Staff Reporter
Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi has issued a policy directive for speeding up the deployment of telecommunications infrastructure across the country and reducing broadband costs.
The directive, published in the Government Gazette on Tuesday, calls on the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) to review existing regulations governing infrastructure sharing and develop new rules to simplify network deployment.
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“The Policy Direction is ultimately aimed at reducing the cost of broadband communication, and ensuring all South Africans enjoy meaningful connectivity by eliminating cumbersome and fragmented administrative compliances which affect the pace of infrastructure building,” Malatsi said in a statement on Thursday.
“This will introduce an environment in which the rollout of digital infrastructure is simpler, faster and more consistent. Delays in building and extending networks remain one of the main obstacles to affordable, high-speed connectivity in South Africa, and this policy direction is part of our reform programme to achieve this.”
The directive follows several years of government efforts to simplify telecommunications infrastructure deployment, including a national policy introduced in July 2023, before Malatsi became minister.
Malatsi published a draft version of the latest directive for public comment in March this year, while ICASA published its own draft rapid deployment regulations in April and scheduled public hearings for July.
The overlapping processes drew criticism from the Internet Service Providers’ Association (ISPA), which questioned the coordination between the department and ICASA.
In an April submission, ISPA raised concerns that ICASA had begun consulting on its regulations before Malatsi’s policy direction had been finalised.
The association said that ICASA would have to consider the final policy direction before proceeding with the regulatory processes.
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ISPA also said the existing Facilities Leasing Regulations, introduced in 2010, had done little to improve competition or encourage more efficient infrastructure sharing.
It identified difficulties accessing public and state-owned property, as well as infrastructure belonging to non-licensed entities, as significant obstacles to network expansion.
The latest directive calls for a review of the Facilities Leasing Regulations, which govern how telecommunications operators lease infrastructure, including towers and underground ducts, from one another.
The review will consider which infrastructure should be classified as essential facilities, wholesale access charges and measures to shorten the time taken to conclude and implement leasing agreements.
ICASA has also been asked to strengthen monitoring and enforcement.
Under the proposed rapid deployment framework, operators would be discouraged from unnecessarily duplicating existing infrastructure where facilities are already available.
However, the directive recognises that additional infrastructure may be necessary to improve network reliability, service quality and competition between operators.
Another proposed measure is the establishment of a central geographic information system database containing information about telecommunications infrastructure across the country.
The database would allow regulators, network operators and planners to identify existing infrastructure and determine where additional investment is required.
Access to the information would be regulated to protect sensitive infrastructure data.
The directive also calls for a voluntary dispute resolution process for telecommunications licensees and landowners when disagreements arise over network deployment.
ICASA will be required to report annually to the minister on progress in implementing the policy direction, with its first report due within 12 months.
The department said 16 written submissions were received during the public consultation process, with most supporting the proposed reforms. Several changes were incorporated into the final directive.
