Overview
The telecommunications infrastructure in South Africa is spread all over the country and its service is predominantly mobile https://www.dtps.gov.za/, dominated by five companies as described below.
The country is benefiting from investment in fibre optics networks by commercial players, currently in all cities, and rollout to cover the entire country is still ongoing.
The country's major priorities in telecommunication are ICT Policy Review, The Electronic Communications Amendment Bill, National Broadband Policy while also other key areas of priority are Broadcasting Digital Migration Policy, Schools Connectivity, Community Radio, Rural Development.
In general, there do not appear to be any concerns regarding the pricing or availability of connectivity. Factors such as poor network quality, a lack of standardised network specifications, high backbone network pricing, unbalanced spectrum charging mechanisms and a wide range of economic factors have resulted in a lack of infrastructure sharing, duplication of backbone networks and a lack of investment in telecommunications networks in rural areas to provide voice and broadband services.
For more information on telecoms contacts, please see the following link: List of Members | ISPA
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Telephone Services |
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Is there an existing landline telephone network? |
Yes |
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Does it allow international calls? |
Yes |
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Number and Length of Downtime Periods (on average) |
Virtually no downtime |
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Mobile Phone Providers |
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Approximate Percentage of National Coverage |
6% dial-up connection. |
Telecommunications Regulations
South Africa’s Communications Regulatory Authority falls under the jurisdiction of department of telecommunications and postal services. This is responsible for broad band ICT policy review, child online protection and defining policies and strategies and serving as an arbitrator and guarantor of law enforcement.
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Regulations on Usage and Import |
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Regulations in Place? |
Regulating Authority |
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Satellite |
Yes |
ICASA |
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HF Radio |
Yes |
ICASA |
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UHF/VHF/HF Radio: Handheld, Base and Mobile |
Yes |
ICASA |
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UHF/VHF Repeaters |
Yes |
ICASA |
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GPS |
No |
N/A |
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VSAT |
Yes |
ICASA |
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Individual Network Operator Licenses Required |
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Frequency Licenses Required |
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It is necessary to obtain authorisation from the department of telecommunications and postal services to obtain a frequency license for all type of communications (VSAT, HF, VHF). |
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Existing Humanitarian Telecoms Systems
Does WFP or other UN agencies have private networks such as VSAT used in South Africa
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Existing UN Telecommunication Systems |
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WFP |
UNICEF |
UNHCR |
FAO |
UNDP |
WHO |
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VHF Frequencies |
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Y |
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HF Frequencies |
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Locations of Repeaters |
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Pretoria |
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VSAT |
Y |
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Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
Internet connectivity is available in most of the country, mainly through the service providers listed in ISP report for South Africa by mybroadband.co.za
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Internet Service Providers |
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Are there ISPs available? |
Yes |
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If yes, are they privately or government owned? |
Both |
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Dial-up only? |
No |
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Approximate Rates (local currency and USD - $) |
Dial-up |
n/a |
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Broadband |
Fibre prices in South Africa – Network and ISP showdown (mybroadband.co.za) |
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Max Leasable ‘Dedicated’ Bandwidth |
Uncapped GB |
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Additional information about Internet service providers can be found in the Internet Service Providers’ Association (ISPA) website.
Mobile Network Operators (MNOs)
N/A
