Around 500 protesters descended on the offices of South African network operator Cell C and the communications regulator on Saturday to protest the cost of airtime.
Right2Know followed up their protest in Cape Town last month, where they targeted Vodacom and MTN, with a march in Sandton Johannesburg, with the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) also feeling their wrath.
Speaking to HumanIPO after the event, Right2Know coordinator for Gauteng Bongani Xezwi said: “It was a great march, but we have not had any response (from Cell C or ICASA).”
An official from Cell C did meet the protesters at their office headquarters to receive a “memorandum”, while no one from ICASA was there because their offices are unoccupied at the weekends.
Xezwi added: “Cell C had arranged for someone to meet us. They are one of the better operators. MTN and Vodacom never responded to us in Cape Town.”
Prior to the protest, ICASA issued a statement which said: “The Authority is still concerned that there has been an insufficient increase in competition over the past few years.
“To this end, the Authority has recently launched the Cost to Communicate Programme which seeks to review related regulations that impact on the cost of communication in South Africa such as the Call Termination Regulations and the Local Loop Unbundling Framework.”
The Right2Know campaign believes every citizen should have the right to free access to a minimum amount of airtime and data because it will help create a more open and democratic society.
