The development of the Internet in South Africa

Predictions attesting to the evolution of the Internet from a non-commercial utility to a commercial oriented tool are coming to fruition. In the late 1990s, the development of the Internet is led by commercial interests supported by amongst others Supranational institutions to the detriment of the development of universal service oriented to the larger public. Commercial interests guide both the content, software and infrastructure of the Internet. This paper investigates the implications of such developments in particular in South Africa where the government is harnessing a wide definition of universal service to include the Internet as a basic service. It is argued that the government’s initiatives may not be realised as commercial prerogatives predominate over the Internet and coalesce with internal socio-economic and political shortcomings to subdue the potential universal uptake of the Internet in South Africa.