Celebrations and commiserations

[rpm]

Celebrations and commiserations

SOME OF THE value-added network service (Vans) licensees are celebrating the final stages of regulator Icasa's process that will see their licences converted into electronic communications service (ECS) licences under the Electronic Communications Act (ECA). However, it's only the Vans that don't want to self-provide that are breaking out the bubbly.

 

[dominic]

sigh this is such a mess....

And the longer the Altech Autopage court battle takes, the worse the situation can become for them. Its application has effectively delayed Icasa's adjudication of all new i-ECNS licences.

nonsense - it has not effectively delayed anything. fact of the matter is that ICASA (and the rest of the world) appears to have misinterpreted the Ministerial policy direction which launched the VANS to IECNS process. What has been done to date is wrong and a waste of time. Start again.

What, iask with tears in my eyes, has Altech got to do with the inability of the Minister to express herself clearly or clarify her intention timeously?

bah

A number of other Vans are also opposing the application, on the grounds that Autopage should have challenged the issue sooner instead of holding up deregulation at the final hour.

...only Smile AFAIK and they are misguided in doing this...

That's because the ECA gives the ECS licensees a host of rights and entitlements that they didn't previously have.

Holdsworth says those include being able to lease capacity from operators other than Telkom. That could include Vodacom Business, MTN Network Solutions (which could soon incorporate Verizon), Neotel or any of the other i-ECNS licensees.

VANS had all these rights - there is nothing new here and Mr Holdsworth is with respect mistaken

But perhaps most importantly the adjudication of the licences will mean Icasa can proceed with other important regulatory changes, such as the introduction of carrier pre-select and fixed line number portability.

BS. These projects have been going for some time and are not in any way dependent on licence conversion. If you can be bothered go and find ICASA's own business plan which clearly tells the lie to this.

He also touted the importance of introducing a cost-based regime for connecting calls from one operator to another. But while Holdsworth believes carrier pre-select and fixed line number portability could be introduced as early as this year, it could take much longer to introduce cost-based interconnect

WHY? this is the single biggest factor affecting prices in this country. It is as a result of clearly anti-competitive conduct on the part of MTN and Vodacom in the face of limp-wristed regulator. ICASA has been prattling on about dealing with it for years, has held an inquiry and has continuously promised the results will be released imminently.

THIS IS ACTUALLY SIMPLE TO DEAL WITH if you can manage to withstand the pressure whioch the mobiles are bringing to bear. Dead simple to knock a significant percentage off the voice-bill of the majority of South Africans so why are we still waiting after 5 years???

..the whole thing is a truly sickening pursuit of self-interest in the face of incompetence and obscured by spin and vapourware.

 

[zamicro]

Thanks Dominic. You spelled out what I basically read between the lines.

 

[LordFoom]

Thanks Dominic, nicely laid out. Go go gadget altech!