As the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) gears up for licence renewals, the authority’s capacity to handle the process amid the parliamentary procedure for councillor interviews has been questioned.
ICASA must fill four vacancies on its council, with Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies initiating the call for nominations last week.
The term of councillors Thabisa Faye, Cathrine Mushi, Nompucuko Nontombana and Ntombiza Patience Sithole will end this year.
At the same time, the authority will be overseeing renewal applications of the Individual Electronic Communications Network Service (I-ECNS) and Individual Electronic Communications Service (I-ECS) licences, which are held by a wide range of operators, including major mobile network companies, fixed-line providers, internet service providers and smaller communications firms.
An I-ECNS licence, issued by ICASA, permits holders to build, operate and maintain physical network infrastructure (fibre, towers, radio) on a national or provincial scale.
It is a high-level, 20-year licence, often required for large-scale telecommunications infrastructure providers. It allows the licensee to provide network services (transmission) to other electronic communication services licensees or end-users.
The I-ECS licence allows a company to provide electronic communications services to subscribers or end-users on a provincial or national basis. This includes ISP services, voice services, leased line/data services, managed connectivity, as well as other telecoms services sold to customers.
The licence renewal process is highly-pertinent, so much so that ICASA issued a formal reminder to telecommunications licensees last month, advising they check their licence expiry dates and submit renewal applications within the prescribed window. It warned that failure to do so would result in service disruptions and regulatory non-compliance.
Addressing the oversight committee of the communications and digital technologies portfolio in Parliament this week, ICASA chairperson Mothibi Ramusi flagged the potential impact of the absence of policy changes on the management of licence renewals, especially for data centre and tower company (towerco) entities, which will be part of the mix.
“As an oversight committee...this is one matter that if it’s not managed timeously, we might find ourselves exposed. As we’re going to talk about renewal, in the absence of amendments of the legislation, how are we supposed to deal with data centres, towercos, MNOs and MVNOs?” asked Ramusi.
The ICASA chairperson’s comments sparked further debate, with Democratic Alliance MP Tsholofelo Bodlani interrogating the authority’s capacity to handle licence renewals.
For instance, councillor Nontombana, one of the councillors whose term is nearing its end, serves as chairperson of the I-ECNS Inquiry Council Committee.
“In front of Parliament is the interviews for the ICASA councillors. The ICASA chairperson spoke about the licence renewals that ICASA will be engaging in with its different licensees,” said Bodlani.
“What is the capacity for ICASA to continue with those without being hindered by the parliamentary process, which is yet to commence? Will we not hear a situation where licensees are saying ICASA did not have the capacity because of the transition, while Parliament obviously is going to be ready to start with the interviews for councillors.”
The ANC’s Shaik Imraan Subrathie acknowledged Bodlani’s question and expressed the need for the authority to monitor conditions effectively.
“We can’t be falling short of monitoring,” he said. “We create terms and conditions that we are unable to monitor effectively, consistently, and really call them out when they fail to comply.”
Subrathie asked the ICASA chairperson to address the issue of capacity when the authority next appears before the portfolio committee.
Independent authority ICASA plays a vital role in regulating SA’s telecoms, postal and broadcast industry. Its council is the highest decision-making body, consisting of eight councillors and the chairperson.
Those appointed to serve on the council are selected on the principles of transparency, openness and accountability, commitment to fairness and freedom of expression, according to ICASA.
The council members serve a four-year term and execute their mandate in the public interest, while the chairperson serves the five-year term.
The portfolio committee seeks suitably qualified and experienced South African citizens with expertise in fields such as electronic communications, broadcasting policy, engineering, law, information technology, economics, finance, consumer protection and related disciplines.
Nominations must be submitted via e-mail to mailto:icasavacancies@parliament.gov.za by 27 March at 4pm.
Nominees will be subject to qualifications verification and security clearance as part of the appointment process.
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