South Africa's communications minister, Solly Malatsi, has asked the regulator Icasa to rewrite the country's 16-year-old rules on how operators share infrastructure, TechCentral reported on 22 October. The policy direction, signed on 19 October and published in the Government Gazette, also sets out principles for long-delayed rapid deployment regulations for broadband.
The aim, Malatsi said, is "reducing the cost of broadband communication" by removing "cumbersome and fragmented administrative compliances" that slow building.
What Icasa is told to do
- Review the Facilities Leasing Regulations of 2010, which govern how operators rent towers, ducts and other infrastructure from one another
- Prescribe a list of "essential facilities" and consider setting wholesale rates
- Shorten the time it takes to negotiate and implement leasing deals, and file all agreements with the regulator
- Discourage unnecessary duplicate networks where big operators can give access to existing ones
- Build a central map of the country's networks as a priority, with licensees updating their data at least once a year
The pause in the fine print
The direction creates a process for declaring disputes between operators, or between operators and landowners. A dispute must be declared at least 14 days before work that needs access to land begins, and the operator "may not continue to deploy broadband infrastructure while awaiting the resolution of the dispute", though Icasa should consider an urgent interim procedure. Landowners cannot be forced into the process. The ministry's statement mentioned the voluntary process for landowners but not the pause on deployment, TechCentral noted.
Operators have pushed back on parts of this before. When Icasa proposed in April that they submit detailed data on fibre routes, ducts and base stations twice a year, Telkom warned the data could be misused if exposed. At hearings in July, operators said they wait six to 12 months for permits in some metros. The direction sets no deadlines for municipalities.
Icasa must report its progress to the minister every year, with the first report due within 12 months, and plans to publish final rapid deployment regulations in the 2026/27 financial year.
