The Competition Commission (CompComm) has confirmed it will hold public hearings for the data services market inquiry on 17 and 18 October 2018 in Gauteng, following the extension of the market inquiry's deadline to 31 March 2019.
In a statement issued this afternoon, the commission says in August last year it launched a market inquiry into data services with the release of the terms of reference and call for submissions.
It explains that the market inquiry will cover all market participants involved at any point in the value chain for data services that are provided to customers such as government, businesses, trade associations, public entities, regulatory authorities and end-consumers in SA.
According to the commission, a number of stakeholders in the data services sector made submissions in response to the call for submissions in September 2017.
These stakeholders include the Internet Service Providers' Association, Media Monitoring Africa, MTN, the Right2Know Campaign, Tarifica, Telkom, the Alliance for Affordable Internet, amandla.mobi, Broadband Infraco, Cell C, DG Murray Trust, Electronic Communications Network and Vodacom.
Non-confidential versions of these submissions are available on the commission's Web site.
The commission says it initiated the market inquiry following numerous complaints relating to data services in the country.
It adds that the market inquiry seeks to understand features in the market and the value chain that may cause or lead to high prices for data services.
It also seeks to make recommendations that would result in lower prices for data services.
The market inquiry is being conducted in response to a request from the minister of economic development, Ebrahim Patel.
Patel's concerns relate to high data costs in SA and the importance of data affordability for the South African economy and consumers, the commission notes.
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