'Telecoms ripe for scrutiny'

Johannesburg - South Africa's Competition Tribunal chairperson David Lewis said the high costs of telecommunications are proof that the sector needs more effective regulation.

Lewis pointed to jurisdiction issues between the sector regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa), and the competition regulator as the leading obstacle towards more effective regulation.

"We are far better set up than Icasa to resolve abuse of dominance," he said, highlighting the adversarial nature of its proceedings and that it has "more information at [its] disposal".

He said Icasa did not posses the power that the Competition Tribunal had.

"Much needs to be done to strengthen Icasa, not all is complex," Lewis said.

"It is a simple fact that our telecommunications costs remain among the highest in the world," he said, adding that broadband "is pitiful", and that services in the sector were "completely unacceptable".

"We have seen the introduction of new technology in the sector, but through collusion, the benefits have not filtered through."

Lewis argued that the telecommunications sector needed robust competition rules, adding however that it would take time before the Competition Act came into full effect.

Lewis also stressed the need for a study to be conducted in the telecommunications sector. "The telecoms sector is ripe for a study; a public market enquiry is needed to open up the sector to scrutiny," he said.

"You need two bodies that have the same culture if the telecoms sector is going to be effectively regulated," Lewis said.
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Lets hope Seacom will not be the same.
 
Gatecrasher said:
I hope so too. But there is every indication that it will be exactly the same.
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I really try to stay positive regarding Seacom but I'm starting to doubt if we will see any notable results within 12 months.

Cannot wait for the WACS to arrive. :)
 
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