Telecoms regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA), is hopeful the private telecommunications network (PTN) licensing logjam should begin to be cleared once its council makes decisions on procedures and the various alternatives next week.
Criticism has been levelled at ICASA about the lack of progress in finalising PTN and value-added network services (VANS) licences, some of which have been awaiting approval for over four months.
Andries Matthysen, ICASA senior manager of licensing enforcement and numbering administration, says an internal report on the various options available for the process of new and possible changes to existing licences will be presented to the council on Monday, and the final decision will be taken a few days afterwards.
"Council will probably want to chew over the report and some of the issues for a couple of days, but it is fair to say that by the end of next week we will have clarity on going forward," he says.
Some of the issues addressed in the report and awaiting council decisions are whether or not to make all applicants reapply, or let them amend their current applications. ICASA charges R5 686.86 to apply for a licence.
There is also the question of whether or not to fast-track the applications (which is allowed for in terms of the law) or to adhere to the normal three days of public hearings, and the key issue of how ICASA interprets the self-provisioning clause for VANS.
Matthysen says VANS licences would probably require minimal changes, while PTNs would require more as, due to the liberalisation announcement, they will become more commercialised by nature.
According to Matthysen, there are 159 VANS and 35 PTN licence applications waiting to be processed. Most of them were received before the 19 July deadline, the date set in the original 1996 Telecommunications Act for those who were operating such services before the law`s implementation and had to submit formal licence applications.
There are 43 entities with PTN licences and about 160 VANS licences in operation.
"Before the promulgation of the Telecommunications Act and ICASA`s formation, there were a number of VANS and PTNs that had received facilities from Telkom," he says.
No surge
Matthysen says he has not seen a surge in licence applications since the 3 September liberalisation announcement made by communications minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri.
"I was a bit surprised by this, but I feel that many people are probably waiting until council clears up the issues," he says.
One PTN licence applicant, who wishes to remain anonymous, says the delay in processing the applications will hinder market liberalisation and sow confusion from 1 February when the market is due to open up.
"Those already with licences will be able to go ahead with what they are doing, while those awaiting them will have to put their plans on hold," he says.
The licence applicant says it takes three months to process a PTN licence and should ICASA free up the logjam next week, he will probably receive his licence only after 1 February.
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