Committee welcomes Vodacom agreement settlement on data prices

The Portfolio Committee on Communications has welcomed the announcement by the Competition Commission on Tuesday morning that Vodacom will reduce monthly data prices by 30%, with effect from 1 April 2020.

The chairperson of the committee, Mr Boyce Maneli, said that the announcement has emboldened the committee on its long-held resolve that the Independent Communication Authority of South Africa (Icasa) should seriously look into the issue of cost-to-communicate in South Africa.

“Our argument is that the advent of 4IR [fourth industrial revolution], which has been upon us for some time now, has provided great opportunities for business transactions to take place on the internet.

“However, the high cost of communication makes it difficult for people to participate in that space,” said Mr Maneli.

The committee believes that other network operators working with the Competition Commission will find amicable solutions in implementing data price reduction, as recommended.

The ministry of communications and digital technologies, together with Icasa, have welcomed Vodacom’s settlement agreement on data prices.

“Today’s announcement is an important milestone in our quest to ensure that data prices are affordable for the majority of South Africans as this is a key driver for the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” said Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams in a statement on Tuesday.

READ: Vodacom agrees to lower data costs by 30%

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