Online Legal…

This is the ICT Weekly Update on legal, regulatory and policy developments in the ICT industry prepared by Lisa Thornton Inc for clients and colleagues. Online Legal reproduces it, in part, here with the permission of Lisa Thornton Inc.

NEW FINDINGS, JUDGMENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

ICASA

ICASA published lists of class ECS and ECNS, individual ECS and class broadcasting licences on its website.

Dept Environmental Affairs

Regulations for the administration of the Knysna Protected Environment, 11 Dec 2009.

Blogpost

Re Discussion Document on Ownership and Control.

NEW PROCEEDINGS

None

PENDING PROCEEDINGS - REPRESENTATIONS DUE

DoC

• Public Service Broadcasting Bill. Comment due 15 Jan 2010.
• Draft policy directions re spectrum in anticipation of SKA. Comment due 20 Jan 2010.

ICASA

• Draft facilities leasing regulations. Comment due 21 Jan 2010. Read more here.
• Tender - consultant to develop a business continuity plan for ICASA. Due 20 Jan 2010.
• Amended E-rate regulations. Comment due 22 Jan 2010.
• Draft regulations to replace the withdrawn handset subsidy regulations. Comment due 27 Jan 2010.
• Tender - consultant to analyse the applications for commercial sound broadcasting licences. Due 28 Jan 2010.
• Tenders - supply of broadcasting monitoring system. Due 29 Jan 2010.
• Discussion Document on Ownership and Control Issues. Comment due 19 Feb 2010. Read more here.

Dept of Trade and Industry

• DTI published a list of errors in the Companies Act 2008, for public comment, due 21 Jan 2010.
• DTI published draft Companies Regulations for comment due 1 March 2010.

.za Domain Name Authority

Licensing regulations for .za registries and registrars. Comment due 1 Feb 2010.

PENDING PROCEEDINGS - OUTCOME AWAITED

Parliament

Protection of Personal Information Bill

Minister of Communications

• Amendment to policy direction regarding the licensing of InfraCo
• Broadband policy
• Spectrum policy
• Strategy on local and digital content development
• Deletion of policy direction re the conversion of USALs to provincial under-serviced area licences
• Set top box manufacturing sector development strategy
• Study on the trends of digital local content and uptake rates
• Guidelines for the rapid deployment of electronic communications facilities (re undersea cables)
• ICT Charter regarding BEE

Department of Communications / Icasa

• Under-serviced area licences (second and third rounds)
• GMPCS licences

ICASA

[Pending decisions about individual licenses and complaints are not included in this list]

• Regulations relating the licensing of spectrum for mobile TV
• Regulations concerning procedures for ICASA inspectors
• Digital terrestrial television regulations
• Regulations for competing spectrum applications
• Revised regulations for service licence applications
• Interconnection regulations
• Numbering Plan Audit
• Spectrum licence fee regulations
• Carrier pre-selection regulations
• Radio frequency band plan
• Must carry obligations
• Schedule for periodic review of relevant markets
• Regulations for monitoring and investigating anti-competitive behavior
• Significant market power determinations
• Pro-competitive licence terms and conditions
• Methodology to determine effectiveness of competition
• Methodology to define and identify relevant markets
• Technical standards for power line communications
• Technical standards for electronic communications equipment
• Essential Facilities Regulations
• Regulations with regard to functional specification for geographic number portability
• Findings in section 27 enquiry into a satellite licensing framework
• Findings in respect of the Discussion Paper on the Review of Community Sound Broadcasting Policy
• Regulations with regard to telecommunications equipment approval
• Regulations in respect of standards for analogue terminal equipment
• Regulations regarding amateur radio
• Regulations regarding local television

USAASA

Recommendations on definitions of universal service, universal access, under serviced areas, and needy persons

Minister of Science and Technology

• Appointments of the South African National Space Agency Board
• Regulations in terms of the Astronomy Advantage Areas Act

Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development

• 17th Amendment Bill to the Constitution, permitting national govn’t to require municipalities to particulate in infrastructure plans
• 18th Amendment Bill to the Constitution and the State Liability Bill
• Ratification of Council of Europe’s Convention on Cyber crime (dealing with computer-related fraud and forgery and infringement of copyright). An additional protocol regarding racist and xenophobic acts committed through computer systems has yet to be signed by South Africa.

National Treasury

New Standardised PPP Provisions

Dept of Environmental Affairs and Tourism

Environmental impact assessment regulations

.za Domain Name Authority

• Amended Memorandum and Articles of Association
• Changes in respect of .org.za domain registrations

City of Johannesburg

By-laws re rights of way for electronic communications facilities.

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