Converging technologies in Government ForgeAhead Research Manager, Nicky Pope reports that Convergence remains a hotly debated topic in the ICT industry. Government is putting a lot more emphasis on creating platforms for implementing converged technologies to enhance their service delivery to the citizen. But what does it mean? The point of departure is really to look at what technologies would be useful to government and would translate into benefit to the citizen. Voice Over IP (VOIP) would play a huge role in reducing government’s communications costs. The ability to deliver Triple play (voice, video and data) to terminals will improve ease of interaction between government and the citizen, eliminating paper input forms, because you can capture data, take photos and take fingerprints through a single terminal.  This would enable citizens to do ID and passport applications online. Government can also make services available to illiterate citizens through the use of the appropriate language and graphics. South Africa continues to face a hurdle in the successful implementation of Converging Technologies. “To ensure that services are available to everyone, there is a need for access to an affordable broadband network - as the country speeds up investment in infrastructure,” says Nicky Pope. “Despite the current bureaucracy standing in the way, there is growing recognition in Government that an affordable network is the key economic enabler, but the recognition must now be translated into action through better regulation.” This information recently came to light in ForgeAhead’s annual ICT in Government Research, comprising ongoing research into the strategies, status and use of ICTs at national, provincial, local and state-owned enterprise level. The Department of Communications continues to lobby service providers to deliver urgently “more broadband, more cheaply”. “More good news is that Telkom plans to spend R30 bn on infrastructure over the next 5 years,” Pope adds. “One hopes that other service providers have similar plans.” Once the broadband infrastructure is more freely available, the growing number of Public Information Terminals, Multi-purpose Community Centres and Community Telephone points can take advantage of the network and make services more accessible to citizens. “A large number of the respondents to our most current ICT in Government survey have indicates that CIOs will be investing in integration software, portal technology and VOIP in the near future,” says Pope. “It shows that there is a strong drive toward implementing converged technologies to supplement what government departments currently use.” Current technologies include cellular telephones, SMS, PDAs, Intranet and 3G Wireless technology, with a few departments already using VOIP as well.