Electronic Communications Act, 2005 (Act No. 36 of 2005)RegulationsNumbering Plan Amendment Regulations, 2020Reasons Document1. Background |
| 1.1 | The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa ("ICASA") published the Numbering Plan Regulations ("the Regulations"), GG 35737 of 2012, in terms of sections 4(4) and 68 of the Electronic Communications Act, 2005 (Act 36 of 2005), as amended. |
| 1.2 | The 2012 Regulations made provisions for the implementation of a Toll-Free Framework (TFF), Machine Related Services (MRS) and Premium Rated Services (PRS) migrations within 2 years after the Regulations came into force. Effectively 02 October 2014 was the implementation date of all 3 provisions. |
| 1.3 | In anticipation of the implementation date, the Authority published a notice, GG 36722 of 2013 on 1 August 2013 inviting written proposal towards the development of a supporting implementation framework for toll-free services (080 numbering range). The initial deadline for written submissions was on 09 September 2013 but due to requests for an extension, the deadline was extended to 18 September 2013 as published in a notice, GG 36821 of 2013. The Authority received 8 submissions from the following stakeholders: |
| 1.3.1 | Cell C (Pty) Ltd 'Cell C'; |
| 1.3.2 | Numbering Plan Implementation Stakeholders Forum 'Industry Forum'; |
| 1.3.3 | Internet Solutions 'IS'; |
| 1.3.4 | Neotel (Pty) Ltd 'Neotel'; |
| 1.3.5 | Reunert Limited 'Reunert'; |
| 1.3.6 | Switch Telecom (Pty) Ltd 'Switchtel'; |
| 1.3.7 | Telkom SA SOC Limited 'Telkom'; and |
| 1.3.8 | Vodacom (Pty) Ltd 'Vodacom'. |
| 1.4 | In order to ensure a smooth MRS process and compliance, on 13 June 2014 the Authority requested licensees to submit their migration plans. The Authority received responses from the following licensees: |
| 1.4.1 | Cell C |
| 1.4.2 | Mobile Telephone Networks (Pty) Ltd 'MTN' |
| 1.4.3 | Neotel |
| 1.4.4 | Telkom |
| 1.4.5 | Vodacom |
| 1.5 | The Authority also attended Industry Forum meetings where the implementation of TFF, MRS and PRS frameworks was discussed. From these discussions, it became evident that the 02 October 2014 deadline would not be met and as a result the Industry Forum and some licensees requested an extension. The Authority considered the requests and extended the implementation deadline for TFF and PRS to 31 July 2015 and MRS to 31 December 2015 as published in a notice (GG 38065 of 2014). |
| 1.6 | In December 2014, the Authority held meetings with affected licensees and 3rd parties affected by MRS migration, this was in response to their requests for the exclusion of bulk SMS/MMS from the migration process. It became evident during these engagements that the 2012 Regulations will have to be amended to incorporate the TFF for enforceability. |
| 1.7 | On 26 June 2015, the Authority published amended draft Numbering Plan Regulations, GG 38908 ("draft Regulations") for public comments. The main objective for the amendment was the incorporation of the Toll-free framework to ensure enforceability and to release an additional 40 million numbers to cater for the growing demand of mobile services. The due date for written representations was 07 August 2015 and the Authority received 7 submissions from the following stakeholders: |
| 1.7.1 | Cell C; |
| 1.7.2 | Internet Service Licensees' Association 'ISPA'; |
| 1.7.3 | Mobile Telephone Networks (Pty) Ltd 'MTN'; |
| 1.7.4 | Neotel; |
| 1.7.5 | Switchtel; |
| 1.7.6 | Telkom; and |
| 1.7.7 | Vodacom. |
| 1.8 | On 21 August 2015, the Authority published a notice (GG 39125 of 2015) postponing the implementation timelines for the 3 frameworks until the finalisation of the draft Regulations of 2015. On the other hand the Authority was still considering the requests made by licensees affected by MRS migration for the exclusion of bulk SMS/MMS from the migration process. |
| 1.9 | The Authority eventually acceded to the requests for the exclusion of bulk SMS/MMS from the migration process and on 13 November 2015 published an Erratum (GG 39404) to the draft Regulations for further public comments. The Erratum addressed the Authority's intention to exclude bulk SMS/MMS from the migration as well as supportive text for the implementation of short code strategy. The due date for written representations was 03 December 2015 and the Authority received 5 submissions from the following stakeholders: |
| 1.9.1 | Cell C; |
| 1.9.2 | Neotel; |
| 1.9.3 | Telkom; |
| 1.9.4 | Vodacom; and |
| 1.9.5 | Wireless Application Service Licensees' Association 'WASPA'. |
| 1.10 | In their written submissions on both the draft Regulations and the Erratum, all stakeholders indicated their willingness to engage further with the Authority before finalisation of the Regulations. To that extent, the Authority scheduled one on one meetings with stakeholders on 09 February 2016. |
| 1.11 | In the meetings, the Authority requested stakeholders to respond to the proposed timelines for implementation of TFF, Short code strategy, PRS and MRS migration. Furthermore stakeholders were requested to express their views on ISPA' submission to the TFF proposal. The responses were due on 16 February 2016 and the Authority received 3 submission from the following stakeholders: |
| 1.11.1 | Cell C; |
| 1.11.2 | ISPA; and |
| 1.11.3 | Vodacom. |
| 1.12 | In finalising the Regulations, the Authority has taken into consideration inputs from all the above consultation processes. |
| 1.13 | The reasons document is intended to highlight matters raised during the consultation processes and to outline related decisions taken by the Authority, especially in instances where stakeholders sought clarity or raised objections. |