Hmmmm ... I wonder how much money was budgeted for the "probe".
Or
Does this really mean that parliament is actually taking the first steps to make ICASA truly independent?
I have not read through ICASA's mandate recently, but their opening sentence on their website reads:
It is charged with licensing telecommunications, postal and broadcasting service providers, monitoring compliance of licensees against their license conditions, developing policy, managing the frequency spectrum and protecting consumers within the communications environment.
It's the protecting consumers part that is failing so miserably that I would vote YAY to the abolishment of the protection clause from their mandate, to be replaced with an organisation that specialises in that part.
Actually, lets take a close look at their "charges":
- licensing telecommunications, postal and broadcasting service providers
-- ICASA lost a court case resulting in licences actually being handed out.
- monitoring compliance of licensees against their license conditions
-- Perhaps some work is done here, some equipment was confiscated, but I still hear WISP's moaning about over-boosted competition and interference.
- developing policy
-- The ADSL regulations is a joke, and as an example of their work, it fails.
- managing the frequency spectrum
-- An independant organisation has been formed by desperate people after ICASA's lack of any performance on this point.
- protecting consumers within the communications environment
-- Bwaaahahahahahahahaha
FAIL. FAIL. FAIL. FAIL. FAIL.
