Telecommunications

In 2023 the Competition Commission blocked a proposed deal in which Vodacom would buy a stake in Maziv, a holding company with two fibre units.

The two companies behind the proposed merger, which had previously won approval from the country’s telecommunications regulator, intend taking the matter to the Competition Tribunal on appeal. The Commission argues that 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) and fibre compete in the same market and that the link-up would reduce that competition to the detriment of the consumer.

One of the fibre units within Maziv, Vumatel, announced in March 2023 that it had reached the milestone of having connected twomillion South African homes to the Internet while Dark Fibre Africa, which is a provider of open-access connectivity infrastructure, is also the national leader in its field. Maziv is part of Community Investment Ventures Holdings (CIVH), which is the telecom infrastructure division of the Remgro Group.

Vodacom and MTN are the two biggest providers of mobile phone services in South Africa, with more than 70% of the market between them. Telkom and Cell C are the other two major operators.

The SA Connect project, intended to connect 5.8-million sites across South Africa to high-speed Internet by 2026, received an additional R3-billion in 2023 from National Treasury. The Department of Communications and Digital Technologies, the implementing entity, wants to see remote rural areas having better access to technology.

As of 2021, National Treasury has appointed four companies as service providers to government, through its new mobile communication services contract, known as RT15-2021. The contract covers all entities of the state and is expected to allow for significant cost saving through better controls.

The contract, which was previously held by Vodacom, is now shared between Cell C, MTN, Telkom and Vodacom. The transversal contract is for uncapped data for different categories of employees and includes mobile devices for packages from all service providers. Nearly 450 organs of state participated in the previous contract.

Online Resources

Department of Communications and Digital Technologies: www.dcdt.gov.za

Independent Communications Authority of South Africa: www.icasa.org.za

State Information Technology Agency: www.sita.co.za Wireless Access Providers Association: wapa.org.za

Sector Insight

The national broadband project has received additional funding.

This included 38 national departments, 99 provincial departments, 106 local government departments and 207 other state institutions.

The National Department of Communications is responsible for the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA), the regulator of communications, broadcasting and postal services, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) and three other agencies.

The Wireless Access Providers Association (WAPA) has a large and growing membership. WAPA is a nonprofit which aims to be a liaison between wireless Internet service providers (WISPs), ICASA, network operators, service providers and consumers. It offers information to members on regulations and technical training and lobbies on behalf of the sector. ■