Page 26 - EngineerIt February 2021

PANEL DISCUSSION

affecting the rich, like all of us sitting
around the table here, who are able to
sit comfortably at home, unmasked in
What’s coming up in
social isolation, and continue with our
work, compared to the overwhelming
majority of people in the country, who
do not have access to the internet, who
cannot afford the data, who rely on
very poor quality connections and
MARCH 2021
whose work lives, social lives and
school lives have been disrupted.
As we move towards rolling out 5G in
the country, we need to find applications
The following features are planned for March 2021.
that will use the possibilities of the
technology to address that digital divide,
ICT and telecommunication technology
to make sure that all of our people are
The debate about 5G and 6G as well as the ICASA spectrum auction is
connected and are able to benefit from
ongoing. The announcement of the bidders has been postponed by a month
the 5G technology.
and ICASA is looking to appoint an auctioneer. We will update you on where all
On the question of whether South
this is going.
Africa should put 5G on hold, and rather
concentrate on 6 or even 7G, the
Other articles in the planning are:
panellists were unanimous - South
• Lightning and surge protection – it will not happen to us until ….
Africa should forge ahead with 5G and
• Virtual PBX and conference systems, the ins and outs of what is trending.
explore all it has to offer.
• TV white spaces, where to after the lockdown frequency allocations
They also said that South Africa
expire?
should keep its focus on new
developments. Dr Lewis added that from
Electronics
the regulator perspective, it is important
We are asking some tough questions in our March virtual panel discussion.
that ICASA should take heed of What do we need to fire up the components and the electronic
developments that are likely to emerge
manufacturing sector?
at the next WRC conference and be
- Should the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (new name
ready to make licences and 5G
for the DTI) play a more supportive role? What support does the
bandwidth available for experimental industry require?
test networks. Dr Masonto welcomed
- Buy local - if government is serious about this, how much can the
ICASA’s position on 6G and above, and
industry grow?
said that they would continue their - What is required to increase exports of locally manufactured
research and development of this. electronic products?
The panel also briefly discussed the
development of standards. South Africa Measurement and instrumentation
should not leave it to Europe to develop - The connected instrumentation and measurement tools
standards, as happened with 4G. Their
focus was on urban mobile, while South
Automation and control
Africa should have an additional focus - Will automation save the mining industry and send it on a growth path?
on rural internet access, a problem that
is not of interest for the Europeans. n Computer and software engineering
- Developing trends to watch out for.
Download the full
interview from Gadgets for geeks
www.engineerit.co.za - What’s hot in the market?
for many more fascinating
insights on 5G discussed
You are invited to share your expertise, opinions and experiences with
by the panel.
our readers. Give Hans van de Groenendaal a call on 082 781 4631 or
drop him an email on hansv@nowmedia.co.za. Include us in your
EngineerIT’s next panel discussion will
be on how to fire up the components and marketing and advertising plans. Give Merinda Lottering a call on
electronic manufacturing industry in 071 765 5702. We will help your business grow.
South Africa.

EngineerIT | February 2021 | 24