A team of researchers from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) who has found innovative ways for the country to make more of its finite radio spectrum - and then went on to help ensure that youth and women-owned SMMEs benefit from it - received global recognition at the Internet for All Competition 2022.

Easier, cheaper and faster is what comes to the forefront of modern thinking when talking about digital connectivity. Cyber accessibility and reliability positioned digital connectivity as an enabler of remote working during the Covid-19 outbreak. The CSIR has been at the forefront of not only closing the digital divide gap in South Africa, but also researching innovative ways to effectively harness and utilise digital connectivity.

In the IEEE Communications Society's Internet for All Competition 2022 Awards, the CSIR team received global recognition for work done as part of the Television White Space (TVWS) Spectrum project, which makes it possible to better manage national radio spectrum – an important resource for any nation. By enabling regulators to better manage spectrum usage and by creating new communication networks based on unused spectrum, the project makes it possible to provide affordable broadband connectivity to youth and women-owned businesses in South Africa. During the awards, the team was named the best team in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region.

“I am humbled to witness that research, development and innovation efforts that we have invested as a team over the past 10 years, have been recognised and above all, are making an impact on the upliftment of the quality of life of the citizens of South Africa and the rest of the African continent,” says CSIR principal researcher and co-leader of the project, Dr Luzango Mfupe.

The CSIR team, which includes researchers Dr Fisseha Mekuria, Dr Luzango Mfupe, Mla Vlakazi, Nakampe Sebopetse, Nosipho Mthethwa and Mofolo Mofolo, was named the best in the EMEA region for its two complementary project initiatives to support youth and women owned SMMEs in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector. 

These collaborative initiatives are "Supporting SMMEs to bridge the digital divide" which is made possible by a partnership with the United Nations Development Programme and the “Accelerated technical support, monitoring, and evaluation for rural television white space network operators” by the United Kingdom’s Foreign Commonwealth Development Office.

These initiatives complement the South African government’s effort to bridge the digital inclusion gap in rural and township communities by providing affordable ICT services to public facilities in rural and township communities such as schools, taxi ranks, local businesses and municipal offices; creating job opportunities for the youth and women in rural and township communities; and creating online marketing opportunities for local manufacturing.

The digital SMME sector in South Africa provides an attractive and largely untapped market opportunity for the country's economic growth. The TVWS project harnesses this opportunity to enable and leverage capacity building in SMMEs that will lead to improved digital business models for sustainability and co-creation of new ICT services, including licensing of the CSIR-developed TVWS technologies.

During phase one, the project was rolled out in four communities. The second phase of the project is on track to support an additional seven beneficiary SMMEs across nine underserved communities in South Africa.

CSIR chief researcher and co-leader of the award-winning project Dr Fisseha Mekuria, is full of admiration for his colleagues.

"In 2020, the CSIR team received the Research and Innovation Excellence award from the National Science and Technology Forum. It is truly amazing that the team has now developed this CSIR intellectual property into a technology that is solving the digital inclusion challenge. The IEEE Internet for All Competition award solidifies the CSIR's standing as a world-class scientific research institute. The team will continue to strive for the next level of research and innovation excellence," Mekuria says.

The CSIR’s long-term goal is to extend the project to other African markets. The team has a history of supporting African countries such as Botswana, Ghana and Tanzania with the TVWS network deployments. The team, in collaboration with the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa, delivered a spectrum innovation and management tutorial for 15 Southern African Development Community members, through the Communications Regulatory Authorities of Southern Africa.

“The project team plans to secure funding partners and development agencies to increase its continental footprint to support SMMEs across Africa to provide affordable broadband connectivity and innovative ICT services in rural and township communities,” says Mfupe.  

 -ENDS-

Issued by CSIR Strategic Communications