Zuko Komisa
- New regulations mandate that mobile providers allow unused data to be rolled over, preventing automatic expiry.
- The “sequential usage” rule ensures that data expiring soonest is used first, maximising the value of every megabyte.
- Consumers now have the legal flexibility to transfer data bundles to other users on the same network.
For millions of South Africans, the frustration of watching hard-earned mobile data simply vanish at the end of the month is a common grievance.
However, a significant shift in regulations is set to put power back into the hands of the consumer.
The updated rules focus on three pillars of consumer fairness: bundle rollover, which ensures unused data carries over into the next period; sequential usage, prioritising the consumption of the oldest data first; and bundle transfer, allowing users to send data to friends or family.
These changes represent a major victory for prepaid customers, ensuring that the digital connectivity they pay for remains theirs to use.
Kaya Biz spoke to Catherine Mushi, a councillor at the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA), who broke down new amendments designed to end the “use it or lose it” era.
Listen to the full conversation here:
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