A group of about 120 protestors took to the streets of Sandton yesterday as part of a Virgin Mobile march to the telecoms regulator`s head office against the delays to mobile number portability (MNP) implementation.
However, the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) responded by telling the marchers that they should have called first.
"The march went very well. We initially couldn`t find anyone at the ICASA building, but eventually a representative came out to meet us and told us we should make an appointment," said Nicholas Maweni, spokesman for Virgin Mobile.
"But this is not a meeting request it`s a protest," said Maweni.
The protest was aimed at pressuring ICASA to commit to the date of 10 November, set for the implementation of MNP.
"We wanted to find out if ICASA would give any guarantees that the new date set would be adhered to. Should the other operators not comply, are there going to be fines imposed?
"We also wanted to know the nature of the weekly reports that are supposed to be filed. No one answered any of our questions, so the struggle continues," said Maweni.
The ICASA representative, who received a petition with 975 names from Virgin Mobile, as well as an open letter by Virgin Group chairman Sir Richard Branson, did not wish to be named.
"This matter will be sent through to council to deliberate, until then there`s no further comment," he said.
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