According to a study performed during 2016, South Africa’s data prices were found to be up to 136% more expensive than other BRICS countries. Many consumers are, to say the very least, unhappy with the cost of data in South Africa but with the current laws in place, network providers are to a large extent allowed to determine data prices with little to no regulation. But what can be done to curb data costs?
Legally network providers and by implication mobile data falls under the Electronic Communications Act, 36 of 2005. In terms of Section 4 of the Act, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa may from time to time promulgate regulations in terms of the act to regulate any matter of procedure or form which may be necessary or expedient to prescribe for the purposes of the Act. On 1 April 2016, the regulator did just that and promulgated a set of regulations which amended the End-User and Subscriber Service Charter Regulations and started to show some baby teeth.
In terms of the amended regulations, the first glimpse of proper regulation of data in South Africa made its appearance in the form of extensive transparency obligations on licensees to ensure that consumers are well informed with regards to the rules applicable to their service (data) consumption. Since promulgation of these regulations network providers now had to inform consumers of inter alia the in and out-of-bundle rates as well as the rules relating to the carry-over of unused data, prior to concluding the agreement or at the point of sale. Another interesting inclusion in the regulations are that Network Providers may not disconnect the services of a consumer who has disputed a data bill, provided that the consumer continues to pay the subscription amount.
From the aforesaid paragraph it is clear that ICASA is starting to implement regulations with the aim of protecting and shielding consumers against those enormous data bills one comes to hear of every now and again. By implementing these regulations, ICASA is effectively strengthening the rights consumers have in terms of the Consumer Protection Act whilst at the same time sending a clear message to network providers that their days of free reign are counted.
Further to the aforesaid regulations, ICASA have also launched an extensive investigation into which priority markets in the industry, including data markets, require regulatory intervention. This investigation has not yet been completed and is still underway, however this is a crucial step in heeding the calls of ordinary consumers to bring down data costs and align same with international trends.
Network providers on the other hand contend that they are doing their part to reduce the cost of data but despite their best efforts, ordinary South Africans are still paying fairly high data charges compared to the rest of the globe.
In conclusion, we would advise consumers to closely scrutinize their monthly bills and to report any suspicious transaction or charge to the network provider immediately. We would further advise consumers not to stop paying their subscriptions pending the resolution of the dispute but to continue with business as normal until the dispute has been resolved. Lastly if all internal avenues have been exhausted and the dispute could still not be resolved, it might be time to escalate the dispute to the regulatory body.