The pricing of Data connectivity in South Africa will be massively reduced, this with the licensing of spectrum, says ICASA CEO Willington Ngwepe.
The comments by Ngwepe come after President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday announced that the regulator is now preparing to licence available high demand spectrum, following a Cabinet decision last month to open access and licensing to the industry.
Ngwepe says ICASA is already working to fast track this process to ensure that the rollout is efficiently managed.
The release of this spectrum, ~will be dependent of subsequent regulator.
It will allow for mobile network coverage to be wider, providing universal coverage. This will make it possible for areas in rural parts of the country to have access to connectivity.
In a statement last month, Communications Minister Nomvula Mokonyane said the decision by cabinet will help to achieve the national policy obligations, cut the cost of communication, remove the entry barriers for small and medium companies and sustain the current investments.
Ngwepe notes that because spectrum is one of the biggest input costs for the ICT sector, the regulation body hopes that through the release of the major operations can now drop their prices.
“This announcement can make way for the major service providers to drop prices from a regulatory perspective. It would cost service providers less to provide services than it is currently costing.”
This directive given to ICASA to manage the licensing process has become top of the list for the regulator. Off the back of major protest by the public on #DataMustFall campaign, ICASA now looks to ensure that the rollout is managed efficiently.
Ngwepe highlights one of the major request from the process, saying the release of the spectrum should allow new players into the service providers field.
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