higher costs. Pricing models are still structured around megabytes, rather than the flat-rate model used in other countries.
Locked out
Telkom's recent restructuring of ADSL costs and regulations have made bundled ADSL deals possible for Internet service providers (ISPs), resulting in more affordable broadband connectivity. However, the cost reductions have not done much to encourage new Internet users.
PayPal, co-founded by born-and-bred South African Elon Musk, is not available locally, nor is iTunes, one of the world's largest providers of digital music.
Matthew Tagg is MD of WebAfrica.
According to World Wide Worx's 2007 report, the number of South Africans with access to the Internet grew by little more than 3% in 2007 - the slowest growth in user numbers since the arrival of the Internet in SA, in spite of the massive growth in broadband connectivity.
The study shows that a total of 3.85 million people in South Africa - a mere 8% of the population, or one in 12 people - have access to the Internet.
One of the biggest factors keeping the majority of the population locked out is Telkom's high cost of local calls. ISPs cannot do much to bring down the costs of their services because the baseline prices are set by Telkom, and, in some cases, ISPs do not even charge a mark-up on services.
The harsh reality is that until SA can offer affordable connectivity to the majority of the population, the country will continue to be precluded from the cutting-edge technologies that we ourselves have created.
* Matthew Tagg is MD of WebAfrica.
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