Initial response from stakeholders representing a variety of interests in the ICT sector indicates that, while they are delighted that president Thabo Mbeki has signed the Electronic Communications (EC) Act, the implementation of the Act remains an uncertainty.
Storm, MTN, Cell C, Communications Users Association of South Africa, MyADSL and Gateway Communications all wish the EC Act would be implemented soon.
The real impact will be felt once the effective date is determined and the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) begins implementing the EC Act, says Karabo Motlana, Cell C`s head of regulatory issues.
Motlana says the enactment of the EC Act provides a level of stability in terms of the regulatory and legislative framework.
"We can now begin planning and provide assurances to investors, since with the signature of the Act by the president it means the content of the legislation is finalised," he says.
One of the important implications of the EC Act for mobile operators is that they will no longer be restricted by technology, he says.
"We will be able to harness the potential of new technologies, additional to GSM, to develop products and provide services," Motlana says.
For Rudolph Muller, founder of MyADSL, the concern lies in "the slow pace of change in the telecoms arena".
He says government has broken many promises regarding the reform process without any clear accountability.
"We hope the EC Act will be proclaimed as soon as possible, paving the way for a more open telecoms market ruled by competing companies rather than restrictive laws and interference from government," Muller says.
Mike van den Bergh, group COO of Gateway Communications, says the telecoms sector finally has legislation that recognises the importance of convergence.
He and Muller also note the EC Act provides an environment which will encourage investment in new technologies such as WiMax and voice over Internet Protocol.
Muller says the one long-awaited development will be that value-added network services and Internet businesses can finally build infrastructure and interconnect.
This will in turn lead to the widespread availability of affordable broadband services and the reduction in the cost of telephony and Internet access, Muller and Van den Bergh say.
Van den Bergh says the new competitive environment will create the opportunity for cost savings, which should be passed directly to consumers, resulting in lower call tariffs to domestic and international destinations in the short-term.
"My real concern is how quickly we will be able to implement new services which take advantage of this enabling legislation," he says.
Increased demands
Van den Bergh notes there will be increased pressure on ICASA to ensure the right regulatory environment is put in place as soon as possible.
"Waiting for it for ages has pros and cons and depends on who you are if it is all good news or bad news," says Dave Gale, new business director, Storm.
"It will stop all this holding back change on facilities leasing and interconnection. But can ICASA cope with the new regulatory environment as it does not have the staff or the budget?" he asks.
ICASA will also have to be ready for increased demand for frequency spectrum, and it will be vitally important for the regulator to quickly free up sufficient spectrum, to allow new service providers to deploy wireless broadband services quickly and affordably, he says.
ICASA has expressed its readiness to implement the EC Act as well as the ICASA Amendment Bill when both are promulgated. However, the regulator does acknowledge in an open letter that it has lost skilled personnel. The letter notes that ICASA has lost two general managers, and two senior managers and two managers recently tendered their resignations.
"Skill retention and further development have been identified as core challenges requiring a strategic approach as we enter the new converged regulatory environment and greater demand for our staff is leveraged by large salaries payable in the sector," ICASA says.
The letter also notes that the term of office for three councillors - Lumko Mtimde, Nadia Bulbulia and Mamodupi Mohlala - is coming to an end in June.
Related stories:
President signs Electronic Communications Act
Convergence, ICASA Bills approved
ECT Act: What are the real issues?
Share