ICASA has made a ruling that is sure to come as music to the ears of everyone using a cellphone in South Africa. Data bundles looking a lot more bearable now?
Well, data hasn’t fallen but it looks like progress is being made. On Thursday, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) announced the final end-user and service subscriber charter regulations. What the hell does that mean? Let us explain.
“The End-User and Subscriber Service Charter Regulations seek to protect the rights of consumers by, among others, ensuring that they are provided with sufficient information that will assist them in making informed decisions; as well as facilitate redress for those consumers who have been unfairly treated by network providers.” – ICASA
Read: SA furious as Vodacom makes R2 billion every month from data
Based on the numerous concerns raised by South Africans regarding data and cellular networks, ICASA has been under heavy pressure to act.
The new amendments include some great news about roll on data bundles and for providers to let users know when their bundle has been used up. This will then stop people being billed ridiculous out of bundle costs.
While many had hoped that ICASA would announce new maximum prices of data, the authority says more market research still has to be concluded before they can make such a judgment.
Be sure to pay attention to the changes your network makes going forward, the rollover periods will almost certainly be different per service provider.