Sabinet's parliamentary service reports that the Department of Communications has given a short briefing on 23 February 2008 to the parliamentary portfolio committee for communications on the guidelines called for in terms of the Electronic Communications Act for the "rapid deployment and provisioning of communications facilities", particularly referring to connectivity through undersea cabling.
Such are to be shortly published for public comment, the committee was told.
Such guidelines would form the regimen that identified as separate issues undersea cables, the landing stations themselves and international gateways created.
A "consistent jurisdictional and regulatory framework" had to be provided, said the department, "for a rapid, robust, reliable and affordable ICT infrastructure that would enable the provision of broadband services to stimulate economic growth".
Bearing in mind that other international practices in other countries had been studied, the department told MPs that it has been decided by government that South Africa will allow authorisation only by the minister of communications for any undersea cable to be landed or operated in South Africa, such authorisation not being transferable.
Such licences will be granted only to already licensed network service operators for which "a combined equity ownership can be held individually or jointly with other African entities to have equal or greater and together have 51%".
The department said that such guidelines were important if the principles of African ownership and control, the principles of NEPAD and the increasing need for international connectivity in South Africa were all to be brought together.
The minister is bound to consult "with other relevant structures of government, such as the departments of environmental affairs and tourism, safety and security etc, before granting a licence, the presenters concluded.
Sabinet's Bill Tracker and Policy Documents service supplies access to draft bills, committee reports, submissions to Parliament, speeches by ministers and various policy movers and shakers as well as other documents sourced from Parliament.
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