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17 October 2007

Cape Town: The Department of Public Enterprises is pleased to announce that the National Assembly unanimously approved the Broadband Infraco Bill today in Parliament. It will now be referred to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) for consideration. The vote in favour of the bill comes after an intense public hearings process, where submissions made by industry role players and the communications regulatory authority were taken into consideration.

In his address, the Minister highlighted the unique dynamics of the South African telecoms market, which has limited access to broadband at high costs that the establishment of Broadband Infraco will redress. He also highlighted the unusual circumstances and issues of the bill, including the licensing and scheduling of the entity in under the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA). Both of these were debated at length in the public hearing process, before it was finally agreed that Infraco be licensed via Independent Communications Authority of South African (Icasa) as soon as is practical. Infraco will be a schedule two entity to give it flexibility in terms of its market borrowing powers and therefore ability to respond to the dynamic telecoms market.

The Minister acknowledged the contribution of the Portfolio Committee and thanked outgoing Chairperson Yunus Carrim for his leadership, "I have high regard for the work of the Portfolio Committee, the debates in the hearings on the bill have been rigorous and engaging and the Department Public Enterprises has learnt and benefited from the vigilance and full commitment to this process on the part of the committee members."

The approval of the bill is a positive step towards catalysing the Information Communication Technology (ICT) sector and ensuring that South Africa has the broadband infrastructure to meet current ICT demands as well as future strategic projects.

Enquiries:
Vimla Maistry
Chief Director: Communications and Internal Relations
Tel: 012 431 1021
Cell: 082 372 0270
E-mail: vimla.maistry@dpe.gov.za

Issued by: Department Public Enterprises
17 October 2007
Source: Department Public Enterprises (http://www.dpe.gov.za)