Almost two years have gone by without any results since Minister of Communications Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri announced in Parliament that disadvantaged South Africans stood in line to get SIM cards and cellphone handsets, which would be supplied free of charge.
In May 2003, the minister told the National Assembly that four million free SIM cards — the number has subsequently risen by one million — would be issued over a period of five years, while the number of free phones issued during this period would be 250 000.
The SIM cards were to be issued by Vodacom and MTN as part of the additional spectrum (1800 MHz) price agreement.
Cell C was allocated the 1800 MHz spectrum with the awarding of its licence in 2001, and was therefore not part of the arrangement.
According to the latest figures from South Africa’s networks, the total number of subscribers has since broken above 22-million. This represents an 83% leap or an additional 10-million from what Matsepe-Casaburri said was the subscriber base at the time.
“In terms of the agreement, MTN will provide two-and-half million SIM cards to groups jointly identified between government and the operators. Operators are currently in discussions with the government about the logistics in terms of implementation,” corporate affairs executive Yvonne Muthien said.
Vodacom, which received its 1800MHz and 3G frequency spectrum licences at the end of 2004, has to submit an implementation plan detailing distribution of SIM cards by April 29 this year.
“Only once the implementation plan is approved by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa will the SIMs be deployed. Currently, Vodacom is consulting with the Department of Communications to ensure that the distribution meets the expectation of the minister,” said the operator’s chief communications officer, Mthobi Tyamzashe.
Matsepe-Casaburri’s position remains unknown as her office failed to respond to I-Net Bridge’s questions. The office also failed to say when it expects the first round of handsets and SIM cards to be distributed, given the fact that the pace at which the mobile base is surging could render the exercise redundant.
“This project has always been reliant on the relevant frequency allocation being made to the operators and the subsequent issuing of the frequency spectrum licences,” Tyamzashe said, adding that the snag is regrettable. — I-Net Bridge