If there`s one thing the South African ICT industry will agree on - and in all likelihood the only thing it will agree on - is the fact that the local sector is never boring.
It may be complex, convoluted, legislated up to the eyeballs, held in check by monopolistic practices, messed around by government bungling and constantly having to come to terms with some new issue, but boring it is not.
Take last September, when our minister, Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri, finally - if unexpectedly - announced the date on which managed liberalisation would take place.
For several months afterwards there was a palpable and growing excitement that at last we would witness true competition, an end to Telkom`s monopoly (since we`ve never received the promised second national operator [SNO]) and a reduction in telecoms costs that would benefit all consumers.
The Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) struggled manfully with the task that was then thrown its way, which was to interpret the minister`s determinations, despite the fact that different players in the field with differing agendas wanted to see different interpretations provided by the regulator.
In the end, ICASA chose the liberal interpretation, much to the relief of value-added network service (VANS) providers, who saw this as the opportunity to finally challenge Telkom`s monopoly, with voice over IP (VOIP) set to be legalised, and mobile and VANS operators going to be allowed to self-provide their infrastructure.
Except, of course, that in SA, nothing is as easy as that, is it?
Conspiracy or not?
What worries me most is the fact that the minister has now created doubt around the whole issue, and realistically, the only company that really stands to gain from such doubt is our friendly neighbourhood monopoly.
Rodney Weidemann, telecoms editor, ITWeb
Just 24 hours before the 1 February date on which the liberalisation of the industry was due to unfold, our dear minister chose to announce to the world that it was never her intention to allow VANS to self-provide, and that they would need to obtain facilities from licensed providers.
Except that the regulator had already interpreted her determinations as of 22 November 2004, with the relevant piece reading as follows:
"VANS may self-provide facilities from 1 February 2005. Self-provision contemplates the procurement of telecommunication facilities by a VANS licensee from any telecommunication facility supplier and to use them under and in accordance with its licence to provide telecommunication services."
Even this statement has been interpreted differently by various industry players, although having personally attended the ICASA briefing where the regulator`s interpretations were discussed, it was my opinion that the authority`s intent certainly was for VANS to be allowed to self-provide.
The real question then is: can Matsepe-Casaburri`s announcement actually change anything, since it is ICASA`s job to interpret her policy announcements, and although the regulator has interpreted them differently to her intentions, does she have the power to overrule the industry`s independent watchdog?
Creating doubt
Perhaps, or perhaps not, but what worries me most is the fact that she has now created doubt around the whole issue, and realistically, the only company that really stands to gain from such doubt is our friendly neighbourhood monopoly.
Of course, the fact that government is still the majority shareholder in Telkom would have nothing to do with the minister creating doubt and uncertainty in the industry, just one day before liberalisation (and therefore competition to Telkom) is due to take place, would it?
I mean, we are all aware that our favourite fixed-line operator "welcomes competition", and Matsepe-Casaburri has been keen to stimulate competition and reduce prices for ages, which I`m sure is why she`s taken so long to get the SNO licensed - she just wants it to be perfect before allowing it to launch.
So it would appear that we are once again left with two equally unpalatable options: either there is a conspiracy to keep Telkom on top and prevent true competition taking place, or otherwise we have a minister who is so fast asleep that it takes her two-and-a-half months beyond when ICASA announces its interpretations to even realise that the regulator has said something different to what she intended.
Either way, it`s not a pretty thought going forward, although at least it certainly cannot be called boring!
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