Regulations regarding certain procedures for ICASA inspectors
ICASA has published final regulations setting out the procedures to be followed where ICASA inspectors are of the view that a licensee is engaged in conduct which is in contravention of the Electronic Communications Act.
ICASA Regulations on certain procedures for ICASA inspectors 2010
This follows the publication of draft regulations in October 2009.
Ellipsis February Regulatory UpdateEllipsis Regulatory Update Feb 2009: feature this month on Carrier Pre-Selection.
Update on VANS licence conversion – 17 November 2008The amazing flip-flop continues.
ICASA has indicated that it has resolved to convert all VANS to ECNS and ECS licences, including the contentious sub-category of VANS issued after 19 July 2006. The Authority has published a proposed framework for converting VANS to ECNS licences which requires all those wishing to participate in the licence conversion process to submit information by 12h00 on Friday 5 December 2008.
ellipsis guide to VANS licence conversion (updated 20081117)
Download ICASA General Notice on Licence Conversion in terms of Section 93 of the ECA 20081114.
ICASA have called for comment on this proposed framework – this is also due by 12h00 on 5 December 2008 (although it makes little sense to require licencees to submit information where the framework dictating the information required has not been finalised).
Policy Direction – Licensing of Broadband InfracoThe Minister of Communications has published a draft Policy Directive in terms of section 3(5) of the Electronic Communications Act relating to the licensing framework of Broadband Infraco (Pty) Ltd.
This document is open for comment until 10 December 2008.
Download the Policy Direction on the licensing framework of Broadband Infraco (Pty) Ltd 20081029
Final Regulations: End-User and Subscriber Service Charter Regulations 2008ICASA has published final regulations relating to section 69 of the Electronic Communications Act (ECA) which requires that licencees have an End-User and Subscriber Service Charter so as to facilitate the protection of the rights of their customers.
Download ICASA’s End-User and Subscriber Service Charter Regulations 2008.
These Regulations are intended to protect consumers but it seems likely that their ability to do so will rest firmly on the ability of consumers to actually enforce the rights which they have been provided with. There are also some difficulties relating to just how realistic the demands on licencees may be …
The following are the central metrics to be observed by licencees:
Availability and reliability of the ECNS and ECS
All licencees must ensuire that the service is available as specified in their licences for 99.9% of their actual coverage area.
Average Time to Install and Activate Service
All ECNS and ECS licencees must attain 100% success rate within fourteen (14) days in meeting end-user and subscriber requests for service, for qualifying end-users and subscribers.
Call Failure Rate including Drop Call Rate:
The percentage of connectivity or call failure rates must not exceed 2% of all connections or calls in a month, for all electronic communications network service licencees.
Operator Response Time to Operator Assisted Calls
The operator response time may not exceed 3 minutes for all operator assisted calls, directory enquiry services, call centres and other non-emergency services.
ECN Monitoring Centre
The licencee must maibntain an Electronic Communications Network Monitoring Centre, operating 24 hours, 7 days a week.
Fault repair services
All electronic communications network licencees must maintain a fault repair rate which must not exceed 5%.
Fault Clearance Rate / Mean Time to Repair Faults
All electronic communications network service licencees must maintain 100% Fault Clearance success rates for all reported end-user fault repairs in urban areas, within three (3) days, and within four (4) days in respect of rural areas.
ICASA has lifted the moratorium placed on the processing of licence applications and will now proceed to process all applications received to date which it has not yet dealt with as well as new applications for class electronic communications service (CECS) and class electronic communications networks service (CECNS) licences.
The full text of the notice:
GENERAL NOTICE
NOTICE 1295 OF 2008
INDEPENDENT COMMUNICATIONS AUTHORITY OF SOUTH AFRICA (ICASA)
NOTICE REGARDING THE LIFTING OF A MORATORIUM IN RESPECT OF NEW LICENCE APPLICATIONS AND REGISTRATIONS, APPLICATIONS FOR LICENCE AMENDMENTS, RENEWAL AND TRANSFERS
1. The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (‘the Authority) hereby gives notice that it has lifted the moratorium on licensing processes imposed in terms of the Notice 1057 published in the Government Gazette 31386 on 29 August 2008.
2. The Authority will proceed to consider all applications lodged before and during the moratorium.
3. The applications will be considered in accordance with the provisions of the Electronic Communications Act, No. 36 of 2005 (“the Act”), the Regulations on Licence Procedures and Processes published on 31 March 2008 in the Notice No. 397 of Government Gazette 30914 of 2008
and any applicable legislation and regulations.
4. The applications, notifications and registrations, where applicable, must be accompanied by the prescribed application fee. Where no application fee has been prescribed, the applicants and licensees will be required to undertake in writing that they will pay the prescribed fee once the Regulations on Licences Fees have been published in the Gazette in terms of section 4 (1) (c) (iv) and (v) of the Act.
PARIS MASHILE CHAIRPERSON
ICASA
Things go from the ridiculous to the utterly insane as the Minister of Communications launches an urgent application against ICASA and Altech Autopage to prevent ICASA from issuing IECNS and IECS licences to Altech.
The gloves are most definitely off.
Download
Minister’s Application – Notice of Motion 20081018
Minister’s Application – Founding Affidavit
We have prepared a guide to the various service licence exemptions created under the ECA and captured in the ICASA Licence Exemption Regulations, 2008. Service licence exemptions apply where an ECS or ECNS provider operates under a set of factual circumstances bringing it within the ambit of one of the regulated exemptions and where operation within the exemption has been registered with ICASA. There are also “network” exemptions under which certain types of network may be operated without an ECNS licence – these include local area networks (LANs and WLANs) as well as networks used primarily for the internal purposes of the network owner.
Download the ellipsis Guide to Service Licence Exemptions under the ECA.
ICASA places moratorium on new licensing proceduresThe obvious reality of the last few months has now become official: ICASA has placed a moratorium on the processing of new licence applications and registrations, applications for licence amendments, renewals & transfers.
Download a copy of General Notice 1057 of 2008 (GG31386, 28 August 2008) General Notice 1057 of 2008 (GG31386, 28 August 2008)
In the Notice ICASA states that, pending the finalisation of the licence conversion process and the Regulations on Licence Fees to be promulgated in terms of section 4 (1) (c) (iv) and (v) of the EC Act, an immediate moratorium has been placed on the above processes.
The moratorium came into effect on 28 August 2008 (ignoring the fact that, to the best of my knowledge, licenses applications and registrations were not being processed in any event). It will be lifted at the appropriate time by the publication of a further notice to this effect in the GG.
The moratorium does not apply in respect of applications for test, trial, temporary, special event and postal licences.
Opinion: This is completely unacceptable and reflects extremely poorly on both ICASA and the Minister of Communications. The growth of the industry is being held hostage to the inability of those charged with regulating it to get their act together.
Was it really in March this year that the Director-General of Communications told the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communications that the licence fee recommendations due from the Ministry could be sent to ICASA “the next day”?
Business unusual as usual?
Note on the implications of the Altech JudgementAlthough the ink on the judgement is barely dry we are all so excited that we have drafted a memorandum which looks at some of the implications of the judgement 
Please have a look ellipsis note on the Altech judgement (updated 20080903)
Please feel free to mail any queries, quibbles or quandaries to dominic@ellipsis.co.za
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