‘Use it or lose it’: Expiring mobile data back in the spotlight

· The South African

The debate over expiring mobile data has intensified after Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies questioned why South Africans should lose unused data they have already paid for.

Visit freshyourfeel.com for more information.

Committee chairperson Khusela Diko said there is no technical reason for mobile data to expire, following an oversight visit by Members of Parliament to MTN’s headquarters in Roodepoort.

The visit comes as MTN and Vodacom continue their legal challenge against the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) over the regulator’s updated End-User and Subscriber Service Charter regulations.

The new rules govern issues including data rollover, bundle depletion and the transfer of unused data and airtime.

‘No technical reason’ for data expiry

Diko said Parliament’s engagement with mobile network operators is intended to better understand the industry’s concerns rather than influence ICASA’s regulatory position.

“When we are engaging MTN and the other mobile network operators, it is not to seek to get ICASA to change its view on certain things, but to understand what are the challenges that industry faces in this regard,” she said.

She noted that the regulations were widely welcomed by consumers, many of whom have long questioned why purchased data should expire.

“We’ve never understood why data must expire. We understand that there are infrastructure management challenges, there are financial management challenges. We don’t think that there’s a technical reason for the ‘use it or lose it’ principle, and that’s what we’re trying to engage them on here,” Diko added.

Industry challenges ICASA regulations

MTN and Vodacom are seeking relief from ICASA’s revised regulations, arguing that aspects of the rules governing data rollover and bundle management should be reconsidered.

The case is expected to have significant implications for South Africa’s mobile telecommunications sector and could determine whether operators are required to allow customers to retain unused data for longer periods.

For consumers, the dispute centres on a simple question: should mobile data that has already been paid for ever expire?

The answer may ultimately be decided in court, but Parliament has made it clear it wants the industry to explain why the “use it or lose it” model should continue.

Do you think it’s fair that mobile data expires?

Let us know by clicking on the comment banner below …

Read full story at source