The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) is set to begin its investigation into how the cost to communicate in the country can be reduced.
Public hearings will be held on the matter, with the first meeting to be held at the ICASA offices on Friday, with key industry stakeholders invited to take part.
The Cost to Communicate Programme will review regulations that impact the cost to providers and in turn consumers, including Call Termination Regulations and the Local Loop Unbundling Framework.
In a statement on its website, ICASA said the cost of communication was its primary focus and was motivated by recent statements from communications minister Dina Pule.
During her budget vote speech, Pule said she “intends to issue a policy directive on transparent pricing of services such as SMS, Voice and Data to ensure market pricing transparency for the benefit of consumers”.
During the briefing, beginning at 10am on Friday, further details of the programme will be given and seek industry input.
