Ispa calls for free basic data for low-income South Africans

Source: Magnific

The Internet Service Providers’ Association (Ispa) says affordability of both connectivity and devices remains a barrier to universal and meaningful connectivity, a global policy objective focused on ensuring people can access and use the internet effectively.

Ispa chair Sasha Booth-Beharilal says a free basic data allowance should be an immediate priority.

“Reducing the cost to communicate is key to poverty reduction. As a start, South Africa needs firm action on providing a free basic data allowance to those falling below the poverty line,” she says.

According to Ispa, the intervention is already recognised in the National Infrastructure Plan and National Radio Frequency Spectrum Policy, but implementation remains lacking.

The association points to the Competition Commission’s 2026 Cost of Living Report and a recent South Africa Digital Infrastructure Investment Study published by the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), both of which highlight affordability as a continuing challenge.

Policy commitments have yet to deliver

Ispa argues that government has recognised the need to address the cost of both data and devices for more than a decade, but questions whether the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT) and the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) can deliver the necessary interventions.

The DCDT has listed a cost-to-communicate programme among its deliverables for years, but Ispa says there is no clear position on how it will make connectivity and devices more affordable.

Icasa has introduced changes to data rollover and out-of-bundle charging rules aimed at improving consumer value. However, its latest attempt to expand these protections through amendments to the End-Subscriber and Service Charter Regulations has been challenged in the High Court by Vodacom and MTN.

Ispa also points to an earlier Icasa attempt to increase competition in mobile broadband, which resulted in regulations that were ruled unlawful and were subsequently abandoned.

Competition reforms delayed

The association says some of the most effective interventions have come from the removal of ad valorem taxes on lower-cost smartphones and the Competition Commission's inquiry into the data services market, concluded in December 2019.

Following that inquiry, the commission negotiated pricing relief for low-income consumers and recommended amendments to the Electronic Communications Act to promote competition and reduce communication costs.

However, Ispa says it has taken almost seven years for those legislative amendments to reach Parliament and expects they are unlikely to be finalised before the end of 2027.

The association is calling for renewed government action to make connectivity and devices affordable, warning that lower data prices alone will not resolve the barriers preventing poorer households from participating meaningfully in the digital economy.

It says the outstanding question is whether reducing the cost to communicate remains a government priority.