Social regulations in South Africa : a case study of the independent communication authority of South Africa (ICASA)

Abstract

Social regulation, as applied specifically to the telecommunications sector, is a new phenomenon in most countries. It was only in the 1960s, with the establishment of regulatory agencies, that social regulation became important. The regulators are mandated by their country’s legislative and regulatory frameworks to meet social objectives. This study examined the extent to which ICASA protects consumers as it is mandated to do by the Electronic Communications Act 36 of 2005. The study found that ICASA has adopted mechanisms of protecting consumers, namely by conducting awareness campaigns, road shows and workshops in all the nine provinces of South Africa in order to educate and inform consumers about the procedures of lodging complaints and to make them aware of their rights. However, despite ICASA’s endeavours to ensure consumer protection, most consumers are neither aware of their rights and how to efficiently exercise them nor the procedures of lodging complaints. ICASA protects consumers to a reasonable extent but it can do more when the enduser and subscriber service charter regulations are finalised.