The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) has embarked on a third intervention in an effort to reduce the cost of communication in South Africa – a market inquiry into mobile broadband services.
The new inquiry emerges shortly after the amendment and final publication of the end-user and subscriber service charter regulations in June and the call termination regulations in September.
Amendments to the charter regulations were first published in August 2017 to cement new minimum standards for the provision of data, SMSes and voice services, and data expiry and out-of-bundle services.
The implementation has now been set for February 28, 2019; however, in November, Telkom implemented some of the provisions, such as data transfer and the rollover of unused data.
In September, Icasa finalised the latest Call Termination Regulations, effective October 1, which stipulated a further downward glide path for the price operators charge to terminate calls on their networks.
The new inquiry follows on the identification, during a market review, of mobile services, upstream infrastructure and wholesale fixed-access as priority markets that may be prone to regulations in future to address any potential market failures and introduce procompetitive remedies.
In August, Icasa published the findings document on the priority markets inquiry in the electronic sector as part of a three-pronged approach to reducing the high cost of communication.
Further under way, and separate, but complementary, to Icasa’s undertakings is the Competition Commission’s own inquiry into data services.
A current memorandum of understanding between the two regulatory authorities will allow Icasa to continue with implementing its policy direction on effective competition in the broadband market, while the Competition Commission focuses on the market inquiry into high data costs.
The commission held public hearings on the data inquiry in October, with the aim of publishing a final recommendation report by March 2019.
The latest inquiry into mobile broadband services is to assess the state of competition and determine whether or not there are markets or segments within the mobile broadband services value chain that may require regulation in the context of a market review in terms of Section 67(4) of the Electronic Communications Act.
“Our intention is to improve transparency of communication services, as well as address the cost of communication in South Africa,” says Icasa councillor Botlenyana Mokhele.
Icasa also published a questionnaire requesting information and opinions from stakeholders for consideration when defining those markets deemed to be relevant; evaluating the effectiveness of competition in the relevant markets; and determining which licensees have significant market power or where competition is ineffective.
The inquiry will comprise a series of phases: the start of the inquiry, the publishing of a discussion document, public hearings on the discussion document, the gazetting of the findings document and draft regulations and the related public hearings, and the gazetting of the final regulations and reasons document.
In the first phase, stakeholders and interested parties have 45 working days from November 16 to submit written responses to the notice of intention to conduct a market inquiry into mobile broadband services.
Icasa aims to finalise the inquiry in the 2019/20 financial year.