Neotel is concerned that the blanket application of essential facilities regulations across operators will inhibit competition in the South African ICT sector.
This view formed part of the second national operator's presentation during the oral hearings into essential facilities regulations, held by the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA), last week.
"The definition of essential facilities should include whether a player has significant market power and has the influence to exclude other players from gaining equitable access to the essential facility," noted Neotel head of strategy Angus Hay.
Without this distinction, the regulations may inhibit competition in the local ICT sector, he said. A telecommunications provider without significant market power is unlikely to exclude other operators, he added.
Hay noted that government's delay in drafting the essential facilities regulations did not have an unusually high impact on Neotel's operations.
The ICT industry has been asking the Department of Communications and ICASA to draft the list of essential facilities for years.
The list would unlock Telkom's monopoly on the SAT-3 undersea cable and the national backhaul infrastructure connecting the landing station to Johannesburg, lowering the price of connectivity for operators.
Hay said issues that stand out as having great impact on Neotel and the ICT industry, as a whole, include ICASA's delay in finalising the allocation of WiMax spectrum, as well as the lack of regulation on toll-free numbers.
Last year, ICASA gazetted its intention to review the allocation of spectrum in the 2.6G and 3.5G bands, he added. "Like many things with ICASA, it's a year late and nothing is happening.
"Companies can't move [forward] with their WiMax infrastructure plans until ICASA resolves the issue. It's a complete deadlock."
ICASA spokesman Sekgoela Sekgoela notes that toll-free numbers are addressed in the numbering plan the regulator published in May 2006.
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