Act to be amended
Communications department director-general Lyndall Shope-Mafole says the Electronic Communications Act (ECA), which governs the licensing of new operators, will be amended to make specific reference to the licensing of government-owned telecom entities. “The act does not currently provide for government-owned networks,” she says.
But Democratic Alliance MP Dene Smuts, who was closely involved with the drafting of the ECA, disagrees. She says there is a clear provision in the act anticipating that state-owned entities will apply for infrastructure licences.
Smuts says communications minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri has to issue policy directives and an invitation to apply for a licence. “What’s going on here is that the communications department is in dereliction of duty. All the minister has to do is issue directives.”
The public enterprises department, which has responsibility for InfraCo, had wanted the company to be “deemed” to have the necessary licence, thereby avoiding the lengthy process of licensing it through the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa). But Smuts says public enterprises minister Alec Erwin is “in a fix” as he does not want to do something that will land up in court and delay the launch of new undersea cables.
The amendment, Shope-Mafole says, will avoid the need for a “beauty contest” process whereby any number of operators can seek licences. Rather, it will allow only the government institution seeking the licence to receive it, presumably speeding up the process.
The proposed amendment must still be presented to cabinet for approval, after which it will be sent to parliament.
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