Honourable judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng will today swear in three new Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) councillors: Ntombizodwa Ndhlovu, William Currie and Joseph Lebooa.
The candidates come from a strong telecommunications background - William Currie was with the Association of Progressive Communications, Joseph Lebooa was a business liaison manager with MTN, and Ntombizodwa Ndhlovu was a legal advisor with MTN.
The three new councillors replace Kobus van Rooyen, Robert Nkuna and Brenda Ntombela.
“I would like to thank the three outgoing councillors for their commitment to this organisation and for making sure that ICASA continues to fulfil its mandate as provided for in the Electronic Communications Act [ECA],” says ICASA chairperson Dr Stephen Mncube.
“Furthermore, I would like to welcome the new councillors and I believe they will bring a wealth of knowledge and skills to ICASA; to make sure the industry is regulated in the public interest,” he adds.
The news comes as the Internet Service Providers' Association of SA (ISPA) welcomes the recent focus ICASA has placed on finalising regulations that will spur competition in the country's telecommunications market.
Consumer benefits
ISPA GM Ant Brooks points to developments regarding carrier pre-selection regulation and interconnection and facilities leasing as integral to driving competition in the industry.
"Our members have long been ready to take the fight to the incumbent carriers, with the aim of driving prices down and bringing innovative new services and products to market. With the development of a regulatory framework specifically to promote competition, they will be even better positioned to deliver lower costs and better services to telecoms users," he notes.
Brooks explains that developments in the “carrier pre-selecting phase one” by ICASA, which will come into effect in the next few months, will give consumers the ability to choose which carrier to use when making a call. This will give telecoms users opportunities to save money if they are willing to hunt for bargains.
Brooks argues, however, that the regulations do not reflect true carrier pre-selection, which gives telecoms users the ability to choose to have some of their calls automatically routed across the network of an alternate service to their default operator, without needing to enter a special code or special equipment.
Instead, these regulations deal with carrier selection, defined as the ability to choose a service provider on a call-by-call basis, simply by dialling a prefix each time a call is made, using a provider other than the primary one.
Industry competition
Brooks also commends the authority on its developments regarding interconnection and facilities leasing regulations.
He explains that the draft interconnection and facilities leasing regulations lower the barriers to entry into the telecoms market so that new entrants can compete more effectively with the established players.
Facilities leasing regulations, which provide for the sharing of fibre cables, base stations and other critical telecoms infrastructure, are especially important for increasing competition and efficiency across the industry, Brooks says.
"We have long asked ICASA to take action on these pressing issues. We are happy that they are now getting the attention they deserve and, while there will no doubt be obstacles to effective implementation of the regulations, we believe the regulator is making a difference," he states.
“The regulations finalised to date create a framework for competition, but there is still scope for anti-competitive pricing, given that ICASA has not yet finalised any cost regulations under the ECA, and we wish to call on the regulator to achieve this as soon as possible,” concludes Brooks.
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