Regulator examines the impact of OTT platforms and telecom affordability, with no new charges announced.
South Africans could eventually see changes to the way they access or pay for popular services such as Netflix and WhatsApp as the communications regulator investigates the growing influence of internet-based platforms on the country's telecoms and broadcasting industries.
The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) has launched market inquiries into over-the-top (OTT) services, including streaming and messaging platforms, as well as the affordability of telecommunications services.
The regulator has published notices of its intention to conduct the two inquiries in the Government Gazette, opening a process that could have implications for traditional telecoms operators, broadcasters and the rapidly growing digital services market.
Importantly, ICASA has not announced any new charges, taxes or regulations for Netflix, WhatsApp or other OTT platforms. The inquiry will first seek to establish how these services are affecting companies already operating under South African regulation.
Changing the way we communicate
ICASA said the OTT inquiry would examine the impact of these services on licensees in the telecommunications, broadcasting and postal sectors.
Services such as Netflix and WhatsApp have changed the way South Africans consume entertainment and communicate, competing with traditional broadcasters and telecoms companies for audiences, customers and revenue.
Messaging platforms have contributed to the decline of traditional voice and SMS revenues, while streaming services have fragmented television audiences and shifted viewing away from conventional broadcasters.
ICASA has previously identified OTT services as an area requiring greater regulatory attention.
In its 2026/27 annual performance plan, the regulator said OTT services remained largely unregulated and that regulatory parity was important to ensure a level playing field.
Long-running debate
It identified audiovisual services such as Netflix and Amazon, as well as telecommunications-related services such as WhatsApp, as examples of OTT platforms operating in South Africa.
The inquiry is likely to bring renewed attention to a long-running debate over whether major international platforms should contribute more towards the cost of the networks on which their services depend.
South Africa's major telecoms operators have backed the principle that large OTT platforms should contribute towards network infrastructure, arguing that they generate substantial amounts of traffic while operators carry the cost of building, maintaining and upgrading networks.
The issue is particularly relevant to data-intensive services such as video streaming.
Any eventual move to make platforms contribute towards network costs could have implications for consumers. Platforms could absorb additional costs themselves, or potentially pass some of them on through higher subscription prices or other changes.
However, there is currently no decision to impose such charges, and ICASA's inquiry does not itself introduce them.
Source: IOL
