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Good morning colleagues

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA/Authority) wishes to welcome you all to the virtual public hearings on the Draft Mobile Broadband Services Regulations which were published on 26 March 2021.

I would like to thank you for attending these proceedings.

My name is Councillor Thembeka Semane, the Chairperson of the Mobile Broadband Services Inquiry Committee, that’s conducting these public hearings on the draft Mobile Broadband Services Regulations. Joining me as the Deputy Chairperson of this Committee is Councillor Yolisa Kedama as well as the following staff members:

1. Owen Mhlanga (Project Leader)
2. Leweng Mphahlele (Project Manager)
3. Zintle Malgas
4. Lufuno Sigwavhulimu
5. Phillip Ramalata
6. Siphesihle Manentsa
7. Luleka Songca who will be assisting us with logistics.

Ladies and gentlemen

The Inquiry into mobile broadband services was launched in November 2018 following the conclusion of the Priority Markets study two months prior, wherein the Authority made a finding that mobile broadband services will be prioritised for a market inquiry.

The purpose of the Inquiry, as set out in the Notice of intention to conduct market inquiry into mobile broadband services was to assess the state of competition and to determine whether or not there are markets or market segments within the mobile broadband services value chain which may warrant regulation in terms of section 67(4) of Electronic Communications Act.

Various phases of the Inquiry have been concluded and we are nearing the end of the process.

1. Phase 1 – which is commencement of the Inquiry including publication of the questionnaire (concluded)
2. Phase 2 – publication of the Discussion Document (concluded)
3. Phase 3 – public hearings on the Discussion Document (concluded)
4. Phase 4 – publication of Findings and Draft Regulations on Mobile Broadcasting Services Regulations (concluded)
5. Phase 5 – public hearings on the Draft Mobile Broadcasting Services Regulations (where we are now), and
6. 6Phase 6 – publication of the Final Regulations and Reasons Document (upcoming).

Our sincere gratitude to all the stakeholders who participated and engaged with the Committee constructively in all these processes thus far.

The Draft Regulations

The Draft Regulations, amongst other things, define relevant wholesale and retail markets or market segments for mobile broadband services, and determine whether there is effective competition in those relevant markets and market segments. Most importantly, the draft Regulations impose appropriate pro-competitive licence conditions on those licensees with significant market power, to remedy the market failure.

The Authority has since received ten (10) submissions in respect of this process.

The Authority has an important mandate of regulating in the public interest and we remain guided by this constitutional imperative. It is for this reason that our view remains that the ICT sector is highly concentrated, with market dominance enjoyed by a small number of major providers in various market segments, as identified in the Findings Document on Mobile Broadband Services Inquiry published on 26 March 2021. This dominance and ineffective competition in some of the markets require some regulatory intervention. This has been evident as we have seen in the past, South Africans have complained about the high cost of data services.

The COVID-19 pandemic has also had an impact on consumer patterns with regards to data usage. There has been changes in the way South Africans communicate and the demand for broadband services has also increased. We have all seen the interventions from the Authority in respect of the release of the temporary radio frequency spectrum – which was critical to ensure continued provision of good quality broadband services and the lowering of the cost to communicate (particularly data costs) in South Africa.

The public hearings, taking place today (and tomorrow), provides an opportunity for the Authority to get clarification on various issues raised by stakeholders in their respective written submissions and will assist the Authority as it concludes this Inquiry.

We have read your submissions and obviously we have questions. Therefore, our plea is for you to present only the salient and critical features of your submissions so we could save lots of time.

Unfortunately, the Committee will not be able to respond to comments on spectrum auction and WOAN processes given that these matters are before the courts. Most importantly, I would urge you to confine your representation to the Draft Regulations, not the Findings Document.

Process and procedure for the hearings

We will allow a presentation for 30 minutes, after which, the panel will take another 30 minutes to ask questions of clarifications on the presentation and written submissions.

Members of the public in attendance can raise their questions using the chat box on Ms Teams. Ms Luleka Songca will read the question(s) on your behalf. Please add the name and organisation being represented. 

Presenters are requested to keep to their allocated time and stick to the points relevant to the topic of the day.

If the participants undertake to provide additional information after the hearings, the concerned participant will be afforded an opportunity to submit such within seven (7) working days from today. The panel will only consider information related to clarifying what has already been submitted to us. No new issues will be considered.

Next steps in the process:

The Authority intends to publish the final Regulations and Reasons Document, considering written representations on the Draft Regulations and the inputs received from these public hearings in due course.

I would like to request that we all mute our microphones to minimise interference with the recording. You can unmute yourself when it is your turn to speak.

Thank you!!!!