Outrageous and unacceptable

Outrage at license delay caused by minister’s appeal

Communications minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri’s appeal against the August 29 Altech judgement is merely a thinly disguised attempt to protect the incumbent operators from competition.

Even worse, it means that Icasa now has an excuse not to issue the new electronic communication licenses that would finally have levelled the playing field for value added network service (VANS) providers.

This is according to telecoms provider Electronic Communications Networks (ECN).

“This is outrageous and unacceptable,” says John Holdsworth, CEO of ECN, who describes the both the Communications Minister and the Department of Communications (DOC) as being out of touch with the mood of the ICT industry and consumer frustrations in general.

The industry was celebrating the landmark Altech judgment as it removed the regulatory roadblock that had been such a stumbling block to progress for so many years. Even the incumbent operators appeared to initially welcome the ruling.

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