BOKAMOSO CONCORTIUM TRADING AS B-Tel(PTY)LTD SUBMISSION ON THE CONVERGENCE BILL [B9-2005]

  1. INTRODUCTION
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    1. B-Tel(Pty) Limited ("B-Tel") welcomes the opportunity to participate in the process of enacting legislation regulating convergence, thus its submitting comments on the Convergence Bill [B9- 2005] as issued by the Minister of Communications ("the Minister") and published in Government Gazette No. 27294 dated the 16th February 2005 ("the Convergence Bill").

    2. B-Tel is a licensee that was granted an Under Serviced Area License after the Minister’s publishing of an Invitation to Apply ("ITA") in terms of section 34 (2) of the Telecommunications Act, No. 103 of 1996 ("the Telecommunications Act"). The ITA was for applicants, mainly small business operators commonly known as Small Medium and Micro Enterprises, to provide services in the under serviced areas. Following the licensing process in terms of section 40 A (2) of the Telecommunications Act, B-Tel was then granted an USAL.

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    3. B-Tel wishes to state its desire to, and would welcome the opportunity to participate in any public hearings that the Portfolio Committee on Communications ("the Portfolio Committee") may hold and respectfully requests that the Portfolio Committee allocate some time for B-Tel to make oral representations to the Portfolio Committee as and when the hearings are held.

    4. Due to the limited time that had been afforded the public to submit comments on the Convergence Bill, B-Tel could not allocate enough time to compile detailed comments. We have therefore only limited our comments to those aspects that are key to the future viability of our business.

    5. B-Tel reserves the right to amend and/or supplement its written submission during the oral hearings.

  2. GENERAL COMMENTS ON THE CONVERGENCE BILL

    1. Lack of a Clear Definition

      1. The Convergence Bill provides as its object or purpose:

        2. "To promote convergence in the broadcasting, broadcasting signal distribution and telecommunications sectors and to provide the legal framework for convergence of these sectors; to make new provision for the regulation of communications and network services; to provide for the granting of new licences and for new social obligations; to provide for the control of the radio frequency spectrum; to provide for the continued existence of the Universal Service Agency; and to provide for matters incidental thereto."

      2. Apart from this provision, the Convergence Bill does not provide for a clear definition of the term "Convergence", which omission creates an uncertainty around the meaning which should be applied. This is due to the fact that there are a number of authorities who have availed a definition, and each differs in one way or the other with the others, so that there is no one universal definition.

    2. No Clear Mention of or Provision For USALS

      1. It is not clear whether the word "Licensee" also includes USALS as contemplated in the Telecommunications Act. This is in light of the fact that the Telecommunications Act is to be repealed in terms of the Convergence Bill.

      2. The Convergence Bill has omitted to indicate where the USALs will feature in terms of the new market structure.

    3. Retention of Current Rights

      1. B-Tel is currently entitled to provide services which, at a minimum include local, voice, telephone service, emergency services, directory service, voice over internet protocol, public pay phone and operator-assisted services. USALs are authorized to render multimedia services or converged services.

      2. In terms of the Convergence Bill, there is provision for four types of licences to be issued for various services, namely: Infrastructure Services; Communications Network Service; Communication Applications Service and Communications Content Service.

      3. There is no clarity with regards to the new licensing structure.

    4. Clarity in Terms of Area of Service

      1. The Convergence Bill fails to provide clarity on the area within which B-Tel and other USALs will be operating. Does the Convergence Bill limit the area of operation of the USALs to the under serviced areas only?

      2. In the event that the area of operation of the USALs is limited to the under serviced areas only, will there be new operators/USALs licensed within the said area?

      3. Should USALs be allowed to operate beyond their respective under serviced areas, in other words be allowed to operate nationally, would they then have to first wait for the Minister to determine the time and area to be licensed, and would they be allowed to compete with each other?

      4. In the event that the USALs are permitted to operate nationally, would the usage of the Universal Service Fund subsidy for purposes of putting up infrastructure in the areas beyond their currently licensed USALs be permissible?

  3. CONCLUSION

    1. B-Tel would once again like to thank the Portfolio Committee for the opportunity to make the written submissions and hopes that they will assist in the process towards legislating for Convergence.