Ready for market inquiry into data costs

IT’S ALL SYSTEMS go for the market inquiry into data services after the Competition Commission published the terms of reference of the probe in the Government Gazette on Friday. Parliament heard last year during public hearings that South Africa’s data costs are among the highest in the world. The public hearings were necessitated by public and social media outrage against network providers under the #DataMustFall hashtag. The commission then initiated the inquiry after a request by the Minister of Economic Development, Ebrahim Patel, who in May also expressed concerns over the high cost of data and highlighted the importance of data affordability. At the time, Patel said he would request the Competition Commission to conduct a market inquiry into this sector, and “to work with other regulators to establish the facts, identify measures to reduce data costs and make recommendations to the government”. The commission said it believes that there were features in this market that prevent, distort or restrict competition within the sector. Through the inquiry, the commission said it aims to determine what may cause or lead to high data prices with a view to ultimately making recommendations that would result in lower prices for data services. The publication of the terms of reference officially sets off the process for the inquiry into the sector to begin. The commission will call for submissions after 20 business days. – ANA