Telkom defended its turf in Parliament last week only to be told by politicians, including deputy communications minister Roy Padayachie, there was no point as the Telecommunications Act is in its dying moments.
On Friday, several parties presented arguments to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communications about why the telecommunications sector needed greater liberalisation, a strong, but independent regulator, and touched on the role that local government could play in lowering the overall cost of communications.
The parties included Telkom, the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA), Uninet, City of Cape Town and the SA Contact Centre Community.
ICASA and Telkom became embroiled in a point-for-point debate about the Telecommunications Act and if municipalities that currently hold private telephone network (PTN) licences are allowed to have connections across public land such as roads.
The debate was sparked by MP Vincent Gore (ID), who asked if Uninet`s installation of WiFi voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP), in the southern Cape town of Knysna, was legal.
ICASA`s manager of telecoms enforcement Lee-Ann Cassie replied: "Section 41(2) of the Telecommunications Act allows a PTN to either obtain, or not obtain, services from a PTSN [public telecommunications switched network - Telkom]. Ownership of land, especially roads, by government and local authorities are part of government. Municipalities operating under a PTN licence are allowed to apply for and obtain frequency spectrum, because this is part of the self-provisioning allowed in terms of the ministerial determinations of 2005."
Jack Tlokana, Telkom`s senior specialist of regulatory, technology and compliance, agreed with ICASA`s answer, but said it did not mention that "contiguous pieces of land, as defined by the Telecommunications Act, did not include areas that could be broken up by, for example, large farms.
"In cases such as this, putting up a wireless point-to-point system does not mean the PTN cannot ignore the PTSN," he said.
Committee chairman Godfrey Oliphant cut short the discussion due to time considerations and then let Padayachie express his views, which he is entitled to as a member of Parliament.
"I have been encouraged by what I heard today, especially the examples of innovation that the City of Cape Town and Knysna have shown," he said.
Padayachie went on to say, with agreement from opposition MP Dene Smuts (DA), that the real issue faced by legislators and policy-makers is the reduction of ICT costs.
"The pending Electronic Communications Act has set the basis for changing the entire legislative landscape and this will come into effect in a matter of weeks if not months. So there is no point in harping on about the Telecommunications Act that will be replaced," he said.
Padayachie went to say that time was the issue. "We have to ask ourselves if it is just a matter of time before these ICT costs are lowered, or if something has to be done to speed it up."
Finally, he said it was essential that a strong and properly resourced regulator be put in place to ensure this would happen.
Share
