South Africa’s major mobile network operators, including MTN, Vodacom and Cell C, have until January 15, 2027 to make the digital content of public benefit organisations (PBOs) data-free for users.
The obligation is not a voluntary corporate social responsibility gesture but a binding condition attached to the 2022 spectrum auction conducted by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA). The expected revenue foregone was factored into the operators’ original bids. ICASA has yet to outline how it will enforce compliance.
The DG Murray Trust (DGMT), a South African foundation focused on reducing inequality, said the requirement could bridge the country’s digital divide by connecting people to information on education, healthcare and employment, in a market where data remains costly despite near-universal mobile phone ownership.
David Harrison, CEO of DGMT, said the stakes were high for low-income households.
“Almost every home in South Africa has a mobile phone, but many in poor communities can’t afford the cost of data. This means the tools for stimulating socio-economic change are out of reach for millions of people,” Harrison said.
While operator RAIN has zero-rated at least two dozen organisations, DGMT said only fifteen have been zero-rated across the major networks combined, out of thousands of PBOs that could potentially qualify.
Busisiwe Kabane-Bailey, Innovation Director at DGMT, said the lack of engagement from operators and the regulator was a growing concern.
“We are deeply concerned that with the deadline just months away, we’ve had no meaningful communication from most mobile network operators, or from ICASA, about how zero-rating will be implemented, regulated and enforced,” Kabane-Bailey said.
Operators zero-rated educational and Covid-19-related health content under national disaster regulations during the pandemic, demonstrating that implementation is achievable. DGMT has operated the Social Innovation Register since 2023, which vets PBOs’ tax-benefit status and technical eligibility for zero-rating, processing more than 120 applications to date.
“The question is not whether operators can do this but why they haven’t. When zero-rating was required under the Covid-19 disaster regulations, networks implemented it,” Kabane-Bailey said.
DGMT noted that MTN and Vodacom are currently in litigation against ICASA over data expiry rules, adding to existing consumer mistrust over data pricing. It has called on operators to fast-track zero-rating using existing systems and publish their implementation plans ahead of the deadline.
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