The Department of Communications says a new telecommunications policy, which is expected to lead to amendments to the Telecommunications Act, could be finalised by April.
"We are confident that we will be able to meet the deadlines set by stakeholders and government," Department of Communications director-general Andile Ngcaba said at the telecommunications colloquium in Midrand this weekend.
The policy process must be completed before any new fixed-line telecommunications operators can be licensed, and with Telkom`s exclusivity possibly ending by May next year, contenders for the new licence are urging for a quick process to enable competition roll-out by that date.
[AUDIO]A delegation of six representatives from the weekend colloquium is to present the findings of the gathering to minister of communications Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri today, kicking off the main phase of policy creation.
The six, chosen as chairmen of the six working groups the colloquium was split into, are to present a single combined findings report as well as six divergent reports prepared by the groups.
The Department of Communications says the 60-plus written representations it received before the colloquium will be presented to the minister at the same time to complete the stakeholder input into the policy drafting process.
The presentations may be a means of assuaging industry fears that the colloquium was meant only as cosmetic covering to justify policy already decided on by government.
Directly confronted with these concerns at the opening of the colloquium, the minister assured attendees that their views will be taken into account.
"We will take into consideration everything that happens here," Matsepe-Casaburri told the gathering. "The outcome of this should be able to clarify things for me."
She warned, however, that "what is represented here will not necessarily be taken up in policy," and that the goal of the colloquium was to identify areas of contention and agreement.
According to Ngcaba, the minister will be presented with the colloquium outcome and submissions as well as international benchmarking on competition. This input will then be digested by external consultants to guide the minister in her decisions and presentations to cabinet and the parliamentary portfolio committee on communications.
By law, new policy directives must be published in the Government Gazette for 30 days of public comment before being finalised. Ngcaba expects such publication soon, with final directives to follow in early April.
The Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) is tasked with preparing regulations based on such policy directives, but Ngcaba believes the regulator can get to work even before the final publication.
"They were here and saw what happened," he said at the colloquium. "They can start to work on certain scenarios based on that."
Due to time constraints, the government is in favour of amending the current Telecommunications Act rather that rewriting it completely, as has been contemplated.
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