by AKANI CHAUKE
JOHANNESBURG – SOUTH Africa’s Internet Service Providers’ Association (ISPA) has welcomed the separation of the Openserve wholesale infrastructure division from the remainder of the Telkom Group.

The separation is in response to an ISPA complaint in 2002.

“Ten to twenty years to achieve significant change is not a long time in the South African scheme of things and we congratulate Telkom Group on this milestone,” said André van der Walt, ISPA’s chairperson.

Last year, in June, ISPA welcomed Openserve as a member of the non-profit industry body that had spent much of its early years focused on preventing Telkom from using its monopoly position to unfairly compete against the country’s fledgling internet access providers.

ISPA’s steadfast efforts to shape and influence ICT policy in South Africa for the better eventually resulted in Competition Commission ruling that have now led in the split of Telkom’s wholesale and retail activities.

This is hailed as leveling the telecoms playing field to the advantage of consumers, ISPA members and the economy.

“As the initiator of this process, ISPA would like to be the first to applaud: the consumer is finally the winner as Telkom achieves structural separation in 2022,” van der Walt concluded.

– CAJ News