Q&A: 60 seconds with Kevin Taylor

Kevin Taylor is the President of BT, Asia-Pacific. Here we speak to him about the upcoming World Economic Forum on Africa, taking place in Cape Town on 4th and 5th June.

What’s your take on African telecoms markets right now?

Market trends are very positive in Africa. We’ve gone from three cables connecting Africa to the globe, to seven cables in just the last five years. We’ve also seen enormous investments going into fibre and other networks’ infrastructure in Africa, which is opening the market to new opportunities. The cost of broadband will drop as a result of all of this investment, which will in turn stimulate new usage models and eventually stimulate further growth. Regulation and lack of transparency remain two key barriers to growth and investment, although this too is improving.

What in particular is the main growth area?

Big multi-nationals continue to grow in Africa, particularly in the resources, financial services and retail sectors.

In addition, some of the major challenges that governments are grappling with do provide opportunities for technology to make a difference. For example, in South Africa BT has worked with Coca-Cola to set up WiFi on refreshment-dispensing coolers machines, to provide connectivity in remote locations[1]. There are a number of opportunities such as this where businesses can find (and create) growth through innovative solutions and services.

Africa has leapfrogged fixed line telephony successfully but millions remain left behind when it comes to broadband access: how can this be addressed?

The best way to address this issue is through continued large-scale investment. This will drive down the cost of access, which is also helped by the ever decreasing cost of smart-phone devices.

Open access is also needed, to create competition and accelerate the downward cost trend, making universal access a reality in the medium-term. At BT, we are committed as an organization to address inequality of access, and we work with our partners and customers to proactively combat this. Our contribution to the World Economic Forum’s Global IT Report 2015[2], on ‘Developing the Network for Growth and Equality of Opportunity’, examines some examples of this in more depth.

Can telecom providers play a more significant role in helping address Africa’s development challenges?

Absolutely.  Broadband access is the next ‘utility’. It’s critical to every facet of interaction, whether human to human or business to business. Telecoms is the lifeblood enabling the digital economy, which in turn is a critical engine funding the fundamental mechanics of a growing economy, so telecoms providers certainly play a key role.

If you could achieve one thing from the Cape Town meeting, what would it be?

I would like to see greater clarity on governmental roadmaps for Telecoms in Africa, and an increased commitment to partnering with business also. It would be great to see the dialogue this week leading to direct action that makes a real difference.

[1] BT Let’s Talk, September 2014 – Bringing the Art of Connecting to life in South Africa – http://letstalk.globalservices.bt.com/en/2014/09/bringing-art-connecting-life-south-africa/

[2] WEF Global IT Report, ‘Developing the Network for Growth and Equality of Opportunity’, by Luis Alvarez, CEO BT Global Services. Page 67 – http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Global_IT_Report_2015.pdf

This WEF Africa Leader series conversation was first published in Business Report in association with WEF. Follow WEF Africa coverage on Twitter #AF15 or #IndyAF15.

Publication does not imply endorsement of views by the World Economic Forum.

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Author: Kevin Taylor is the President of BT, Asia-Pacific.

Image: Kevin Taylor speaks at the Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Tianjin, China 2012.