The regulation of
the telecommunication sector currently falls under the Independent Communications
Authority of South Africa (ICASA) as of the beginning of July 2000. Telecommunication
regulation used to be the responsibility of the South African Telecommunications
Regulatory Authority (SATRA) until then. SATRA took over this responsibility from
Telkom, the state-owned telecommunication carrier, in 1996. The separation between the
operator and the regulatory body resulted in an extremely dynamic phase of re-definition
of institutional roles that are driving the telecommunication sector. Whereas in the past,
the sector was largely driven by Telkom, presently the most important factors influencing
development of the telecommunications sector are the issuing of licenses and the passage
of and enforcement of regulations by SATRA. Some key events in the on-going processes of
privatization and liberalization are thus emerging. Some of these issues include: the
licensing of the second fixed line operator (expected to be in year 2000), the third
cellular license, the introduction of various GMPCS satellite systems, and legal actions
around interpretations of policy, regulations and license conditions.
A significant
impact on the investment streams into the region can be attributed to the concurrent
liberalization of telecommunication policies in the neighbouring countries. Other Southern
African countries are undergoing fundamental reform in the telecommunication sectors. The
reform has increased the operator revenue which in turn facilitated regional
interconnection initiatives.
Internet
policy
Telkom challenged
ISPs on the grounds that Telkom’s monopoly over telecommunication services also
extends to Internet access. SATRA consequently analyzed the issue and ruled that Internet
was under the competitive demand and would not fall under conventional voice network.
Internet Protocol is consequently provided under Value Added Network Services (VANS)
license under section 40 of the Telecommunication Act. However, the legal battle is far
from over. Telkom is presently seeking legal advice about lodging an appeal.
The Internet
regulatory environment created by SATRA is based on the following principles:
- Universal service obligations on the
part of the ISPs;
- A common peering point, neutrally
located and run by a Steering Committee composed of ISPs;
- Keeping Internet traffic within the
country to avoid having to communicate locally via international gateways (thus minimizing
the use of international bandwidth);
- Overcoming the lack of
interconnection of Internet networks
On the
issue of regional interconnection, SATRA is trying to propose a structure and service to
enable common peering of Southern African Internet Service Providers. The peering
point/node will be neutrally located and run by a Steering Committee composed of members
of ISPs from Southern Africa. The Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA) was
therefore created. Nonetheless, Telkom’s Internet access provider division, SAIX, was
excluded from the peering point agreement in 1997. Consequently, ISPs using SAIX network
would obtain a slower access speed. In January 1998, ISPA finally decided to open
membership to Telkom and Intekom (one of the main ISPs in SA). SATRA aligned itself with
ISPA’s viewpoint throughout the process, hence demonstrated a strong level of
autonomy in the context of the development of culture of independent regulation.
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