South Africa: State Intervention for Affordable Internet Access

This compendium, prepared by the Division for Public Institutions and Digital Government (DPIDG) of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), aims to capture emerging trends in digital responses of UN Member States against the COVID-19 pandemic along with other digital government initiatives and provide a preliminary analysis of their main features. These cases are shared for exchange of information so that Member States can learn from each other and possibly create new partnerships.

In 2019, after a public campaign drew the attention of prominent politicians and authorities, the South African Competition Commission carried out an investigation into mobile broadband pricing. The Commission found that two providers dominated the market for mobile data and charged higher prices for their services in South Africa than they did in other regions. The Commission called on the providers to lower retail prices under threat of prosecution. After three months of negotiations, the providers agreed to lower retail prices, and offer cost-free services to public education institutions and enable free access to job and health information portals.

Country

South Africa

Institution

South African Competition Commission