The Chairperson and Members of the ICASA Council

Esteemed stakeholders who made submissions to the process

Committee Members

Stakeholders joining us via Ms Teams

Members of the media

Ladies and gentlemen

My name is Thembeka Semane (a member of the ICASA Council and Chairperson of this Mobile Broadband Services Council Committee). I am accompanied by another Council member, Ms Yolisa Kedama (who is Deputy Chairperson of this Committee). We are flanked by this capable team in front of you and we look forward to your engagement today.

This inquiry is one of the critical steps in the measures taken by the Authority to address concerns relating to the perceived high cost of communication in South Africa. It follows the conclusion of the Priority Markets Inquiry in 2018, wherein the Authority identified, among others, broadband markets for mobile services (retail market for mobile services and the wholesale supply of mobile network services, including relevant facilities) for prioritisation for a market review.

In addition, the inquiry is the third intervention of the cost to communicate programme that seeks to assess the state of competition in the provision of mobile services in terms of section 4B of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa Act and sec 67(4) of Electronic Communications Act.

In the discussion document that was published in 2019, the Authority identified the following preliminary markets for further consultation:

• Retail product market for mobile services.
• Spectrum (Upstream market #1).
• Site access (Upstream market #2).
• Roaming (Upstream market #3).
• MVNO / wholesale APN services (Upstream market #4).

The Authority would like to thank stakeholders who participated in this process so far and we are hopeful that these oral hearings will provide more clarity on the written representations in respect of the discussion document.

Ladies and gentlemen

This is an independent regulatory process, over and above the recent settlement facilitated by the Competition Commission with network operators and aimed at providing immediate relief to consumers in respect of the retail prices to ensure consumers pay the rates that are affordable. Our engagements with the Commission are ongoing and we have a Memorandum of Understanding that clearly outlines and articulates our interaction on matters of common interest.  

However, the Authority’s discussion document notes that there are structural problems in the wholesale layer of the data services market. ICASA would therefore like to specifically address that layer and intervene. This we do because we have a regulatory mandate to protect consumers against unfair business practice and ineffective competition in this regard.

We believe that this process will address challenges at the wholesale layer specifically as it relates to, among others, national roaming, site access and competition matters including barriers to entry, etc. These measures are in line with the policy prescripts to promote effective competition and to facilitate entry by new players in the market whilst also advancing the transformation agenda within the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector, and of course stimulating economic growth.

We are of the view that this inquiry will contribute positively to the broader government initiatives and plans aimed at ensuring universal access to and affordable broadband services for all South Africans as contemplated in the National Development Plan. Furthermore, the Authority believes that the pending licensing of high-demand spectrum will also provide much needed relief in reducing the cost for the provision of broadband services to South Africans.

Esteemed stakeholders

We all have seen how COVID-19 has impacted our lives in the recent past and how we had to change our way of living. Broadband services suddenly became an urgent need for everyone because we had to work from home, learners and students had to resort to online learning, and communications in general had to change.

It is therefore important that South Africans must benefit from the right costing structure for both voice and data services in terms of their telecommunications experience. However, this must be done without compromising the quality of service and without collapsing the industry.

It is furthermore important to note that ICASA does not regulate for market failure, therefore, we need to make sure that the industry appreciates its corporate citizenship responsibilities such as assisting the public with the correct costing of their products, but also ensuring that businesses are sustainable. It is equally not in the public interest to have lower cost of data with very dismal quality of service or lower cost of data in a collapsing industry or sector. We therefore need to strike a balance in addressing these issues through this process.

Our long term objective is to see the price of data falling and the public receiving value for their money. The findings of this process will guide us in terms of the next process that must be undertaken. If the findings say regulations are necessary, we will gladly develop a draft which we will consult on before we publish a final regulation. In this regard, we encourage all stakeholders, NGOs, civil society organisations, interest groups and the general public to take it upon themselves and make submissions on our processes.

Social media is not a good platform to raise issues with the regulator such as ICASA. Our processes are prescribed and legislated; and we would be acting out of our mandate if we entertain comments on social media to decide on what should happen in the ICT environment, that would be prone to litigation because we operate in a fluid and volatile space; and everything we do must follow what the law prescribes.

I would like to thank you all for joining us and we look forward to positive engagements guided by our public interest mandate.

Our plan is to complete this inquiry by no later than 31 March 2021. Information on additional steps, if any, will be provided in the findings document to be published hopefully by the end of the year.

Ndiyabulela!! I thank you.