Broadband is pitiful, says CompCom
Speaking at a breakfast function hosted by the Mail & Guardian, Lewis pointed to current jurisdiction issues between the sector regulator, Icasa, and the competition regulator as the leading obstacle towards more effective regulation.
Lewis used the opportunity to flex the tribunal’s muscles. “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 our disposal”.
He said that 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 telecom sector is going to be effectively regulated,” Lewis said.
Broadband, CompCom and ICASA – give your views
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