AdLo
Expert Member
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Ivy approves VANS regulation
- Thread starter AdLo
- Start date
dominic
Legal Expert: Telecoms
and now what - do they actually get used??? afaik ICASA has not been issuing new VANS licenses since 2003...is it going to start now? grant a whole lot before the convergence doodaa comes into force and VANS no longer exist?
Ghatto
Active Member
IMHO this looks much better than the initial proposal that was put on the table. It looks like they just might be listening to what the industry wanted. The little guys can now also afford to apply for a license.
kaspaas
Expert Member
If I have a server in a local server farm, running http, smtp and POP3 services, do I need to apply?
If I have a similar server overseas, do I still have to aplly?
If I have a similar server overseas, do I still have to aplly?
stoke
Honorary Master
It must be really annoying to have governmint gazette stuff printed on english + afrikaans paper. No wonder they're so damn grumpy all the time.
stoke
Honorary Master
Non-Refundable application fee = 5636.86.
Yearly cost of 0.01% of your profits - proven by auditor's report, which u must pay for = license fee.
If your license fee is more than 1 000 000 a year, you must within 12 months have 15% "Black" Ownership, and within 24 months 30% "Black" ownership.
Black = "Africans, Indians and Coloureds".
Yearly cost of 0.01% of your profits - proven by auditor's report, which u must pay for = license fee.
If your license fee is more than 1 000 000 a year, you must within 12 months have 15% "Black" Ownership, and within 24 months 30% "Black" ownership.
Black = "Africans, Indians and Coloureds".
Well her Ivyness is morbidly grey, does that mean that past a certain age a VANS licence will not be issued as the other foot will soon be in the grave...?MaD said:
(Oh & Ivy herself is prevented from applying for a VANS licence...)
stoke
Honorary Master
Yup. 
Comments on new VANS regulations
What’s gone?
1. Definition of “Self-provision”
No surprise here. The new regulations are conspicuously void of any reference to self provisioning and the definition of what VAN services are. I know that ICASA tried very hard to include self provisioning, but I guess they are not so independent after all. Self provisioning would have contributed to lowering of prices more competition and would ultimately benefit the very people the government is so eager to assist. The inability to “Self provide” will only benefit the dominant players at the expense of the consumer.
2. Definition of “VANS”
No surprise here. You cannot change a broken definition in the Act by way of regulation. I just hope they see the light with the Convergence Bill. As it stands now the Convergence Bill is even more broken than the Telecoms Act. So we still do not know who and what VAN services are.
3. “facilities leasing fees”
You can no longer deduct facility leasing fees from your license fee income. What a shame. Telkom are screwing us so badly that there would have been nothing left for ICASA if we could deduct facility leasing fees. Now ICASA are getting license fee income from the suppliers of the facilities and the VANS.
4. Rights and Obligations of the licensee
This section has been completely removed. We assume that ICASA will provide terms and conditions when they issue the license. We would however like to know what we are allowed to do before we apply for the license to do it.
5. Consumer Protection
You can now disclose client information if so required by law or court order. Your invoices no longer need to differentiate between VANS and non-VANS services. (Again, because nobody knows what a VANS is.) No more emergency 112 numbers required for VOIP services and you do not have to ensure that the user of your services is licensed for VANS if they are providing VAN service.
6. Revocation, Termination and Transfer
We are glad to see that the licenses will be issued for an indefinite period (was 10 years) and that the license cannot be revoked because of some alleged misconduct.
7. Application Fee
We are very pleased to see that this has been reduced to about R5600.
8. Penalties for Late Payment
Likewise pleased to see that this has been dropped.
9. Manner of Application
You no longer have to include the type approval certificates for your equipment.
What’s new?
1. Definition of “historically disadvantaged persons”
This definition includes Black people, women and the disabled.
2. Consumer Protection
Customer information can be disclosed by court order or any law.
3. Empowerment
The empowerment clause is one that stands to hurt the SMME the most. We are disappointed that the provisions of the BEE charter were not adopted. VANS who have a turnover of less than R1 000 000 need not comply. Only problem is that the profit margins on R1 000 000 is to small to divide. Don’t they know how much we have to pay Telkom for facilities? It would have been much better to exempt SMME’s as defined in the Small Business Act. All is not however lost. We have been given 12 months to get 15% compliant and 24 months to get 30%.
4. Application fee
This has been reduced to R5636.86, down from R30 000. We welcome this change.
5. Transitional Measures
Provision has been made for existing applicants. You do not need to re-apply.
Overall Impression
While the new VANS regulations do address issues pertaining to the SMME we are disappointed that the provisions of the BEE charter has not been adopted, that self-provisioning has been excluded and that no meaningful provisions were provided to promote the SMME sector. The government could have compromised by allowing ISM spectrum self-provisioning and so start the process of un-bundling the local loop. After all this is a new technology and as such would not have taken something away from the incumbents. We also remain unsure of who or what a VANS is.
Ron Holloway
www.aware.co.za
What’s gone?
1. Definition of “Self-provision”
No surprise here. The new regulations are conspicuously void of any reference to self provisioning and the definition of what VAN services are. I know that ICASA tried very hard to include self provisioning, but I guess they are not so independent after all. Self provisioning would have contributed to lowering of prices more competition and would ultimately benefit the very people the government is so eager to assist. The inability to “Self provide” will only benefit the dominant players at the expense of the consumer.
2. Definition of “VANS”
No surprise here. You cannot change a broken definition in the Act by way of regulation. I just hope they see the light with the Convergence Bill. As it stands now the Convergence Bill is even more broken than the Telecoms Act. So we still do not know who and what VAN services are.
3. “facilities leasing fees”
You can no longer deduct facility leasing fees from your license fee income. What a shame. Telkom are screwing us so badly that there would have been nothing left for ICASA if we could deduct facility leasing fees. Now ICASA are getting license fee income from the suppliers of the facilities and the VANS.
4. Rights and Obligations of the licensee
This section has been completely removed. We assume that ICASA will provide terms and conditions when they issue the license. We would however like to know what we are allowed to do before we apply for the license to do it.
5. Consumer Protection
You can now disclose client information if so required by law or court order. Your invoices no longer need to differentiate between VANS and non-VANS services. (Again, because nobody knows what a VANS is.) No more emergency 112 numbers required for VOIP services and you do not have to ensure that the user of your services is licensed for VANS if they are providing VAN service.
6. Revocation, Termination and Transfer
We are glad to see that the licenses will be issued for an indefinite period (was 10 years) and that the license cannot be revoked because of some alleged misconduct.
7. Application Fee
We are very pleased to see that this has been reduced to about R5600.
8. Penalties for Late Payment
Likewise pleased to see that this has been dropped.
9. Manner of Application
You no longer have to include the type approval certificates for your equipment.
What’s new?
1. Definition of “historically disadvantaged persons”
This definition includes Black people, women and the disabled.
2. Consumer Protection
Customer information can be disclosed by court order or any law.
3. Empowerment
The empowerment clause is one that stands to hurt the SMME the most. We are disappointed that the provisions of the BEE charter were not adopted. VANS who have a turnover of less than R1 000 000 need not comply. Only problem is that the profit margins on R1 000 000 is to small to divide. Don’t they know how much we have to pay Telkom for facilities? It would have been much better to exempt SMME’s as defined in the Small Business Act. All is not however lost. We have been given 12 months to get 15% compliant and 24 months to get 30%.
4. Application fee
This has been reduced to R5636.86, down from R30 000. We welcome this change.
5. Transitional Measures
Provision has been made for existing applicants. You do not need to re-apply.
Overall Impression
While the new VANS regulations do address issues pertaining to the SMME we are disappointed that the provisions of the BEE charter has not been adopted, that self-provisioning has been excluded and that no meaningful provisions were provided to promote the SMME sector. The government could have compromised by allowing ISM spectrum self-provisioning and so start the process of un-bundling the local loop. After all this is a new technology and as such would not have taken something away from the incumbents. We also remain unsure of who or what a VANS is.
Ron Holloway
www.aware.co.za
IMHO, a snowball's chance in hell. Makes sense until the convergence bill issues are sorted out, methinx. Better to fix that first, than to allow chaos to reign - at least we know what the current issues are, than to be faced with a new set caused by who knows what...
Ron, thanks for the feedback .
.
IMO chaos is highly underrated as a catalyst of +ve change...mbs said:
dominic
Legal Expert: Telecoms
my 2c based on discussions with icasa councillors - they are sitting back and waiting to see what happens with the snoMaD said:
as regards LLU there is more and more pressure starting to mount - realisation on the part of the portfolio committee at least that the submarine cables and the LL are the two crucial missing pieces of the universal access puzzle
spectrum "being a scarce and finite" resource - apparently there are about 400 frequency spectrum application sitting at ICASA which they do not know what to do with - they say that if self-provisioning had been taken-up by large VANS with the capability to roll out their own wifi infrastructure they would have only been able to issue out about 7 frequency spectrum licences