A cloud of uncertainty hangs over South Africa’s telecommunications industry, as regulations that would force Internet and network infrastructure providers to have 30% black ownership have been left in limbo.
Until the Department of Trade, Industry, and Competition approves this deviation, it is risky for operators to make the necessary changes and deals to comply. What Icasa seemed to fail to recognise was that compliance was low because its licensing regime was in shambles. Many operators who received an I-ECNS licence this way are small businesses or even sole proprietorships for which the HDG ownership requirements were totally unachievable.
Unfortunately, Icasa changed how this works in April 2014, making C-ECS licences issued after that date region-limited like their C-ECNS counterparts.