ICASA and the SA telecoms conundrum

Phew at least now we know we will have fast internet before the world cup.
 
GodModeInc said:
Phew at least now we know we will have fast internet before the world cup.
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Unless you're a corporate business or a media centre at the stadia - you're not getting fast internet. IMO anyway.

"Us" in general, will not see fast, affordable internet till the local loop is unbundled.
And by fast, I don't mean 4Meg ADSL. :whistle:
 
"Why doesn’t the Minister see to it that ICASA is adequately funded so that they can employ the staff they need to fulfill their mandate?"

The above extract from the article is irrelevent. If they were allocated more funds the cronies already working there would simply get higher salaries and there would by more cadre deployment of anybody who knows how to turn on a PC.

Guys accept it, ICASA is run, but for a few noteable exceptions, by a bunch of arseholes who would sell there souls to the highest bidder. Sad but true.

TiA
 
Over the past year, ICASA has started to behave a bit like a proper regulator - more or less independently, and actually producing regulations, even if they still lack competence and a proper sense of fairness. It appears as if the new Minister supports an independent regulator, and is encouraging it to do its job. On the face of it, this is good, and we're moving in the right direction.

Unfortunately, the reality is far more sinister. As a matter of policy, the new government does not support independent institutions, even if they are underpinned by the constitution (this is not a judgement, just a reflection of stated policy positions). What the Minister really wants is a weak ICASA, one that he can blame when things go wrong, and then step in to rescue the situation - more intervention from government, and more direct, centralised control. Mobile termination rates is just such as case - after all, who really got things to happen, after both ICASA and Parliament failed? The current chair of ICASA, Paris Mashile, is not only a lame duck (his term expires mid-2010), but politically isolated, despite trying his best to sound like part of the current ruling elite - even before Polokwane.

The image we're supposed to have of the General is one of a knight in shining armour riding in to slay the dragon - so far, it seems to be working. We're going to see moves over the next few months to further weaken ICASA, including through legislation, to place more power in the hands of the Minister. The next step is to put a suitably weak "yes man" from the right circles in that role, so that, even if ICASA could act independently (like the Director of Public Prosecutions), it won't. That way, the government can decide just who it wants to have what licences and what spectrum, and what the rules are, without all these messy independent public processes and the constitution. This is an ideological position - again, I'm not judging whether it's good or bad, but just commenting. Even Hans seems to have noticed this tendency. Is this starting to sound familiar yet?

Parliament, on the other hand, in the form of the Portfolio Committee on Communications, now a strong, multi-party affair, led by Ishmail Vadi, and with members like Patricia de Lille and Lindiwe Mazibuko, is doing a good job. They clearly do understand their oversight role, and their role in upholding the constitution. In the case of termination rates, they slated ICASA, but nevertheless deferred the real work to them, in line with their constitutional role, and specifically avoided any cosy side deals to save face. (BTW, Hans, it is the role of a regulator to set wholesale rates to level the playing field - it's why they exist at all.)

Not everyone at ICASA is incompetent; not even all the councillors are incompetent. In fact, the institution probably has most of what it needs to function properly, except real political support, and a strong, truly independent leader. We need to support ICASA, and we need to support Parliament in its oversight role, and beware of what the executive branch of government could do to undermine these.
 
ads said:
Not everyone at ICASA is incompetent; not even all the councillors are incompetent. In fact, the institution probably has most of what it needs to function properly, except real political support, and a strong, truly independent leader. We need to support ICASA, and we need to support Parliament in its oversight role, and beware of what the executive branch of government could do to undermine these.
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Fully agree with your post. I know some folks there and they are as frustrated as us!
 
Hans, you are way too gracious! The problem is not that the ICASA workers are "disempowered" .. the problem is that they are pointless pratts... clueless cronies. They have no experience of the industry and no interest in improving it. They were appointed to that position as a favour by some government official. They can no more regulate the industry and make policy than build a super collider. We have more chance of the chickens at Uncle MacDonald's farm coming up with a working policy document.
 
@garyvdh: they need to get rid of the 'political commissars' from the management and council, then you'll see what those workers really can do without any political interference!
 
moggie said:
@garyvdh: they need to get rid of the 'political commissars' from the management and council, then you'll see what those workers really can do without any political interference!
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Agreed, but you have to ask what have these other guys been doing all this time? If I was unable to do my job ... "regulate the industry" because of political interference or because my hands were tied you can bet I would kick up a fuss, go to the media, or resign in protest to point out just why we are getting nowhere. We don't see any of that happening, so I have to conclude that they are complicit in it.

ads said:
Like William Stucke, for example?
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William Stucke has not even been there for three months yet, if he has actually even been officially appointed yet. You can't use him as an example, he is too new. Time will tell what influence he will have.
 
Screw empowering the regulator. Empower the people. Let the market (people) decide what it wants.
 
The market (people) already know what they want, but profiteering companies in control of what the market gets hold too much power, where everything is related to their income and screw the market!
 
"But to what extend cellular rate" <- should be extent
 
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