Edward Odendaal (AU)

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ICASA approval required for changes of licensee control

By Edward Odendaal (AU) on February 16, 2016 Posted in General

Any change of control in an entity which holds an individual electronic communications service licence, individual electronic communications network service licence or radio frequency spectrum licence requires the prior written permission of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA). Radio frequency spectrum licences The Radio Frequency Spectrum Regulations 2015 set out the process which … Continue reading

WhatsApp faces possible regulation in South Africa

By Edward Odendaal (AU) on January 21, 2016 Posted in General

The parliamentary telecommunications and postal services portfolio committee will hold a meeting on “Over-The-Top” (OTT) services on 26 January 2016 with a view to possibly regulating them. Popular OTT services include WhatsApp, Google Hangouts and Skype. Some mobile networks feel it is unfair that these services generate profits by riding on the back of infrastructure paid … Continue reading

Financial institutions will also be obliged to inform clients of cybercrime trends

By Edward Odendaal (AU) on September 17, 2015 Posted in General

The draft Cybercrimes and Cybersecurity Bill has been published for public comment. The draft bill in its current form imposes obligations on “electronic communications service providers” to inform its clients of cybercrime trends and to establish procedures to report such crimes. The definition of an “electronic communications service provider” includes not only mobile networks, internet … Continue reading

Consumers to pay VAT for online goods

By Edward Odendaal (AU) on February 17, 2014 Posted in General

Music, games, e-books and other digital products may soon be subject to value-added tax (VAT). According to the proposed Electronic Services Regulations, foreign suppliers who sell digital products online will be obliged to register as VAT vendors, and will be liable to pay VAT on equal footing with their South African counterparts. iTunes, e-books etc … Continue reading