Electronic Communications Act, 2005 (Act No. 36 of 2005)RegulationsNumbering Plan Amendment Regulations, 2020Reasons Document, 20203. Authority's Reasons |
| 3.1. | In consideration of all the above, the Authority has resolved as follows: |
| (a) | The Authority, has through the provisions of section 4(3)(i) of the ICASA Act, resolved to resolved to implement the mandating of the short code “116” for Child Helpline service; |
| (b) | Mandating the short code “116” will not have any adverse effects on the National Numbering Plan and resources available within the short code framework; |
| (c) | The Authority shall assign the short code “116” to Child Line SA through its elected network provider. |
| (d) | The Authority has resolved to have a single number for Child Helpline services and thus the short code “116” shall be the exclusive number for the provision of Child Helpline services. This is to avoid confusion amongst users and duplication of numbering resources; |
| (e) | The Authority reviewed the intention of its draft Notice regarding implementation timeline for the short code. As such, the Regulations will come into force three (3) months after the date of publication in which the short code “116” will be provisioned for Child Help Line service. |
| (f) | Nine (9) months after the publication of the Regulations, the short code “116” will be the exclusive number for Child Helpline service. The nine months are as a result of the 3 months implementation of the Regulations as well as the 6 months parallel provision of both the short code “116” and the current 080 number utilized for Child Helpline services. |
| (g) | The awareness campaign shall be led by the respective assignee in collaboration with the Ministry of Communication and Digital Technology as well as the Authority. |