Vodacom has confirmed that it will\u00a0actively participate in the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa\u2019s (Icasa) consultation on new data, voice and SMS laws.<\/p>\n
Speaking to Fin24, a Vodacom spokesperson confirmed that the company was\u00a0aware of the draft regulation gazetted by Icasa regarding data expiry periods and out-of-bundle billing and was committed to bringing down data prices.<\/p>\n
However, it noted that the mobile operator has already brought down effective data pricing by 44% over the last three years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThrough the likes of Just4You, which offers customers hourly, daily, weekly and monthly bundles, Vodacom has made significant inroads in recent years in its pricing transformation journey.”<\/p>\n
\u201cWe remain committed to consulting with the regulator in our shared quest to continuously address customer needs and improve the customer experience,” it said.<\/p>\n
On Monday (7 August) government and ICASA took the first big step <\/a><\/strong>in regulating mobile data in South Africa, including a number of new laws that Vodacom, MTN, Cell C and Telkom will have to follow.<\/p>\n The biggest of these will address the controversial issue of data usage and out-of-bundle charges, but the amendments also introduce changes to voice, SMS and education.<\/p>\n Interested parties have 30 days to offer submissions on the new changes before they are officially considered before Parliament and put into law.<\/p>\n
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