Ministers join in push to force reduction in country’s data costs
MINISTERS in the international co-operation, trade and security cluster are pushing for the reduction of data costs in South Africa.
Posts and Telecommunications Minister Siyabonga Cwele said yesterday they will be meeting the operators in a bid to push down data costs.
In addition, they want to open up the market to small players, to create competition and force a reduction in the prices.
Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa said this was a regional plan, but they want South Africa to implement it immediately.
In the Southern African Development Community moves are already afoot to meet operators to push down the roaming prices.
She said President Jacob Zuma had also made this clear in his State of the Nation Address, and the government was concerned about high data costs.
“President Zuma announced in the Sona that the government and the regulatory institutions would continue to focus on efforts to reduce the cost of communication, including data,” said Molewa.
She said they want to engage with the operators to reduce roaming costs in the southern Africa region as well.
This was reiterated by Cwele, who said that they would meet the regulator to promote the project. Cwele said in East Africa they implemented the roaming home-and-away product, and it did not affect profits. Instead there was an increase in volume in the domestic market.
Cwele said the government was aware that people were concerned about the high costs of data in the country.
Last year they spent R40 million supporting wi-fi programmes in municipalities.
The government has asked the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa to conduct a study on the cost of data.
The study will focus on competition in the market. He said last year the cabinet approved a policy that would allow small and medium enterprises to enter the market.
This would increase competition and force the prices to come down.
“It is only when you have competitive service providers that you will bring the cost of data down,” he said.
Many of the people complained that the cost to communicate was expensive. MPs also wanted data costs to be brought down.