Telkom soon in hot seat regarding ADSL Regulations
ICASA’s Complaints and Compliance Committee (CCC) is addressing consumer complaints regarding Telkom’s non-compliance with the ADSL regulations, and is in the process of setting up a hearing where Telkom will have to defend their position.
ICASA released its ADSL regulations on the 17th of August last year, calling for – among other things – uncapped local bandwidth, no traffic shaping or periodic resets, guaranteed minimum speeds, minimum installation times and ADSL Service Level Agreements (SLA).
Despite the regulations coming into effect nearly a year ago, not much has changed in the ADSL arena. Local bandwidth is still capped, most ADSL users are still subjected to shaped traffic, there are periodic resets and no ADSL SLAs are in place.
Telkom reneges on promises
Telkom has made promises to comply with the regulations in the past, but despite these promises not much has changed.
ITWeb quoted Telkom as saying that it expects to become fully compliant with the ADSL regulations by March 2007. This date came and went without much fuss. Telkom however disputes the ITWeb claims, saying that the company never committed to March 2007.
A meeting between ICASA, Telkom and MyADSL was organized to try to resolve the numerous issues of non-compliance, and here Telkom promised to supply ADSL SLAs by the end of May, and furthermore stated that they would be in full compliance with the regulations by November 2007.
Telkom did not provide the anticipated ADSL SLAs by the end of May as promised, a delay which Telkom spokesperson Lulu Letlape says is due the fact that the implementation of a SLA required changes to various internal systems and procedures.
Letlape said that Telkom is still on track to be in fully compliant with the regulations by the end of November 2007.
Consumers unhappy
Telkom’s non-compliance with the ADSL regulations has sparked numerous complaints from ADSL users, which have reached the CCC through ICASA’s consumer affairs and monitoring structures.
The CCC functions under strict time frames, and after a complaint or dispute has been escalated to the CCC, it generally sets up a hearing within 6 weeks. The final ruling about the dispute will be made within 90 days from the hearing.
Many people feel that this new ICASA structure – which has more independent powers and functions to apply strict time frames – will serve consumers far better than what ICASA could achieve in the past.
Many consumers voiced their concerns about Telkom’s non-compliance with the ADSL regulations, feeling that Telkom has made a mockery of the regulations, playing ICASA for a fool without much regard for their authority in the telecoms space.
Others feel that the ADSL provider is merely doing what any company in their position will be doing: trying to get away with as much as possible and doing their utmost to delay changes that do not suit their purpose.
Telkom however points out that “as a responsible corporate citizen, Telkom respects ICASA and is always working closely with ICASA to resolve any matters between Telkom and ICASA.”
There is a strong feeling that a hard-hitting regulator is what is needed to ensure that ICASA – rather than the bigger telecoms players – say what goes in the telecoms space, and this case will give a good indication of what consumers and businesses can expect from ICASA in future.
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