The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) has taken its next step in pursuing a priority markets review to identify markets for a regulatory review that could lead to lower communications costs.
Icasa on Thursday embarked on public hearings on the discussion document on priority markets published in February, which identified a list of markets that could be impacting competition and the high costs to communicate in South Africa.
Icasa Priority Markets Council Committee chairperson Councillor Botlenyana Mokhele said that the findings of its priority markets review, which will list markets prone to ex-ante regulation and the priority markets set to be subject to market review processes, is scheduled for publication before July 31.
The preliminary view found that the wholesale fixed-access, the upstream infrastructure and the wholesale mobile services markets should be prioritised for market reviews.
The wholesale market incorporated fixed-access services and wholesale supply of asymmetric broadband origination, while the upstream infrastructure market included national transmission and metropolitan connectivity and the wholesale mobile services incorporated mobile RAN services and wholesale supply of mobile network services.
Following the public hearings and the written comments process, the authority is expected to publish, by July 31, the findings document with a list of markets that will be subject to market reviews and possible regulatory intervention.