In 2014, the Telkom Centre of Excellence (CoE) network’s flagship conference, SATNAC, was brought back to the Eastern Cape province. SATNAC 2014 took place at The Boardwalk, in Port Elizabeth, from the 31st of August to the 3rd of September. Its theme, Ubiquitous broadband as an enabler to transform the lives , was relevant towards delivering broadband to all by year 2020.

The event’s welcome address was delivered by Rhodes University’s Deputy Vice Chancellor (and former Rhodes University CoE Head), Dr Peter Clayton, while the keynote address by Dr Siyabonga Cwele, Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services.

The main aspects of the SATNAC conference series are the plenary sessions and presentations by the international telecommunications vendor community, and the participation of Masters and PhDs researchers linked to the 16 national CoEs. Of the 91 student oral presentations, 5 were given by Siyakhula Living Lab researchers based at the Rhodes and Fort Hare universities. A further 4 of 30 posters were displayed on the first day of the conference.

The researchers were accompanied by the Rhodes and Fort Hare CoE Heads, Prof Alfredo Terzoli and Dr Khulumani Sibanda.