Article
There is a certain irony in the recent appointment of Jay Naidoo to the board of the International Telecommunications Union, whose goal is to increase telecommunications connectivity and reduce the digital divide between developed and developing nations. This is because as Minister of Telecommunications until 1999 Naidoo was blamed for adhering to policies that widened the divide, both within South Africa and between South Africa and the developed world. Many argue that telecommunications and broadband costs are still so destructively high because Naidoo extended Telkom’s monopoly for another five years. This article is based on an interview with Jay Naidoo, a Board member of International Telecommunications Union.