Under the fresh leadership of Yunus Carrim, the Department of Communications (DOC) has a number of tricks up its sleeve to drive efficacy and resolve outstanding issues faced by the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA).
Last week, Carrim noted that a key responsibility of the DOC is "to provide policy directives to ICASA" and said the department is also there to monitor the regulator's performance.
In response to a submission by the Inkatha Freedom Party to Parliament, calling for a task team to investigate ICASA's failures, Carrim replied that, while the authority has capacity challenges "and other constraints", there is no need to establish a task team right now.
Carrim outlined the mechanisms the DOC currently has in place to both monitor and motivate SA's ICT regulator.
Modern measures
"The DOC has developed a performance management tool to appraise the annual performance of the regulator. The performance assessment is done bi-annually to assist ICASA to improve on its performance."
In addition, says Carrim, the department is - in cooperation with ICASA - implementing a second phase of a programme of action on the authority's Cost to Communicate programme launched in June.
According to the minister, the action plan includes the following:
* A broadband value chain analysis, focused on reducing costs and improving the quality and variety of services by promoting competition and addressing market failure.
* A policy directive on price transparency, aimed at issuing a policy directive to address complex telecoms price packages and ensure quality of service, affordability and access to ICT in SA.
* A data portal on ICT statistics, which will analyse the supply side of ICT statistics in a bid to update the existing data portal on ICT statistics with the latest data to give a better indication of the state of the sector in SA - including pricing and the general contribution of ICT to SA's gross domestic product.
* Economic modelling on the 2010 call termination regulation, which will see an economic market modelling exercise to determine the effectiveness of call termination regulation and determine the options available to further reduce the cost to communicate in SA.
Carrim says while the costs to communicate in SA have come down, the department believes these need to be reduced further. To this end, he says, he is "engaging with the mobile operators and ICASA".
He adds it is also incumbent on ICASA to report annually to Parliament on the watchdog's performance. "Parliament has a crucial role to play in oversight of the regulator."
Overdue answers
In what appears to be an encouraging step forward, Carrim on Sunday addressed two other Parliamentary submissions - both of which had been outstanding since earlier this year, when now ousted communications minister Dina Pule ruled the ICT roost.
The first, submitted by the Democratic Alliance's shadow minister of communications, Marian Shinn, in February, revolves around operating licences and arrears.
Out of Carrim's response it has emerged that over 350 licence-holders are not up to date with their payments to ICASA. This put the total arrears at the end of the 2012 financial year at R442 886 651.69, says Carrim.
In May, Congress of the People spokesperson Juli Kilian submitted a query to Pule regarding the collection of spectrum and other licence fees by ICASA, and the challenges the authority faced in the collection of fees and capturing of data on licence-holders.
Carrim says challenges relating to the collection of spectrum licence fees and capturing of data have been investigated, and recommendations made as to how these should be addressed.
"ICASA is in the process of acquiring an integrated spectrum management software system that is capable of overcoming these challenges. It is envisaged that this spectrum management system will be installed by the end of the financial year."
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