South Africa’s Internet Service Providers’ Association (ISPA) has named Marc Furman, Internet Solutions (IS) Legal Manager and Jaap Scholten eNetworks Director as the new management committee joint chars, and Mike Silber of Liquid Telecom is the new treasurer.
Other new members of the management committee include Graham Beneke (Neology), David Gentleman (Enyuka Internet Access), Rob Hunter (Neotel), Jenny King (e-Schools Network), Ant Brooks (Future Foundation), Wilmari Hannie (MWEB Connect), and Elaine Zinn (Future Foundation).
“We thank members of the management committee for the previous year for their service, particularly those that are stepping down. The management committee this year will follow the course they have plotted towards a more competitive telecoms market in line with ISPA’s mandate from its members,” said Furman.
Scholten added that many of the regulatory building blocks for the South African Internet industry’s growth are now in place, but that ISPA will continue to lobby government, regulators and the telecoms industry to create a market that is fair and transparent to all Internet users and providers.
This year, ISPA will continue to push for ICASA to resolve the last few remaining roadblocks to a truly competitive industry, including the delays holding up the spectrum allocations needed for wireless broadband services as well as the slow pace of local loop unbundling.
The organisation will also continue to work with international ISP associations and local stakeholders to address global issues such as spam and child porn. Helping to nurture black-owned technology enterprises and supporting technology training in South African schools will also be priorities.
To apply for ISPA membership log onto http://www.ispa.org.za/apply
Staff Writer
