{"id":647193,"date":"2026-05-12T19:13:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T17:13:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=647193"},"modified":"2026-05-12T19:18:40","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T17:18:40","slug":"cheaper-internet-for-people-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/telecoms\/647193-cheaper-internet-for-people-in-south-africa.html","title":{"rendered":"Cheaper Internet for people in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Communications minister Solly Malatsi promised in his Budget Vote speech on Tuesday that his government department\u2019s focus was on actions to unlock faster, more reliable, and cheaper Internet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEspecially poor South Africans in rural areas, those who need it the most to get jobs and provide for their families,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DBSA\u2019s Digital Infrastructure Investment Study found that the true connectivity access gap is now only 2.2% of all South African households.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut 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,\u201d stated Malatsi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn South Africa\u2019s context, digital lifelines are only true lifelines if people can reach it, afford it, understand it, and use it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Malatsi said that what South Africa needed to leverage the full potential of connectivity was for access to be meaningful, not only universal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo this end, low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite services also form part of South Africa\u2019s digital future,\u201d Malatsi stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRather 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Malatsi said the department\u2019s responsibility was to ensure that new technologies expand inclusion rather than deepen inequality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe do this by reflecting honestly on the Department of Communications and Digital Technology\u2019s (DCDT) mandate as an ecosystem enabler,\u201d said Malatsi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur role is not to build every tower, lay every fibre line, regulate every transaction, or deliver every digital service.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Malatsi said government\u2019s role was to create the enabling environment for the growth of the digital economy, through policy, legislation, and coordination of state and sector efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhere the state does have a role to play through state-owned entities, we must approach our oversight role with extreme care.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That included acting decisively where wrongdoing takes place and providing strategic guidance to steer state-owned companies towards sustainability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Electronic Communications Act reforms<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Starlink remained a hot-button issue during the debate following Malatsi’s mention of LEO and EEIPs in his speech, with Parliamentary portfolio committee chairperson Khusela Diko reiterating the ANC’s stance that South Africa would not change its laws to accommodate any single company.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe 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,\u201d stated Malatsi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Malatsi said that to unlock growth, government must stabilise the fundamentals. \u201cThis work is neither glamorous nor easy. Its results are not always immediate, but their impact will stand the test of time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe will also pursue legislative amendments that will enable equity equivalent investment programmes (EEIPs) to complement ownership requirements in telecommunications,\u201d he affirmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe policy direction aims to reduce the costs of building new infrastructure,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was to ensure regulatory certainty for the large number of licences due for renewal in the near future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA modern digital economy cannot be governed by frameworks designed for an older communications environment,\u201d Malatsi said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Communications minister Solly Malatsi promised in his Budget Vote speech to take decisive action that would unlock faster, more reliable, and cheaper Internet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":643727,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[66538,78632,97352,78924,76862,48987,43422],"class_list":["post-647193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-telecoms","tag-department-of-communications-and-digital-technologies-dcdt","tag-development-bank-of-southern-africa-dbsa","tag-khusela-diko","tag-low-earth-orbit-leo-satellites","tag-solly-malatsi","tag-starlink","tag-wireless-open-access-network-woan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/647193"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=647193"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/647193\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":647195,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/647193\/revisions\/647195"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/643727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=647193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=647193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=647193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}