Cheaper Internet for people in South Africa
Communications minister Solly Malatsi promised in his Budget Vote speech on Tuesday that his government department’s focus was on actions to unlock faster, more reliable, and cheaper Internet.
“Especially poor South Africans in rural areas, those who need it the most to get jobs and provide for their families,” he said.
Malatsi said that South Africa had made commendable progress in the delivery of digital infrastructure, according to a recent study by the Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA).
The DBSA’s Digital Infrastructure Investment Study found that the true connectivity access gap is now only 2.2% of all South African households.
“But there is a critical question we must ask ourselves: Is access itself enough? The answer to that is a clear no; it is not enough,” stated Malatsi.
“In South Africa’s context, digital lifelines are only true lifelines if people can reach it, afford it, understand it, and use it.”
Malatsi said that what South Africa needed to leverage the full potential of connectivity was for access to be meaningful, not only universal.
“To this end, low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite services also form part of South Africa’s digital future,” Malatsi stated.
“Rather than wait a decade to develop domestic LEO capacity, we must create conditions for international operators to serve our people now, in a manner that supports national interests and regulatory compliance.”
Malatsi said the department’s responsibility was to ensure that new technologies expand inclusion rather than deepen inequality.
“We do this by reflecting honestly on the Department of Communications and Digital Technology’s (DCDT) mandate as an ecosystem enabler,” said Malatsi.
“Our role is not to build every tower, lay every fibre line, regulate every transaction, or deliver every digital service.”
Malatsi said government’s role was to create the enabling environment for the growth of the digital economy, through policy, legislation, and coordination of state and sector efforts.
“We cannot approach this role from a perspective of control, but from a perspective of unlocking the potential of being online, while protecting the vulnerable from abuse and exclusion,” he said.
“Where the state does have a role to play through state-owned entities, we must approach our oversight role with extreme care.”
That included acting decisively where wrongdoing takes place and providing strategic guidance to steer state-owned companies towards sustainability.
Electronic Communications Act reforms
“The digital economy is not only a standalone sector that contributes directly to economic growth but serves as a horizontal enabler of economic productivity across all sectors,” stated Malatsi.
“When policy is clear, regulation predictable, and state-owned entities are well governed, we create the conditions for growth that no single project or programme can replicate.”
Malatsi said that to unlock growth, government must stabilise the fundamentals. “This work is neither glamorous nor easy. Its results are not always immediate, but their impact will stand the test of time.”
He said that the Electronic Communications Amendment Bill would be advanced to modernise the existing licensing framework, address convergence in the sector, and strengthen competition.
“We will also pursue legislative amendments that will enable equity equivalent investment programmes (EEIPs) to complement ownership requirements in telecommunications,” he affirmed.
Malatsi said he had also issued a draft policy direction on the rapid deployment of electronic communications facilities to ensure everyone in South Africa had access to affordable and meaningful connectivity.
“The policy direction aims to reduce the costs of building new infrastructure,” he said.
“We are equally committed to finalising a policy direction on Wireless Open Access Networks to create greater competition and more affordable data for all South Africans.”
In addition, Malatsi said he was committed to finalising a policy direction on the renewal of Individual Electronic Communications Network and Service (ECNS and ECS) licenses.
This was to ensure regulatory certainty for the large number of licences due for renewal in the near future.
“A modern digital economy cannot be governed by frameworks designed for an older communications environment,” Malatsi said.
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