The Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) denies it has put a hold on new value-added network service provider (VANS) licences and says it is waiting for legal opinion on new applications.
ICASA is waiting for legal opinion regarding new VANS licence applications that were submitted after the Electronic Communications (EC) Act was promulgated.
The legal opinion would provide guidance as to whether ICASA issues licences to VANS who applied for licences after July, when the EC Act was promulgated, or whether the new applications will be dealt with as the regulator implements the Act.
The Internet Service Providers' Association (ISPA) believes regulations relevant to VANS licence applications, and the terms and conditions applicable to VANS licences, have not been repealed or amended and, accordingly, remain in full force and effect, says ISPA GM Ant Brooks.
Licensing delay
ISPA is concerned that new licence categories and procedures determined by the EC Act may take up to between 18 and 24 months to be finalised. If the current hold on processing licence applications continues, no new licences will be issued to potential industry players for this entire period, Brooks says.
ISPA says a delay in the licensing of new applications would affect VANSs' ability to help provide infrastructure for the 2010 World Cup Soccer tournament, as they would only be able to start implementing their plans 18 months before the event kicks off.
Already suffering from a lack of resources and funding, ICASA, the regulator of an industry key to SA's World Cup plans, has attributed this delay to the need to finalise some regulatory provisions relating to the EC Act. It also claims to be unwilling to create confusion between licences issued under the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and the EC Act, Brooks says.
However, ICASA spokesman Jubie Matlou says the regulator has not issued a statement or notice to the effect that the VANS applications submitted in July would only be issued after 24 months.
"This is not ICASA's official position," he says.
Some projects, which were in the pipeline before the EC Act came into effect, will run concurrently with EC Act projects, he says. This is the gist of what ICASA presented to Parliament in terms of ICASA's readiness in implementing the EC Act, he says.
The others
ISPA also notes ISPs are not the only institutions that could potentially be caught in regulatory uncertainty as the EC Act is being implemented.
ISPA has noted the same difficulties with regard to applications for private telecommunication network (PTN) licences, Brooks says.
According to the EC Act, individuals or companies that wish to own internal telecoms networks, such as those found in multi-dwelling residential properties, need PTN licences to operate.
It has also recently emerged that Telkom refuses to sell its services to unlicensed entities, as it fears it would be in breach of its own licence by doing so.
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