Thank you for downloading the TechCentral podcast. In this episode, Duncan McLeod chats to former lecturer and ICT policy and regulatory expert Charley Lewis on the ICT sector in South Africa and how it's developed over the past 23 years.

Lewis, a former senior lecturer at the Link Centre at the School of Public and Development Management at Wits University and now an independent ICT consultant, is working towards his PhD, where he is focusing on universal service and access.

In the podcast, Lewis talks about the good and bad policy decisions that have been made in South Africa's ICT sector since the dawn of democracy in 1994.

What is the best way of ensuring universal broadband access - should it be left to the markets, or government intervention in the sector warranted and necessary? A former unionist - Lewis headed IT for trade union federation Cosatu between 1994 and 2001 - he talks about the partial privatisation of Telkom, the emergence of mobile, why underserviced area licensees failed and what's gone wrong with digital television migration. Lewis also provides his views on the ICT policy white paper, and explains what his top three priorities would be if he were appointed as minister of telecommunications & postal services. It's a great discussion. Don't miss the podcast.