The Communications Regulator (Icasa) has announced new regulations to eliminate the punitive nature of data costs in the country. It says the new regulations reduce the cost of communication without prescribing lower prices for now.
Icasa councillors say consumers are being treated unfairly by network providers by charging them exorbitant out-of- bundle rates, without prior consent, when their data has been depleted. The councillors also argue that consumers lose unused data at the end of the month.
In terms of the new regulations network providers are required to notify users when their data has reached 50%, 80% and 100% depletion levels.
The networks providers are required to allow consumers an option to rollover unused data to the following month. Consumers should be allowed to transfer data to other people who are on the same network.
People should also not be charged out of bundle rates without their prior consent.
The new regulations will be published in the government gazette next week and will come into effect at the beginning of June.
Icasa says thereafter, it will begin the process of examining data prices themselves with the view to bringing them down.
