On 12 May 2026, the Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies (Minister) delivered the Budget Vote Speech for the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT) for the period 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027.
In his speech, the Minister presented a broad overview of the DCDT’s plans, priorities and justification for the use of the funds allocated to the DCDT, with a primary focus on actions that will unlock faster, more reliable and cheaper internet for all, and facilitate achievement of the DCDT’s mandate as an ‘ecosystem enabler’.
Key insights
- Recognising that 100% state ownership of the DCDT’s portfolio entities is not sustainable, the Minister indicated a preference for partnering with the private sector, including possible partial privatisation, and creating mutually beneficial commercial agreements where private-sector players leverage state-owned assets to deliver services at cost-effective prices.
- The Minister noted that cell phone masts, fibre networks and data centres are no longer peripheral assets, but core infrastructure. While the sector has engaged with the National Treasury and the South African Revenue Service on allowing companies that own digital infrastructure to participate in the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) regime, the Minister confirmed that the DCDT supports the extension of section 25BB of the Income Tax Act to cover digital fibre, tower and data centre infrastructure, as a practical reform. The Minister indicated that allowing companies that own digital infrastructure to participate in the REIT regime could unlock long-term capital, attract foreign direct investment, and provide a ‘much-needed injection’ into the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector.
- The Minister confirmed that the draft National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy is under review, following the withdrawal of the previous iteration. The DCDT will be assisted in its review of the draft National AI Policy by the recently appointed Independent Expert Review Panel which comprises experts in the AI research, law and governance fields, including Heather Irvine, a partner at Bowmans, who will be providing legal and regulatory input.
- The Minister indicated that the Draft White Paper on Audio and Audiovisual Media Services and Online Safety, which was published for public comment on 11 July 2025, is in the process of being finalised. This is aligned with the DCDT’s Annual Performance Plan 2026/27 , which indicated that the White Paper would be finalised by the end of the first quarter, with implementation of the Year 1 priority interventions identified in the White Paper being ‘demonstrably underway’ by the end of the fourth quarter, and a clear determination of whether legislative instruments are required for Year 2.
- The Minister indicated that the Electronic Communications Amendment Bill will be advanced to ‘modernise the licensing framework, address convergence in the sector and strengthen competition’. It is not clear whether there will be further amendments proposed beyond those currently set out in the Electronic Communications Amendment Bill, 2026 that was tabled in the National Assembly in April 2026, but this statement appears to suggest that some changes to the licensing framework are still under consideration. (Our article setting out the various amendments to Electronic Communications Act 36 of 2005 (ECA) proposed under the Electronic Communications Amendment Bill, 2026, can be accessed here.)
- The Minister confirmed that legislative amendments will be pursued to enable equity equivalent investment programmes (EEIPs) to complement ownership requirements in telecommunications. The Minister specifically recognised that low earth orbit (LEO) satellite services form part of South Africa’s digital future, and that South Africa must create conditions for international operators ‘to service our people now, in a manner that supports national interests and regulatory compliance’, rather than waiting a decade to develop our own domestic LEO capacity. These statements should be considered against the background of the recent media statement published by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) on 13 May 2026. In that media statement, ICASA indicated that, after considering the Policy Direction on Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment issued by the Minister on 12 December 2025, ICASA is of the view that the ICT Sector Code (published under the Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment Act 53 of 2003) must be applied in licensing qualification criteria, but that full alignment with all provisions of the ICT Sector Code (including EEIPs) will require a legislative amendment to the ECA.
- Finally, the Minister indicated in the speech that the DCDT is committed to:
- finalising a policy direction on Wireless Open Access Networks (WOAN) to create greater competition and more affordable data for all South Africans. This will hopefully clarify the DCDT’s position on the WOAN model, as was initially outlined in the National Integrated ICT Policy White Paper, 2016 (which had proposed licensing unassigned high demand spectrum to the WOAN); and
- finalising a policy direction on the renewal of individual electronic communications network service licences and individual electronic communications service licences to ensure regulatory certainty for the licences that are up for renewal in the near future. This development should be considered together with ICASA’s notice, published on 20 February 2026, reminding licensees that renewal applications must be submitted between 12 and six months before the licence expiry date. ICASA has undertaken to publish a further notice, in due course, outlining the process and submission requirements for renewal applications.
