Right2Know: The Competition Commission’s preliminary report on data costs in South Africa is a step in the right direction

The Right2Know welcomes the findings of the commission of inquiry into data costs as a step in the right direction. Last year made a submission to the Commission stating clearly that the right to communicate is a fundamental/ primary right and that access to the internet should be prioritized by the government.

We argued that the current data prices exclude the majority of South Africans and that lower income households which make up the majority of the population cannot afford access to the internet and thus, access to many primary facilities like job applications. Research done by the Link Research Center and R2K confirms that many lower-income households often have to choose between bread and data, between access to employment opportunities or putting food on the table.

As the Right2Know we want to reiterate these crucial points. We are glad that the Commission’s preliminary report formally acknowledges that indeed data costs are too high in South Africa but note that this recognition is but a first step in rectifying the larger inequalities in respect of the right to communicate.

In this age of technological advancement, we cannot be struggling only for affordable mobile data, we should be moving concretely towards realising equal and affordable access to internet/wifi; data availability should be a first-step, transitional measure.

We hope that this preliminary report paves the way for real change and action. For this to happen, the government must take its recommendations seriously, stop confining the conversation on the costs of data to the roll-over of data and realise the primary demand is for an immediate decrease of data costs. We are beginning to move in the right direction but there is a long way to go!

The Right2Know demands that the telecommunications industry cease its profiteering; cease placing the artificial barrier of costs to access affordable internet, and to stop holding the vast majority of South Africans hostage to high costs. Stop the exclusion of the poor!

#OngaziMakazi
For comment:
Lazola Kati – National communication rights focus organizer- 0729567753

R2K Presentation Link: https://bit.ly/2HaRrOB