Revised draft regulations issued by the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) yesterday imply that holders of private telecommunications network licences, under the old Telecommunications Act, will be exempt if they only resell 25% of their capacity, or are non-profit.
The notice published in the Government Gazette is part of the licence conversion process being undertaken by the telecommunications regulator to meet the requirements of the Electronic Communications Act, which replaced the Telecommunications Act 18 months ago.
Dominic Cull, a lawyer with NicciFerguson, says this latest draft regulation is a revision of the initial draft discussed in October during a workshop between ICASA and industry representatives.
"The importance of this draft regulation is that it identifies the wireless user groups as significant players in the arena," he says.
The draft regulations allow wireless users to mesh (interlink) their networks and sell capacity as long as it is not for profit, or based on a recovery basis only.
Cull says most companies and organisations, such as large financial houses or mining companies, which were required to hold private telecommunications network licences, would now be exempt as long as they do not resell more than 25% of their capacity.
"This also includes the provision that any organ owned by the state is licence-exempt, as long as it does not resell more than 25% of its capacity," he says.
Such organisations would include Transtel, Easitel and the municipalities.
"However, a municipality such as Cape Town could easily apply for a class electronic communications network licence that allows it to operate within a defined district or municipal area and so resell more of its capacity," Cull notes. "Such a licence would only cost around R25 000."
He says this move by ICASA would relieve the regulator of a lot of pressure in processing and approving any municipality`s request to operate a network for its own use.
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