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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:The regulation of telecommunications in South Africa
Author:Burns, YvonneISNI
Year:1999
Periodical:The Comparative and International Law Journal of Southern Africa
Volume:32
Issue:3
Pages:300-316
Language:English
Geographic term:South Africa
Subjects:government policy
telecommunications
Abstract:In South Africa the legal rules governing telecommunications include the relevant provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Act of 1996 (such as the right to freedom of expression), the Telecommunications Act (1996), other applicable statutes, as well as applicable rules of common law, such as the law of defamation and the law of privacy. This article discusses whether there is a general right to telecommunications, describes the international and national regulation of the telecommunications industry, the latter involving the establishment of the South African Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (SATRA) and the Universal Service Agency, and analyses the convergence of communications media and problems of competition and monopoly. Although in South Africa the right to telecommunications is constitutionally protected, it becomes meaningless if access to telecommunications is inadequate or prohibitively expensive. The Department of Post, Telecommunications and Broadcasting should examine whether the monopolistic conditions under which the industry is regulated promote the statutory objectives of universal access or service. Liberalization of the telecommunications industry will require the dismantling of the old PTT system. Notes, ref.
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