Community Networks Shape South Africa's Digital Policy as Operators Push Into Regulatory P

South Africa’s Electronic Communications Amendment Bill is open for public comment until 21 August 2026, and for the first time, the practitioners actually running community connectivity services in underserved areas are showing up prepared to shape it.

That preparation came through the South Africa School for Digital Policy, Community Networks Edition (ZASDIP CN/2026), which brought together 23 practitioners from community connectivity initiatives across the country. The school convened representatives from Mamaila Community Network, Soweto Wireless User Group (SOWUG), Zenzeleni, Amadiba, Amaqhawe, Project Isizwe, Jus Technologies, Parktel, and other initiatives nationwide, equipping them for direct advocacy engagement during this regulatory window.

Additional reference context is available at https://www.apc.org/en/news/how-community-connectivity-pioneers-are-changing-south-africas-digital-policy-and-regulation.

The ZASDIP programme was led by the Community Networks South Africa (CNSA) association in partnership with Ellipsis Regulatory Solutions and coordinated through the Local Networks (LocNet) initiative, jointly led by APC and Rhizomatica. The British High Commission in Pretoria and the UK Government’s Digital Access Programme in South Africa provided support.

Josephine Miliza, LocNet’s policy coordinator, set the tone early: “Your experiences are evidence.” The framing was deliberate. Community networks operate across South Africa under vastly different conditions, service models, and social priorities. Yet across that diversity, practitioners converged on the same requests: tailor policies to operational realities, formally recognize their contribution to digital inclusion, and treat spectrum and licensing as essential resources for long-term sustainability.

A centrepiece of the school was a roleplay simulation of multistakeholder policy discussions, guided by Catherine Kyalo, LocNet’s Africa regional liaison. The simulation posed a practical challenge: what would you say to an Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) officer in an elevator? The exercise forced participants to distil their most urgent needs into clear, compelling language.

The practitioners who emerged from ZASDIP spoke with precision. Kgwarishi Malatji from VNET described the basic achievement his initiative delivers: “giving people an opportunity to have access to the internet in their home, something that they never thought was possible given the conditions of where they live.” His appeal to ICASA was direct: “open up spectrum specifically for community networks to operate so that we can continue to give quality service to communities.”

Janine King from JUS Technologies, operating in a rural area with minimal electricity infrastructure, described a concrete outcome her work produced: “one of the things that our company is proud of is that we connected the Isilimela Hospital. We had no idea what is the impact we made until doctors actually explained to us they can speak to the outside world; they can speak to their families; they can get medications in.” Her question to ICASA reframed the regulatory relationship entirely: “We are a small ISP. We do wireless connections to homes, schools, community centres, hospitals. We live in the area so we know what the people want, what they need. So how can you assist us to bridge this digital divide and help both our villages?”

Meanwhile, Leora Magoro from Mamaila Community and Zuri Foundation described a comprehensive service model that goes well beyond connectivity: “ensure that we can cover all the aspects leading to meaningful connectivity usage, because we provide skills training, digital literacy, access to devices, and, most recently, we have developed a tech toolkit which focuses on online safety, inspired by the traditional customs of our people.” Neo Magoro, also from Zuri and Mamaila, pointed to a specific delivery achievement: “being able to be a network that provides digital literacy classes to schools in our area.” Both underscored the same operational priority: access to spectrum.

Sylvan Van Kramberg from Parktel made the infrastructure case plainly: “access to spectrum would be a much-needed and welcome policy to look at and enable us, community networks, to have further reach and more stability. I would urge the minister to really look into that, in helping community networks have better deliverability.” Yumna Panday from Zenzeleni reframed the relationship between communities and regulators in a single line: “I would just say simply… because you have the mandate, we have the market. So let us merge to make connectivity meaningful to the people.”

Ganief Manuel, chairman of the CNSA and from the Ocean View community, expressed the underlying logic of the entire programme: “What I’m proud of is assisting the people within the community and of the difference that connectivity is making within their lives.” His request to ICASA was for recognition of work already underway: “You wouldn’t need to impose extra policies and regulations to enforce us, or force us to perform socio-economic work within the communities. This is already the work that we are doing. We just need assistance to help us have greater impact in helping connect our communities.”

The programme concluded with a visit from South Africa’s Minister of Communications Solly Malatsi, who presented certificates to participants and engaged in discussion about community network policy priorities. A concrete outcome followed: the minister invited fellows to identify and communicate three urgent needs of communities in the digital policy field. Those priorities are being channelled to the ministry through the CNSA.

The bill itself contains several provisions directly relevant to community operations. It defines community networks as not-for-profit entities and exempts them from licensing requirements, substantially lowering barriers to entry. It mandates spectrum sharing with secondary licensees, prioritizing small networks. It also outlines standardized municipal by-laws, including uniform wayleave processes and standardized terms for electronic communications facilities deployments. “This is quite significant for last-mile connectivity actors such as community networks,” Kyalo noted.

The CNSA, created in 2024, functions as a collective entity addressing community network needs across advocacy, capacity building, support, partnership, and resource mobilization. As part of operationalizing the National Strategy for Community Networks in South Africa, the association is expanding representation of community connectivity initiatives across the country.

Following ZASDIP’s first edition, one lead fellow is now working directly with CNSA’s policy and regulation advocacy this year. The consultation window remains open until 21 August 2026. Whether the bill’s provisions translate into workable conditions on the ground depends on how effectively these 23 practitioners can convert their operational experience into regulatory language before that deadline closes.