Pretoria – The Council of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) has taken a resolution to extend deadlines for all regulatory submissions which were due for submission during the lockdown period.
The Council has taken this decision having considered that all interested stakeholders have been engaged in various processes aimed at mitigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The extension is intended to afford stakeholders sufficient time to respond to ICASA’s regulatory processes.
“We are cognisant that the status quo is unprecedented and requires of us to move with speed, and to revisit the due dates of submissions on all regulatory projects that are affected during this period. We will do all in our power to ensure due regulatory flexibility, allowing unhampered economic activity for broader societal benefit”, says ICASA Acting Chairperson, Dr Keabetswe Modimoeng.
The affected regulatory projects are listed below:
| Regulatory project | Due date | New date |
| Draft Amendment of Universal Service and Access Obligations (USAOs) – RAIN | 02 April 2020 for public comments and 12 April 2020 for RAIN’s responses | The closing date for public comments is extended to 24 April 2020 The closing date for RAIN’s response to public comments is extended to 26 June 2020. |
| Written representations in respect of the Draft Regulations on the Control and Equity Ownership by Historically Disadvantaged Groups and application of the ICT Sector Code published in Government Gazette No. 43021 dated 14 February 2020 | 03 April 2020 | 04 May 2020 |
| Written Representations in respect of the Draft Amendment of the Licensing Processes and Procedures Regulations for Class Licenses, 2010 and Amendment Regulations, 2016 published in Government Gazette No 43062 dated 9 March 2020 | 17 April 2020 | 18 May 2020 |
| Written Representations in respect of the Draft Amendment Regulations Regarding Standard Terms and Conditions for Class Licenses Under Chapter 3 of the Electronic Communications Act, 2005 (No. 36 of 2005). | 17 April 2020 | 18 May 2020 |
ICASA previously communicated extensions in relation to radio frequency spectrum licence renewal as well as pre-registrations for community sound broadcasting service licences.
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