Pretoria – The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA/the Authority) will convene virtual public hearings in respect of the Discussion Document on the Review of the Pro-competitive Conditions imposed on Licensees in terms of the 2014 Call Termination Regulations.

The public hearings will take place on Monday, 7 February 2022, from 08h15.

The Authority published the Discussion Document in November 2021 for public consultation and received seven (7) submissions from interested stakeholders.

“We have gone through all submissions and have decided to engage further through public hearings. The intention is to interrogate the submissions so that we can have a clearer and deeper understanding of the views expressed by stakeholders. It is important to have a holistic view of all comments, and to engage with concrete and specific proposals on the key issues, so that we may arrive at informed, evidence-based decisions,” says ICASA Councillor, Dr Charley Lewis.

Non-confidential versions of all submissions are currently on the ICASA website for ease of reference and can be found via https://www.icasa.org.za/legislation-and-regulations/regulations-underway/call-termination.

The Discussion Document is part of the Authority’s ongoing regulatory intervention to assess current and future market conditions in various relevant markets, and specifically to review the pro-competitive conditions imposed on licensees in the 2014 Call Termination Regulations.

“The interventions by ICASA in respect of call termination over the past eight years have been shown to have made a substantial impact: The price of voice calls has tumbled since 2014, and affordability conversely has jumped, benefitting both consumers and businesses. We continue to regulate in the public interest, hence, it remains important to continue to engage in this important area of the ICT environment in order to ensure optimal functioning of the voice market for the benefit of both industry and consumers,” concludes Dr Lewis.

The hearings are open to all stakeholders, members of the public and the media, and will be conducted via the following link:

Click here to join the meeting

Ends…

For all media enquiries, please contact:

Paseka Maleka

Tel : (012) 568 3455

Cell : 079 509 0702

E-mail : pmaleka@icasa.org.za