Dr David Johnson - Senior Research Associate
David Johnson (PhD) is a telecommunications consultant and adjunct senior lecturer in the Computer Science Department at the University of Cape Town specialising in distributed networking and community network access models. In 2018 he started iNethi, a non-profit company that is building a platform that provides local network services and content for communities that lack reliable or affordable Internet access. Prior to becoming a consultant, he was a principle researcher at the Meraka Institute, CSIR where he led work on TV White Space, mesh networking and broadband and spectrum modelling He received his PhD in Computer Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2013 and was recently a visiting IT policy fellow at the Centre for Information and Technology Policy at Princeton University.
He has published extensively in the areas of computer networks, wireless connectivity and ICT for Development and has 15 years experience developing networking solutions for the African context. He has led a number of connectivity projects in the area of small cell, mesh technology, blockchain and edge-hosted services in Zambia and South Africa. He has also led policy work on broadband expansion and spectrum management for the South African government, including contributing to South Africa’s finalised TV white space regulation and modelling future high demand spectrum for the new National Wireless Open Access Network (WOAN).
