PBICT Submits Comprehensive Proposals on the Electronic Communications Amendment Bill 2026

PBICT Submits Comprehensive Proposals on the Electronic Communications Amendment Bill

By Luvo Grey – Secretary General of PBICT

21 September 2026

Progressive Blacks in ICT (PBICT) has formally submitted its written input on the Electronic Communications Amendment Bill [B12–2026] to Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies, advancing a detailed set of proposals focused on competition, transformation, spectrum access, infrastructure ownership and the meaningful participation of Black-owned ICT enterprises in South Africa’s digital economy. The submission was lodged on 21 September 2026. 

The Bill represents a significant proposed reform of South Africa’s electronic communications framework. It addresses rapid deployment and municipal wayleaves, the proposed “use it or share it” approach to spectrum, national roaming and MVNO access, facilities leasing, wholesale pricing and strengthened competition regulation. 

PBICT supports the broad direction of these reforms, but its submission argues that competition reform must be accompanied by measurable economic transformation. The organisation’s central proposition is that opening markets to additional services or resellers will not, by itself, alter the underlying distribution of spectrum, infrastructure, capital and decision-making power in the sector. 

The submission therefore proposes what PBICT describes as a “competition-plus-transformation settlement”: a regulatory framework that considers not only whether new firms can enter telecommunications markets, but also who owns the networks, spectrum and productive assets on which participation ultimately depends. 

Submission informed by PBICT members and industry participants

Importantly, the submission was developed through consultation with PBICT members and stakeholders.

Fourteen structured responses were received from participants across KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga, Free State, Gauteng and Northern Cape, together with a national organisation response. Respondents included Black-owned ICT SMMEs, licensees, ISPs, infrastructure providers, telecommunications operators, community-network participants and technology professionals. 

The results demonstrate considerable support for reform, but also strong demand for the legislation to go further. Twelve of the fourteen respondents supported the Bill outright or with amendments. All fourteen supported making the proposed preference for SMMEs and community networks mandatory, either directly or with defined eligibility criteria. Thirteen supported roaming and MVNO access, while nine considered the proposed competition powers of ICASA only partially sufficient. 

The submission is explicit that this consultation is not presented as a statistically representative survey of the entire ICT industry. Rather, it provides evidence of recurring operational barriers experienced by constituencies seeking greater participation in network ownership and wholesale telecommunications markets. 

From access to ownership

One of the submission's central themes is that South Africa should move beyond an “access is enough” approach to telecommunications transformation.

PBICT argues for a ladder of productive participation through which emerging firms can progress from resellers to service providers, from service providers to infrastructure operators, and ultimately towards ownership of spectrum-dependent and core network assets. 

This distinction is particularly important in township and rural markets, where smaller businesses frequently face higher infrastructure and backhaul costs, lower population density and weaker household purchasing power, despite often possessing the local knowledge and relationships required to serve these communities effectively. 

“Use it or share it” must meaningfully benefit SMMEs

PBICT strongly supports the principle that scarce spectrum should not remain unused where communities require connectivity and capable operators are available to deploy it.

However, the organisation proposes strengthening the Bill's wording. In particular, it recommends replacing the proposed formulation that ICASA “should prefer” community networks and SMMEs with “must prefer”, accompanied by transparent criteria applicable to qualifying Black-owned SMMEs. 

PBICT also proposes reconsidering the proposed 12-month spectrum fee relief period. Its submission recommends a minimum 36-month exemption followed by a graduated tariff sensitive to turnover and geography, arguing that smaller operators require sufficient time to recover expenditure on equipment, backhaul and customer acquisition. 

Roaming, MVNOs and wholesale access

The submission supports mandatory roaming and MVNO access, but argues that formal access alone will be ineffective if commercial conditions make market entry practically impossible.

Among the proposed safeguards are published reference offers, cost-oriented wholesale pricing, protection against margin squeeze, proportionate security and credit requirements, measurable service standards and controls on minimum-volume or minimum-spend commitments that could become barriers to entry. 

PBICT also questions reliance solely on a 90% population-coverage threshold for determining roaming and MVNO obligations. The submission proposes that significant market power and control of indispensable network inputs should also be capable of triggering regulatory obligations. 

Transformation must become measurable

A major proposal is the creation of a more explicit statutory transformation framework.

PBICT proposes measurable requirements addressing effective Black ownership and voting rights, Black women ownership, management control, procurement from Black-owned ICT enterprises, enterprise and supplier development, skills and technology transfer, local innovation, and rural and township network deployment. 

The organisation's submitted policy position is that effective Black ownership should reach at least 51% for new individual ECS and ECNS licensing opportunities and entities receiving specified scarce rights or regulatory benefits, subject to constitutionally sound transitional arrangements and alignment with the B-BBEE framework and ICT Sector Code. 

PBICT further proposes annual reporting that would allow Parliament and the public to track ownership, control, procurement, spectrum holdings, licences, infrastructure access, roaming and MVNO agreements and other market outcomes. 

Satellite and LEO operators

The submission also addresses the growing role of global satellite and low-earth-orbit operators.

PBICT supports their participation where they comply with South African law and contribute to national development, while arguing that technological differences should not create an exemption from public-interest and transformation objectives. Proposed mechanisms include meaningful partnerships with Black-owned licensees and SMMEs, local procurement, skills and technology transfer, ground infrastructure where appropriate, and rural and township connectivity commitments. 

ICASA must have the capacity to enforce the law

PBICT cautions that expanded regulatory powers will have limited effect without the institutional capacity to exercise them.

The submission therefore calls for an implementation plan, ring-fenced funding, specialist technical and economic capacity, stronger monitoring systems, enforceable regulatory deadlines and regular reporting to Parliament. It notes that nine of the fourteen consultation respondents regarded ICASA's proposed powers as only partially sufficient. 

The next phase: oral presentation before Parliament

The written submission is not intended to be the end of PBICT's participation in the legislative process.

PBICT has indicated its intention to make an oral presentation to Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies, where the organisation intends to place the experiences and proposals of Black ICT professionals, entrepreneurs, SMMEs and network operators directly before lawmakers.

Parliament's public-participation process expressly invited organisations making written submissions to indicate whether they wished to make an oral presentation to the Committee. The written-submission deadline was extended to 16:00 on 21 September 2026. 

For PBICT, the legislative process presents an opportunity to examine how South Africa's electronic communications framework can simultaneously promote competition, infrastructure investment, universal connectivity and transformation.

As the submission puts it, the policy question is not simply whether new entrants can obtain access to existing infrastructure. It is whether the regulatory framework can create a credible path “from access to ownership, from resale to network operation, and from nominal inclusion to productive control.”