South Africa could see the widespread roll-out of 40Mbit/s internet connections for only R329 a month – if South Africa’s Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) gets their way.
According to the company’s General Manager of markets and competition Pieter Grootes, the Maboneng district in eastern Johannesburg has already rolled out the speeds for the area, and says that it’s a possibility that the rest of SA could do the same.
“This may seem unbelievable, but it exists in the city centre of Johannesburg, in the Maboneng district. If a start-up can do this, why can’t all of us? Our aim is to ensure South Africans have access to proper broadband at proper prices,” Grootes said.
Grootes revealed that ICASA created the Cost-to-Communicate programme so that they can identify areas that are in need of regulatory initiatives, which in turn will lead to better competition in the telecommunications and fixed-line sectors.
“We have the Competition Act and the Electronic Communications Act to guide us, and our primary goal is to lead to fair prices through competition, not through retail price control.”
“We are not aiming to hit somebody, but to identify issues and resolve them so that everyone has a fair chance of making a profit and providing services at a fair price. South Africa is ranked 30th out of 34 African countries. That’s not a position South Africa should hold … based on our economic circumstances,” he concluded.
Charlie Fripp – Consumer Tech editor
