In recent months, the frequency of power outages has increased in South Africa, affecting all sectors of the economy, including telecommunications. In that context, the government wants to ensure that citizens receive good quality services nonetheless. 

The South African government has established new quality of service thresholds for telecom operators and Internet service providers operating in the rainbow nation. This is part of the latest amendments to the End User and Subscriber Charter Regulations. The amendments were published by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) in the official Gazette on Tuesday, March 28.

The new regulations change the parameters of expected service levels for voice and data, including download and upload speeds that operators must meet. It also empowers ICASA to monitor the quality of services (fixed, fixed wireless, and mobile) provided by licensees, including through unannounced quality audits.

The changes to the end-user and subscriber charter regulations come at a time when all e-service providers operating in South Africa are complaining that the country's energy crisis is having a negative impact on their business. Telecom operators are finding it difficult to keep their base stations operational due to load shedding. This affects the quality and availability of services.

With the new regulations, South African operators will have to accelerate initiatives undertaken to mitigate the effects of the energy crisis and ensure the continued provision of quality telecom and Internet services to consumers. These initiatives include the use of diesel generators, power sharing, sourcing power from independent providers such as Helios Towers, and negotiations with the government...

Isaac K. Kassouwi