Universal Access and Service Interventions in South Africa: Best Practice, Poor Impact

Charley Lewis Charley Lewis

doi:10.23962/10539/19279

Abstract

Post-apartheid South Africa placed universal access and service at the forefront of its communications policy and regulatory interventions from 1996. It followed global best practice by imposing universal service obligations on licensees by establishing a universal service fund and a dedicated universal access regulatory body, as well as awarding targeted operator licences in areas of low teledensity. The effectiveness of these interventions is open to question, with fixedline teledensity falling and prepaid customers in the mobile sector now accounting for the overwhelming majority of telephony users nationwide. Starting with an overview of South Africa’s universal access and service imperative, this paper assesses the value and effectiveness of these universal access and service interventions. It shows how the burgeoning access to mobile has little to do with the impact of these interventions. Finally, the implications of this for universal access and service policy and regulation, and for its implementation, are considered.

Highlights

Telecommunications reform in South Africa was accompanied by a strong policy commitment to achieving universal access and service (UAS)
In the policy guideline on telecommunications, the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) emphasises the racial distortions to access under apartheid: For black people it is estimated that less than 1 line per 100 persons is in place compared with about 60 lines per 100 white persons
This recognition of a deeply racialised communications divide finds further expression in the objectives of the White Paper on Telecommunications which emerged from the post-1994 telecoms reform process: “Our particular goal is to balance the provision of basic universal service in telecommunications to disadvantaged rural and urban communities with the delivery of advanced information services capable of meeting the needs of a growing South African economy” (RSA, 1996a, p. 1)

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Telecommunications reform in South Africa was accompanied by a strong policy commitment to achieving universal access and service (UAS) This resulted in a number of specific interventions designed to extend access to telecommunications services, largely informed by global best practice (Blackman & Srivastava, 2011; infoDev, 2009; Intven, 2000; ITU, 1998; SADC, 2011). A critical assessment of South Africa’s UAS policy and practice in relation to global best practice, in order to identify impacts and to account for shortcomings, is necessary The lessons from such an analysis will be of value for developing countries still designing and implementing UAS interventions for telephony and Internet services, and for those contemplating UAS interventions in relation to national broadband plans. An assessment of each of these UAS interventions is undertaken leading to a conclusion

BACKGROUND

CONCLUSION

Findings

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