Johannesburg – The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA/The Authority) will hold public hearings in relation to the Discussion Document on Mobile Broadband Services Inquiry from 26 to 27 October 2020. The public hearings will be held at Radisson Blu Gautrain, Sandton. Stakeholders can participate in the hearings virtually via Microsoft Teams.

ICASA received ten (10) written submissions on the Discussion Document, eight (8) of which have indicated their willingness to participate in the oral representations or public hearings to be held by the Authority. All written submissions are available on the ICASA website.

The Mobile Broadband Services Inquiry is a regulatory intervention that seeks to assess the state of competition in the provision of mobile broadband services. The high cost of data services in South Africa remains a growing concern for consumers and the business environment, while competition between operators should mean that users get larger data bundles but do not pay more and mobile operators’ revenues are flat.

“We therefore believe that the findings of this process will, among others, provide guidance in terms of whether or not we develop regulations that finally address the high cost of data - something that has been a challenge for consumers in recent years”, says ICASA Councillor, Ms Thembeka Semane.

This inquiry follows the completion of the priority markets inquiry in 2018, where the Authority identified, among others, broad 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.

The Authority still holds the view that this process, once completed, will contribute positively to the broader government initiative of ensuring universal access to and affordable broadband services for all as envisaged by the National Development Plan.
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