Communications regulator ICASA today released new regulations that attempt to ensure schools get their 50% Internet connectivity discount. These include the possibility of a R150 000 fine, should service providers not comply.
A notice published in the Government Gazette last week contains new regulations to ensure schools and all public further education and training colleges do get the 50% discount they are entitled to in terms of the Electronic Communications Act.
Prescriptive manner
The regulations prescribe the manner in which the e-rate (the term used for the school discount) must be implemented. It says all licensees must apply the discount.
This discount applies to the total charge levied by the licensee, which includes any charges for Internet access, charges for equipment used, and all calls made by the school to the service provider.
ICASA has also stated licence holders must keep e-rate documentation for a period of at least three years. These include signed contracts, Internet service provider bills to schools, details of services and locations at which they are provided, the effective date of services provided, and resumption date should the service be provided.
Should a licensee not comply with these regulations, a school may lodge a complaint with ICASA's Complaints and Compliance Committee within 60 days of becoming aware of the non-compliance.
In terms of the ICASA Act, the authority may levy up to a R150 000 fine and other sanctions if it feels they could be appropriate.
Long road
Communications minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri first suggested the e-rate in September 2004, but it was never implemented fully as there was confusion over what she actually meant. Late last year, the Department of Education claimed no schools and only nine future education colleges were receiving any benefit.
In November, before Parliament, former communications director-general Lyndall Shope-Mafole suggested the e-rate should be zero rated, meaning that no charge be levied at all.
Dominic Cull, a lawyer with Ellipsis Regulatory Solutions, says the new e-rate regulations go some way in solving the issue, but have not solved the implementation issue properly.
“A lot will depend on how Telkom and other I-ECNS (Individual-Electronic Communications Network Service) licensees intend to reduce their rates to ECS holders providing the connectivity,” he says.
Cull, however, says the new regulations do give the schools and colleges some legal route to enforce their rights.
“I recommend that schools actively pursue their service providers to ensure they are getting the 50% discount,” he says.
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