Communications Minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri on Thursday announced a number of policy interventions to speed up growth in the information communications technology sector, remove constraints, and reduce costs.
Briefing the media at Parliament, she said from February 1 next year cellphone operators would be able to use any fixed lines they might need to provide services, including fixed lines made available by Telkom or anyone else providing a public switched telecommunications service.
Currently, cell operators are not allowed to provide their own fixed lines or acquire them from any provider other than Telkom or a public switched telecommunications service provider.
This caused cell operators to be totally dependent on what Telkom charged, contributing to the prevailing high costs.
Also from February 1, private telecommunications network operators would be able to sell, cede, sublet, or relinquish control of spare capacity and facilities.
Matsepe-Casaburri said there were many entities with private telecommunications facilities. Currently, such facilities could not be sold or sublet and were therefore under-utilised.
Allowing these facilities to be resold would provide optimal use of the total telecommunications infrastructure, and increase access to communications and consumers.
Among other things, a number of restrictions on voice by value added service providers and value added network services would also be lifted.
From January 18 next year, public schools and public further education and training institutions would get a 50% discount on calls to an internet service provider.
The discount would also apply to any connection or similar fees levied by an internet service provider for accessing the internet or sending and receiving iternet signals, she said. – Sapa