The Electronic Communications Act (ECA) was supposed to herald the liberalisation of the local telecommunications sector, lowering costs and increasing competition. However, two years after the ECA process kicked off, the industry is still waiting for the new Electronic Communications Network Service licences (I-ECNS) to be issued, allowing value-added network service (VANS) providers to become truly competitive against the incumbent telcos.

This has led to a "ludicrous situation" in South Africa, according to John Holdsworth, ECN CEO. "Without the new licences, the industry is being governed from the grave and is being forced to use the old vocabulary with the old limitations," he stresses.