STAATSKOERANT, 24 JANUARIE 2014
No. 37261
Governments, including ministries and cabinets, develop telecommunications and
ICT policies and implement them through laws, fiscal measures and government
programs.
Regulators implement the policies and laws, acting in an objective professional and
transparent manner, independent of the interests of any specific service provider.
Network operators and service providers (which are generally non-government
companies) build and operate networks and provide services within the policy and
regulatory framework.
12.3.3 Funding of ICASA
Funding ICASA has become a serious discussion point since the enactment of the Electronic
Communications Act of 2005. This Act mandated ICASA to put in place a number of procompetition measures, including the identification of markets and developing pro-competition
strategies and interventions.
The discussion on technological trends indicate the need for a stronger regulator to manage
the convergence of communications and other technological developments that could
increasingly bring about uncertainty in the sector.
The Draft Broadband Policy identifies a strong and capable regulator as a necessity in order
to ensure interconnection and the regulation of the open access environment that the policy
seeks to put in place.
The coming together of markets that were historically separate, the emergence of the
internet as a dominant medium of communications, and the new innovative applications and
services will require a strong, transformed and effective regulator to ensure:
a)
There is a level playing field between unequal entities using different technological
b)
c)
d)
platforms;
Technological neutrality and net neutrality;
Fair and equal treatment of new entrants and the opening up of the market; and
Effective consumer protection.
Research by the Department of Communications in 2012 concluded that there is a need for
the sources of funding to be diversified in order for ICASA to have funding certainty and
taking into consideration other burdens on the national fiscus. This study reported that,
internationally, there are three broad approaches to funding of similar regulatory bodies:
1.
Formal allocation in the government budget.
2.
Reliance on market sources of funding (through collection of fees), but still
dependent on government to approve budgets. The government approves the
amounts allocated to the regulator each year and this is either retained by the
regulator from fees collected or allocated to it from a "kitty" made up of funds
3.
collected by the regulator.
Self-funding and control of funding - in this instance, the regulator keeps all fees and
revenues earned in the execution of its duties and independently determine its own
budget.
However, most regulators use a hybrid of one or more models depending on the prevailing
financial management legislation in the country as well as the founding legislation of the
particular regulator. According to the ITU's World Telecommunication Regulatory Database
2005, of the 119 countries that provided information on the breakdown of their regulatory
authority's financing sources, 66% indicate that they rely on a combination of sources for
their funding whilst only 33% rely on a single source of funding.
91
This gazette is also available free online at www.gpwonline.co.za
95