The adoption and effects of international telecommunication trends in South Africa: Technology and market perspectives

The evolution of the telecommunication industry, from both technology and market perspectives, is increasing at a rapid rate. At the forefront of this evolution are the telecommunication standards organisations and vendors. However, the evolution of the telecommunication standards is based on international norms formed by the market requirements of developed countries. The evolution of the telecommunication technology standards, as dominated by the developed countries, poses a definite challenge for emerging economies that hasn't been effectively managed till date. Similarly, it is imperative for the South African telecommunication industry to align definite market requirements with the technology deployed in the service provider networks. The objective of this research paper is to address the effects and required alignment activities between technology evolution (in terms of South African network operator involvement in standardisation) and the actual South African telecommunication market requirements. The main contribution of this research paper is to highlight that the South African network operators should be actively involved in contributing to international telecommunication standards and establishing the required forums to address the concern of technology evolution for developing countries. This will consequently lead to the desired alignment between deployed technologies and market requirements in the telecommunication industry.