The Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) is fast-tracking the licence conversion process. It expects the process to be finished by November, six months before the legislated 24 months is up.
The regulator says it will publish a draft of the terms and conditions for the conversion of licences from the Telecommunications Act and Broadcasting Act to the Electronic Communications (EC) Act at the end of August.
The terms and conditions of the new licensing framework provide for three licensing categories: the electronic communication service, electronic communication network service and broadcasting service.
ICT stakeholders and members of the public will be invited to provide written comment on the draft of the terms and conditions.
ICASA spokesman Jubie Matlou says public hearings on the matter will take place at the end of September.
The final terms and conditions will be gazetted in October, with the actual conversion taking place soon after, he says. ICASA will officially close the process on 12 November, he adds.
No extensions
Matlou says ICASA will not change the time frames for the licence conversion, unless "a tsunami happens".
The regulator previously said it would hold public hearings for the licence conversion in May, with the EC Act regime going into effect in July.
"However, some telecoms operators asked for an extension, as they were also involved in the pay-TV investigation and needed an extension to prepare for both initiatives," Matlou explains.
The authority requests all licensees to prepare their submissions on time, as required by the EC Act, so as to speed up the licence conversion process, he notes. "This time, no extensions will be entertained."
Matlou says ICASA is giving licence conversion urgent priority, as the terms and conditions of the conversion impact all other aspects of ICASA's delivery regarding the EC Act.
"It affects interconnection and price determination, among other things, and we cannot finalise those initiatives until the licence conversion process is finished."
A document outlining the dates for the licence conversion process is available on the ICASA Web site.
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