Telecommunications lawyers | South Africa

Our telecommunications lawyers assist clients with: 

• The interpretation and application of relevant legislation, regulations and industry codes of conduct, including the Electronic Communications Act, 2005, the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act,  2002, the Cybercrimes Act, 2020, and the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA);
• Advice on telecommunications, media and broadcasting regulatory compliance, information security governance and risk management (in particular, information security, data protection and privacy policies); and
• Drafting, reviewing and negotiating commercial agreements, including content development agreements, reseller agreements, network access services agreements, ICT outsourcing agreements, consulting and professional services agreements.

Telecommunications Legal Packages

Our telecommunications work is grouped into four packages, so you can brief us on exactly what you need – a single licence application, one agreement, or ongoing regulatory support across your business. Each package can be scoped as a once-off brief or as continuing support, and the packages can be combined.

1. Regulatory Compliance

For new entrants and established licensees alike, staying on the right side of ICASA and the Electronic Communications Act is an ongoing obligation, not a once-off exercise. We help you understand what applies to your service and keep your licences in good standing:

• Advising whether a service needs a licence, which licence applies (class or individual ECS or ECNS, or a broadcasting licence) and whether an exemption is available;
• Licence applications, registrations, amendments, renewals and transfers, including ICASA approval for changes in ownership and control;
• Ownership and control requirements, including historically disadvantaged group (HDG) equity requirements and the ICT Sector Code;
• Licence-condition compliance, regulatory reporting and periodic compliance reviews;
• Consumer protection obligations, including the End-User and Subscriber Service Charter, codes of conduct and number portability;
• Responding to ICASA inquiries, Complaints and Compliance Committee (CCC) proceedings and enforcement action; and
• Preparing submissions on draft regulations, market inquiries and policy processes.

2. Commercial Agreements

Telecommunications businesses run on contracts – with other operators, wholesale partners, vendors, resellers and customers. We draft and negotiate agreements that reflect both the commercial deal and the regulatory framework that sits behind it:

• Interconnection and facilities leasing agreements, in line with ICASA’s interconnection and facilities leasing regulations;
• Wholesale, roaming, MVNO and reseller agreements;
• Network access, infrastructure sharing, tower, fibre and indefeasible right of use (IRU) agreements;
• Content development, distribution and broadcasting rights agreements;
• ICT outsourcing, managed services, service level and equipment supply agreements;
• Consulting and professional services agreements; and
• Customer terms and conditions that align with consumer protection requirements.

3. Spectrum and Operations

Radio frequency spectrum is scarce and tightly regulated, and building or expanding a network touches several regulatory regimes at once. We support operators from spectrum strategy through to rollout:

• Radio frequency spectrum licence applications, amendments and renewals, and advice on spectrum assignment processes and licence conditions;
• Spectrum sharing and transfer arrangements, and the ICASA approvals they require;
• Numbering allocations and equipment type approval;
• Rights of way, wayleaves and municipal approvals for network deployment;
• Regulatory advice on network launches, expansions and new service lines, including fibre, fixed-wireless and satellite services; and
• Regulatory due diligence on telecommunications acquisitions, mergers and investments.

4. Data Protection & Risk

Operators and service providers process large volumes of personal information and communication-related data, and are frequent targets of cyber attacks. We help you meet your obligations and manage the risk before it becomes an incident:

• POPIA compliance programmes, including Information Officer registration, personal information impact assessments and privacy notices;
• Data processing, data sharing and cross-border transfer agreements;
• Obligations under RICA, including the storage of communication-related information and responding to interception directions;
• Obligations of electronic communications service providers under the Cybercrimes Act;
• Information security policies, incident response plans and security compromise notifications to the Information Regulator and affected individuals;
• Direct marketing and unsolicited electronic communications; and
• Regulatory risk assessments and reporting to boards and risk committees.