Deadline looms on networks’ data-free duty

Five of the country’s largest telecoms companies have only months left to deliver on a public-benefit condition attached to spectrum acquired through South Africa’s R14.48-billion auction.

By 15 January 2027, Liquid Intelligent Technologies, MTN, Rain, Telkom and Vodacom must implement a requirement to make qualifying public-benefit content accessible without mobile data charges.

What happens if they do not is less clearly defined.

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) set the deadline and application process, but its May 2024 notice does not specify an automatic penalty for failing to meet the implementation date.

That does not leave the obligation without regulatory consequences. ICASA’s Complaints and Compliance Committee can investigate alleged breaches of licence conditions and recommend remedial action, fines, or the amendment or revocation of a licence.

The question is becoming more pressing as the deadline nears.

The DG Murray Trust (DGMT), which has campaigned for wider zero-rating of public-benefit content, says only 15 organisations have been zero-rated across what it describes as the major operators. Rain has separately zero-rated at least two dozen organisations.

Thousands could potentially qualify, according to DGMT.

“We are deeply concerned that with the deadline just months away, we’ve had no meaningful communication from most mobile network operators, or from ICASA, about how zero-rating will be implemented, regulated and enforced,” says DGMT innovation director Busisiwe Kabane-Bailey.

The obligation requires licensees to zero-rate mobile content provided by qualifying public benefit organisations (PBOs), including government websites using the .gov.za domain.

Zero-rating means access to specified online content does not count against a user’s mobile data allocation.

DGMT argues that the requirement should not be treated as a voluntary corporate social responsibility initiative. The organisation says the expected revenue that operators would forgo through zero-rating was factored into the prices bid for spectrum.

A condition attached to spectrum

Six companies submitted winning bids totalling R14.48-billion in ICASA’s high-demand spectrum auction in 2022. Five ultimately retained auction spectrum. Vodacom committed R5.38-billion and MTN R5.15-billion.

The auction gave operators access to scarce radio frequencies, but the licences came with social obligations. Zero-rating was one of them.

The condition itself predates the auction. ICASA included it in its December 2021 Invitation to Apply for spectrum in the 700MHz, 800MHz, 2,600MHz and 3,500MHz bands.

Other obligations included connecting public schools, government clinics and hospitals, unconnected police stations and traditional authority offices.

ICASA subsequently amended the licences and in May 2024 published the process through which organisations could apply to have content zero-rated.

Who qualifies for free access?

PBOs and government departments with .gov.za domain names must apply to ICASA for assessment.

PBO applicants need proof of registration with the South African Revenue Service, along with organisational and website information. They must also provide a motivation of no more than 300 words explaining their dedication to providing social goods and services.

Not every part of a qualifying website can simply become data-free.

Services for commercial gain are excluded, as are embedded content and embedded links. Content must be hosted in South Africa, while rich media such as video and streaming should be limited to a maximum quality of 480 pixels.

Users are also subject to fair-use limits of 300MB a day and 2GB a month.

Networks may block individual users or domains where those limits are exceeded, a security threat is detected, or exploitative tunnelling or other illegitimate use is suspected.

Once the implementation period ends, an approved website must be activated for zero-rating within 14 working days after a licensee is notified.

ICASA will conduct annual audits to confirm that listed organisations continue to meet the requirements.

Networks already know how

Zero-rating is not new to South Africa’s operators.

Vodacom’s ConnectU platform already provides free access to selected online resources. Its zero-rated employment sites include JobJack, Careers24, PNet and CareerJunction.

Vodacom also accepts applications to zero-rate websites for schools, universities, technical and vocational education and training colleges, hospitals and clinics.

MTN’s Open Time terms similarly describe zero-rated websites covering job placement, education, health and government services.

Networks were also required to make certain educational and health websites data-free under the Covid-19 disaster regulations.

ICASA’s current framework requires websites covered under those repealed regulations to apply again through the new process.

For DGMT, that history raises a question about why broader implementation has not happened faster.

“Since going live, the SIR has processed more than 120 applications, demonstrating that much of the infrastructure needed to drive implementation at scale is already in place. What’s missing is engagement,” says Kabane-Bailey.

The SIR is DGMT’s Social Innovation Register, which vets organisations seeking to qualify for zero-rating.

DGMT began testing the concept before the spectrum auction. In a May 2019 submission to the Competition Commission’s Data Services Market Inquiry, it supported formalising and regulating PBO zero-rating to make implementation more consistent across the industry.

By 2023, 19 PBOs had been vetted through the register. That increased to 48 organisations by 2024.

DGMT says more than 120 applications have now been processed.

CEO David Harrison says making public-benefit content data-free can open access to information on education, healthcare, social services and employment for people who cannot afford to spend mobile data accessing it.

The enforcement question

The January deadline turns the issue from one of preparation into one of compliance.

ICASA’s published framework explains what operators must implement and what happens when an organisation is approved. It does not set out a specific automatic sanction that takes effect if a network misses the deadline.

ICASA does, however, have an established mechanism for alleged licence breaches.

A complaint about failure to comply with licence terms can be considered by its Complaints and Compliance Committee. The committee can recommend that ICASA order a licensee to stop a contravention, take remedial action or pay a penalty. It can also recommend amendment or revocation of a licence.

That makes the unanswered issue not whether ICASA has enforcement powers, but how it intends to use them if the zero-rating obligation has not been implemented when 15 January 2027 arrives.

DGMT wants that question answered before then.

“We are calling on operators to use the existing systems to fast-track zero-rating before the deadline expires, and to urgently publish their implementation plans,” says Kabane-Bailey.

The spectrum was allocated more than four years ago. The public-benefit condition attached to it now has four months left before compliance can be measured against a deadline.

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