Evaluation of rural telecommunications infrastructure

in South Africa

T.Nepal

Department of Information Technology

Durban Institute of Technology, Durban, South Africa

nepal@dit.ac.za

 

The practical needs for improvement of the practice of rural telecommunications in developing countries including South Africa are pressing for new approaches. Evaluation is a necessary step before formalising any new approach. Also evaluation provides vital input into the planning of rural telecommunications infrastructure. At the macro level, evaluation provides standards for performance assessment, by attesting to the effectiveness of public services and public expenditures and by "enlightening" opinion-makers, it forms part of the governance framework of society. At the micro level, evaluation is nested within organizations where agents and their principals seek to achieve private or public goals. In this case also, evaluation contributes to the incentives framework that aligns agents' preference functions with broader societal goals and by providing antidotes to opportunistic behavior and inducing organizational learning. Thus, evaluation is to the public sector what accounting and auditing are to the private sector (Weiss, 1998). Since there is very little research on the evaluation of rural telecommunications infrastructure, the challenge is to provide a systemic evaluation framework for rural telecommunications infrastructure that will contribute to the body of knowledge related to holistic development of telecommunications in rural areas and of the related local economy as a whole.

There is a need to realize the benefits from the synergistic interdependence and interaction of Rural Telecommunication Systems and Information and Communication Technologies with respect to promoting local development. A framework for the evaluation of Rural Telecommunication Systems should therefore focus on the non-linear relationships between its elements rather than the linear ones, on dynamic systems rather than stable ones (Begum, 1994). Since societal intervention is invariably systemic in nature, a more holistic approach should be followed. As there are a number of different stakeholders involved in a Rural Telecommunication System it is also necessary to consider multiple perspectives and explore the mixing of different methodologies (Mingers and Gill, 1997) in the design of a framework for the evaluation of rural telecommunications infrastructure.

This paper presents a case study on the implementation of a framework for the evaluation of rural telecommunications in the Wembezi area, Estcourt, South Africa. First an overview of the Theoretical Foundations for Framework is provided. This is followed by the practical implementation of the framework in Kwa Zulu Natal. In that section, the rural area for the implementation is defined. Next, the stakeholders are identified and their roles defined. In the next section, the evaluation of rural telecommunications is examined from multiple perspectives, and this is followed by the conclusion.

This paper provides a practical validation of the framework for the evaluation of rural telecommunications infrastructure. Summary conclusions on the post session questionnaire regarding the opinions of the participants about the framework demonstrated satisfaction with the approach and acceptance of the techniques used and also the results. The workshops provided an opportunity to clarify the roles of the stakeholders and the issues associated with rural telecommunications and rural development in the area of concern. It is the author's view that the framework can be used in other rural areas for the evaluation of rural telecommunications infrastructure. It can also be used for the evaluation of other technological infrastructure. However, the process of application of the evaluation framework might need further refinement for implementation in other rural areas of South Africa and developing countries of the world.

It can be claimed that for better interventions we need to pursue a systemic approach to evaluation. This should recognise the 'interests' of all stakeholders in the rural telecommunications system and seek to interpret their perspectives, arguments and actions in relation to the institutional and social context.

On the practical side, this framework empowers those that were previously ignored in decision-making regarding their own community. The service provider representatives appreciated their participation in workshop. They acknowledged the fact that they have a different insight/perspectives of the issues that requires consideration.

The provision of rural telecommunications infrastructure must be a planned systemic process. The mere deployment of rural telecommunications infrastructure does not necessarily imply economic development social up-liftment. The rural communities need to be educated with regards to the use, benefits, and the importance of taking ownership and protecting the rural telecommunications infrastructure. Further research on how to conduct such a community education and on community involvement into the evaluation of issues affecting it is a challenge to systems thinking and operational research.