Electronic Communications Act, 2005 (Act No. 36 of 2005)RegulationsNumbering Plan Amendment Regulations, 20207. Withdrawing numbers |
| (1) | Numbers that have status ‘released’, ‘allocated’ or ‘reserved’ may be withdrawn by the Authority only if— |
| (a) | the numbers have been used in ways contrary to their usage conditions; or |
| (b) | the numbers or part thereof have not been assigned one (1) year after being allocated; and |
| (c) | the reservation period has expired and the licensee has not requested for an allocation of the same numbers. |
| (2) | When withdrawing numbers, the Authority shall give due regard to the following factors— |
| (a) | the need to avoid inconvenience and disproportionate cost effects vis-à-vis the benefits of the withdrawal; |
| (b) | the requirement to ensure non-discrimination between licensees; and |
| (c) | maintenance of consumer protection in relation to a consumer’ right to beneficial use of numbers. |
| (3) | Any withdrawal of numbers shall be subject to— |
| (a) | notification and consultation with the affected licensee(s) about the intended withdrawal at least 6 months before the withdrawal; and |
| (b) | publication of a notice in the Government Gazette about the withdrawal. |
| (4) | In the case where the Authority notifies a licensee in writing about the withdrawal of the numbers that are released or that are allocated to the licensee, the licensee must— |
| (a) | refrain from assigning any of the numbers that are not already assigned; |
| (b) | inform all persons to whom the numbers are already assigned about any replacements for the numbers— |
| (i) | at least 6 months before the withdrawal if it affects numbers for business subscribers; and |
| (ii) | at least 6 months before the withdrawal if it affects numbers for residential subscribers. |
| (c) | introduce a period of 3 months parallel running, during which both those numbers and any migration to new numbers can be used; and |
| (d) | supply audible or visible indications about any replacements for the numbers until the Authority withdraws the numbers. |
| (5) | Numbers have status ‘protected’ immediately after the Authority withdraws them. |
| (6) | The withdrawal of numbers does not necessarily require the withdrawal of all the numbers that were allocated or reserved at the same time. |