Free SA has noted the publication of the Draft Policy Direction on Electronic Communications Network Deployment by the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies, aimed at accelerating broadband rollout across South Africa. While the intention to reduce delays and expand access to affordable, high-speed internet is commendable, the current draft raises serious concerns about the risk of excessive regulation and unintended consequences for investment and innovation.
The policy correctly identifies bureaucratic delays, inconsistent municipal processes, and high deployment costs as key barriers to broadband expansion. However, the proposed solutions, particularly increased regulatory oversight, expanded compliance requirements, and centralised control mechanisms, may ultimately exacerbate these challenges rather than resolve them.
Of particular concern is the emphasis on:
- Expanded data reporting obligations through a central GIS database,
- Increased regulatory discretion over infrastructure sharing and pricing,
- Additional compliance burdens on licensees seeking to deploy infrastructure.
While coordination and transparency are important, these measures risk creating a more complex and restrictive regulatory environment that could deter private sector investment – the very engine required to drive rapid broadband expansion.
South Africa’s digital future depends on enabling private sector participation, not constraining it. International experience consistently shows that infrastructure rollout accelerates in environments where regulation is predictable, minimal, and focused on removing barriers rather than adding new ones.
The draft policy’s focus on limiting “duplication of infrastructure” may appear efficient on paper, but in practice it risks stifling competition. Infrastructure competition is often what drives better service, lower prices, and innovation. Overemphasis on shared infrastructure could entrench incumbents and reduce incentives for new entrants.
The policy rightly acknowledges that excessive red tape, particularly at municipal level, is a major obstacle. However, instead of introducing additional layers of national regulation, government should prioritise:
- Standardising and simplifying municipal approval processes,
- Enforcing time limits on permit approvals,
- Reducing fees and administrative burdens,
- Ensuring regulatory certainty for investors.
Without these reforms, additional national oversight risks becoming yet another bottleneck in an already constrained system.
“This draft policy is a step in the right direction in recognising the barriers to broadband rollout but it does not go far enough in removing them. Instead, it risks replacing one form of red tape with another. South Africa does not need more regulation; it needs smarter, lighter regulation that empowers the private sector to build, invest, and innovate.” commented Free SA spokesperson Gideon Joubert.
Free SA welcomes the opportunity for public comment and urges stakeholders across industry, civil society, and the public to engage meaningfully with the draft policy. The organisation emphasises that any final framework must prioritise economic freedom, competition, and ease of doing business.
“If South Africa is serious about bridging the digital divide, government must shift from controlling infrastructure rollout to enabling it,” Joubert added. “The goal should be to make it easier and not harder, for networks to be built.”
Free SA will be submitting detailed comments to the Department and calls on policymakers to ensure that the final policy strikes the right balance between coordination and freedom.