The Association of Comms and Technology (ACT), the industry body whose members include MTN, Vodacom, Telkom, Cell C, Rain and Liquid Intelligent Technologies, has applied to the Competition Commission for a five-year exemption from parts of the Competition Act. The aim is to let operators coordinate their rural broadband rollout, TechCentral reports.
According to the reporting, operators would give forward-looking planning information about rural infrastructure to an independent third party, which would identify coverage gaps and opportunities for coordinated investment. The stated purposes are to avoid duplicated infrastructure, cut deployment costs and reach underserved places. The application says the exemption would not extend to retail pricing or market allocation, and the operators describe the carve-out as narrow.
Competition law in South Africa, enforced by the Competition Commission, is designed to keep markets open and prevent firms from colluding or abusing market power. Operators exchanging forward-looking information about where they plan to build would normally raise concerns, which is why they are asking for an exemption and not simply proceeding.
Why the exemption matters for small businesses
For the owner of a small retail shop or a start-up that relies on mobile data to run point-of-sale systems, the cost and quality of connectivity bears directly on the bottom line. If coordinated planning reduces duplicated rural infrastructure, the operators say it would cut deployment costs and bring coverage to underserved areas, which would matter most to businesses outside the big cities. Whether any savings reach customers is not something the application promises.
The case against
The application is not uncontested. Paul Colmer, an executive member of the Wireless Access Providers’ Association (WAPA), opposes it and argues in TechCentral that the Commission should refuse it. He disputes that the exclusion of pricing and market allocation removes the commercial concern. If any approval is considered, he proposes conditions such as open wholesale access, rural build targets, affordable retail options, enforceable service levels, transparent reporting and penalties for missed commitments.
What remains unknown is how the Competition Commission will evaluate the request, and no decision has been reported. The Commission will have to weigh whether sharing planning information in rural areas truly benefits consumers against the risk of reduced competition, and whether safeguards can prevent anti-competitive outcomes.
For SMEs, the key question is whether the exemption will translate into wider coverage or better service quality in places where connectivity is thin. Until the Commission’s decision is made public, the potential impact remains speculative, and small business owners should watch for announcements from the regulator.
In the meantime, the request highlights a broader tension in South Africa’s telecom sector: the need to invest in costly network upgrades, especially in rural areas, against the imperative to maintain a competitive market that protects consumer choice.
For related coverage of a different Competition Commission matter from around the same period, see this site’s report on Investec’s rand-rigging case.
