New licences for telecoms sector
The act has restructured the licences held by companies ranging from giants such as Telkom and the SABC right down to internet service providers and the tiny telecoms operators in rural areas.
It creates a massive amount of work for the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa), which must convert all existing licences into licences that meet the new regulatory framework. Now Icasa has published a 279-page document on its website calling for companies to apply for the conversion.
New licences come in two categories, individual and class licences, designed to create a single, technology-neutral regime.
Individual licences need Icasa’s approval before a service provider can commence operations, while class licences do not require regulatory approval, but service providers must notify Icasa before they launch.
A third category is for operations that are exempt from needing a licence.
Icasa cannot grant any monopoly or exclusive rights to the service providers in the new licences, and monopolies granted under the current licences will be null and void.
But Icasa has gained the power to impose pro-competitive obligations on any service provider that wields significant market power. That could include an obligation on Telkom and the cellphone operators to act fairly in response to requests for interconnection or facilities leasing by smaller players, including the second network operator Neotel.
The licences could also include obligations to charge cost based prices.
“All licence holders must respond to us to confirm their lines of activity,” said Icasa spokesman Jubie Matlou. The details Icasa needs include the identity of the licence holder, its contact details, its directors, which licences it currently holds, and some technical information. Licence holders must submit that information by 4pm on October 13.
Existing licences will remain valid until they are converted. Icasa expects conversions to be complete by end-June next year.
Icasa has tried to e-mail the document that sets out demands and contains the necessary application forms to all licence holders, but it is proving too large to reach many of the recipients.
The document, broken up into more manageable chunks, can be accessed from the website Icasa.org.za
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