Published: 31 August 2017

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) hereby confirms that it has received a notification from Cell C (Pty) Ltd (Cell C) regarding the change of licensee information i.e. change of shareholding.
 
The notification was filed in terms of Section 2(1)(c) of Schedules 2 and 3 of the Regulations on Standard Terms and Conditions for Individual Licences, 2010 (as amended) read with Section 14(A)(2)(c) of the Process and Procedure Regulations for Individual Licences, 2010 (as amended).
 
The Authority has considered the notification and the preliminary view is that the Cell C recapitalisation transaction – on the face of it – triggers the provisions of Section 13 of the Electronic Communications Act of 2015 and ought to have been filed as an application for change of control of the licensee.
 
The Authority is engaging Cell C to seek clarity on this apparent non-compliance with the legislative provisions. In addition, the Authority is also taking external legal advice on the matter, including on appropriate enforcement actions it can take to ensure compliance. 

- ICASA