Parliamentary hearings into the high costs of telecoms could finally force government to enable the necessary interventions and alleviate the burden these high costs place on the general public and business in SA.
This morning, the Portfolio Committee on Communications (PCC) kicked off what will be a series of public hearings on the general cost to communicate in SA, starting with a four-day engagement in Johannesburg.
While the issue of mobile termination rates (MTRs) has been at the top of the industry's debate agenda, PCC chairperson Skhumbuzo Kholwane says the hearings will not be limited to the call termination rate, but "will include the cost to communicate in the entire communication sector".
Kholwane says the committee is fully aware of affordability issues when it comes to communication in SA, and that the initiative - which will wrap up in KwaZulu-Natal on 2 August - will evaluate the impact of high communications costs on the general public and small, micro and medium enterprises.
This, he says, will enable government to take the "necessary interventions" to make communication more affordable for South Africans across the board.
Local exorbitance
Yesterday, a report by Research ICT Africa (RIA), dealing primarily with the contested issue of termination rates between operators, confirmed that SA's tariffs are still among the highest in Africa - despite MTR reductions by the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA).
SA, shows RIA's research, has the 23rd highest prices in Africa (out of 46 countries) - and its dominant operator is almost four times more expensive than the cheapest dominant operator in Africa (MTN Ghana).
SA's dominant players (Vodacom and MTN), says the report, are doing "better than ever before [financially] - despite lower termination rates and retail prices".
The report says ICASA would need to reduce MTRs way beyond the 40c introduced in March if SA is to see any tangible benefit.
"SA's prepaid prices continue to be very expensive, and prices are unlikely to come down until the MTRs are reduced to the cost of an efficient operator. Global and African benchmarking suggests this cost is in the region of $0.01 or $0.02 (around 10c to 20c) at the current exchange rate. This is less than half of the current rate in SA."
Plans and proposals
Last month, ICASA unveiled a Cost to Communicate programme, with the promise of bringing clear, democratically constructed regulations into being for the telecoms industry.
The authority cemented deadlines for final policies around a broadband value chain, MTRs and local loop unbundling - ranging from 25 October this year for a reassessment of termination rates, to 14 April for the broadband value chain.
A few days after ICASA publicly presented its plans, rights lobby group Right2Know launched its own campaign calling for free basic and affordable telecoms. The group accused Vodacom and MTN of profiteering, unethical and "possibly illegal" business practices and a lack of transparency.
Meanwhile, in another ongoing campaign steeped in social economic development - backed by local grant-making foundation the DG Murray Trust (DGMT) - government and selected industry players have been approached to discuss ways of reducing telecoms costs for SA's marginalised communities.
Having kicked off in January, the DGMT is working with a group of consultants to come up with various models for reducing the costs of mobile, in particular for access to health, education, social services and employment.
In a May meeting convened by the DGMT, with government and industry players - including the Department of Communications, Internet Service Providers' Association, Department of Trade and Industry, Broadband Infraco and ICASA - five proposals were put forward.
A study done by the group, including lead consultant Ahmed Kajee, technical consultant Amdutt Parthab and business development consultant Justin Zar, showed that mobile solutions could support socio-economic development of marginalised communities through various means that do not require innovation or infrastructure build.
Managing expectations
Dominic Cull, owner of Ellipsis Regulatory Solutions, says while it is "fantastic" that there is so much activity around an issue that SA has been grappling with for such a long time, whether or not it will translate into action remains to be seen.
"In terms of what Right2Know and the DGMT are doing, it is encouraging to see them thinking out of the box. Whereas the other programmes focus on regulation of licensees, price regulations and things of that nature - these groups are shifting the focus and looking at SA's marginalised community, pushing social economic development."
The PCC, says Cull, has indicated it wants to hear from the community - rather than merely engaging with the incumbents and ICASA. "This is refreshing, but there needs to be a closer alignment between the different programmes and initiatives the various parties are working on."
He says, while it must be recognised that progress and noise is being made, there has to date been little concrete action that has resulted in a reduction in the cost to communicate in SA.
"Most reductions are market-driven - mostly through Cell C and Telkom Mobile. So, while ICASA's Cost to Communicate programme is welcome as it indicates there is a plan and process that will end in regulatory interventions - we need to manage our expectations."
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