The new standard draft by-law for the deployment of electronic communications infrastructure will mark a step in the right direction for industry players.
This was the sentiment expressed by Andile Ngcaba, Digital Council Africa (DCA) president and chairman of Convergence Partners and inq.
The Digital Council is hosting its Conext Conference 2022 in Cape Town this week, bringing together fibre industry players and stakeholders from the private and public sectors.
Ngcaba lauded the work of the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies, the Presidency and DCA in spearheading the draft by-law for the rapid deployment of electronic communications infrastructure.
Last week, co-operative governance and traditional affairs minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma published the standard draft by-law for the deployment of electronic communications infrastructure and facilities for public comments, with submissions due on 28 October.
Ngcaba described this latest development as something that will change the industry.
“South Africa has 257 municipalities. To get wayleaves in the past, you had to approach each municipality.” Each municipality would have a different system, he noted.
“With this standard model, we will use one system, one standard and one approach. And this is really a breakthrough for the industry, speed to market and the ability to grow.”
Adding to Ngcaba’s comments, deputy minister of communications and digital technologies Philly Mapulane explained the Presidency established Operation Vulindlela in October 2020.
The joint initiative of the Presidency and National Treasury aims to accelerate the implementation of structural reforms.
“The focus of the initiative is to reduce the cost to communicate and improve the quality of digital communications through, among other things, the auctioning of high-demand spectrum, the completion of broadcasting digital migration, the finalisation of the rapid deployment policy and streamlining of the process for wayleave approvals, and connecting SA by rolling out broadband infrastructure across the country.”
According to Mapulane, the communications department worked very closely with the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs in producing the standard draft by-law the industry has been calling for. “We made very significant inputs into that document.”
The deputy minister recalled a panel discussion where Ngcaba spoke with a lot of passion about the impediments the industry encounters with municipalities.
“The industry is subjected to different and often tedious application processes for rolling out fibre and other digital infrastructure.
“This draft by-law is a very welcomed development because it will standardise all the applications processes.
“We want it [draft by-law] to be adopted by the municipalities throughout the country, so that we can facilitate things like wayleave applications and so forth.”
Mapulane called on industry players to make their submissions and comments on how to better shape the draft by-law, to have a policy and legal instrument that will facilitate the rapid deployment of broadband, particularly fibre.
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