Minister of Communications Solly Malatsi on Thursday published a draft policy directive aimed at reducing the red tape that has long frustrated network operators trying to roll out broadband infrastructure in South Africa.
The draft, published in the Government Gazette, directs communications regulator Icasa to reform the country's decades-old facilities leasing rules and develop faster deployment rules – a move that industry stakeholders have been demanding for years.
It aims to standardize fragmented municipal processes that make it difficult for operators to plan the roll-out of infrastructure. “Each municipality has a different process and charges different fees and there are significant delays in issuing permits,” reads the explanatory note accompanying the directive.
The policy direction is the latest step in the process of a white paper published in 2016 and a national policy on the rapid deployment of electronic communications networks and facilities, adopted in 2023. That national policy is also one of the action lines under Operation VulindelaGovernment's program to accelerate structural economic reforms.
Despite the Electronic Communications Act apparently giving licensees broad rights to access both public and private lands for network deployment, those rights have rarely translated into smooth roll-outs on the ground.
Icasa published its facilities leasing rules in 2010 and, as per policy direction, their impact on network deployment and affordable access has never been formally assessed. The rapid deployment rules, which the ECA obliges Icasa to publish, have not yet come into force.
two fronts
In terms of policy direction, Malatsi has called on Icasa to move forward simultaneously on two fronts:
- On leasing of facilities, the regulator is instructed to review and, if necessary, strengthen existing rules – clarifying who is eligible to use access rights, setting out what constitutes an “essential facility” and on what conditions access should be granted. It aims to strengthen the concept of open access and improve the timelines within which lease requests must be processed.
- On rapid deployment, Malatsi has urged Icasa to develop a new regulatory framework built on a number of principles. Chief among these is discouraging unnecessary duplication of infrastructure – a provision that could have a significant impact on how operators approach network construction, particularly in areas already served by existing redundant infrastructure.
The directive also calls for a centralized Geographic Information System (GIS) database in which licensees will have to provide details of both new and existing infrastructure, including location and type. Icasa is to liaise with the communications department to determine what information will be in the database, who can access it and how it will be secured.
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Various arms of government have attempted to deal with the problem of fragmented municipal bylaws over the years. A standard draft by-law aimed at creating a uniform approach to infrastructure deployment applications was published in February 2023 by the then Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. The idea was to give municipalities a consistent template to follow. However, to date, only a portion of South Africa's more than 250 municipalities have adopted it.
The Competition Commission also discussed the topic as part of a broader mandate to ensure that municipal bylaws support the growth of small businesses through standardization. On telecommunications infrastructure, the Commission said that standardization would ultimately reduce data costs for consumers.
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“This policy direction is about making the roll-out of digital infrastructure simpler, faster and more consistent. In response to calls from the industry about one of the key factors driving up the cost of communications, we aim to eliminate unnecessary red tape and fragmented approval processes that delay connectivity,” Malatsi said. – © 2026 NewsCentral Media
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