1910 ­ By the time of unification in 1910 the four colonies had developed their own postal, telegraph and telephone services. In order to regulate the various services parliament promulgated the Post Office Administration and Shipping Combinations Discouragement Act.1 This act was finally superseded by the Post Office Act.2
 
Get all the current telecommunications legislation at
http://www.polity.org.za/govdocs/legislation/doclaw.html
 
1947 ­ The Cable and Wireless Workers Transfer Act3 provides for the acquisition by the government of the assets of a company known as Cable and Wireless of South Africa Limited.
 
1958 ­ The Post Office Act4 establishes in section 78 what is today known as Telkom's monopoly.5
 
1963 ­ The Telegraph Messages Protection Act6 consolidates the laws relating to telegraph messages. It also confers temporary exclusive rights in respect of certain telephonic messages. The Act furthermore repeals the Telegraph Messages Protection Act7, which previously dealt with these matters.
 
November 1965 ­ Rhodes University is the first university in South Africa to install a computer, an ICT 1301.
 

1968 ­ The Post Office Re-adjustment Act8 provides for the administration of the then Department of Posts and Telegraphs on business principles. It establishes a fund into which all revenues and out of which all expenditure is to be paid and provides for the establishment of the Post Office Staff Board. This Act was repealed by the Post Office Amendment Act.9

1974 ­ The Communications Services Act10 consolidates and amends the laws relating to the organisation, appointment, conditions of service, discipline, retirement and discharge of officers and employees in the then Department of Posts and Telecommunications. This Act was repealed by the Department of Communication's Rationalisation Act11 that provides for the rationalisation of the Department of Communications.

1988 ­ First e-mail link to the Internet established by Rhodes University, Grahamstown.
 
1991 ­ The Post Office Amendment Act 85 of 1991 provides for the establishment and incorporation of Telkom SA Limited and the South African Post Office Limited.
 
1992 ­ The Interception and Monitoring Prohibition Act12 prohibits the interception of certain communications and provides for the interception of postal articles and communications and for the monitoring of conversations in the case of a serious offence or if the security of the state is threatened.
 
Get the Interception and Monitoring Act at
http://www.polity.org.za/govdocs/legislation/doclaw.html
 
1992 ­ The National Emergency Telephone Services Act13 provides for the establishment of emergency telephones and emergency telephone numbers.
 
Get the National Emergency Telephone Services Act at
http://www.polity.org.za/govdocs/legislation/doclaw.html
 
7 July 1995 ­ The Minister of Posts, Telecommunications and Broadcasting launches the Green Paper on Telecommunications Policy and so initiates the consultative process to create a White Paper on Telecommunications Policy. The Green Paper is the product of extensive consultation with the telecommunications sector.
 
Get the Telecommunications Green Paper at
http://www.polity.org.za/govdocs/green_papers/telecomms.html
 
Get the Telecommunications White Paper at
http://www.polity.org.za/govdocs/white_papers/telewp.html
 
7 November 1995 ­ The Department of Posts, Telecommunications and Broadcasting releases two papers on the submissions following the Green paper: a statistical analysis of the responses to the Green Paper and an interim narrative report on the submissions received.
 
20-23 November 1995 ­ the Minister convenes the National Colloquium on Telecommunications Policy to provide stakeholders in the telecommunications sector with an opportunity to discuss the key issues arising from submissions to the Green Paper. Consensus is reached on all issues with the exception of the issues affecting Telkom's ownership and monopoly position.
 
5 February 1996 ­ A second draft of the White Paper is tabled for discussion at the National Telecommunications Forum Plenary Conference.
 
22 March 1996 ­ The Former States Posts and Telecommunications Reorganisation Act14 provides for the integration of the posts and telecommunications departments of the former Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda and Ciskei, with Telkom SA Limited and the South African Post Office Limited. The Act furthermore provides for the transfer of their postal and telecommunications enterprises and land used by them to the said companies.
 
Get the Former States Posts and Telecommunications Re-organisation Act at http://www.polity.org.za/govdocs/legislation/doclaw.html
 

June 1996 ­ Uniforum set up a peering point with free access to anyone wishing to connect to it. The peering point initially receives some support from ISPs without any international links of their own. Later, the launch of peering points by ISPA and the political tensions between ISPA and Telkom prevent the peering point from growing further.

A short history of peering in South Africa at
http://www.internet.org.za/industry/peering.html
 
10 June 1996 ­ The Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA) is formed in response to Telkom's formation of SAIX and Intekom. Founding members included the Internet Solution, UUNet Internet Africa, Network Information Services, PIX, Global Internet Access and LeClub Internet Access.
 
ISPA press statement at
http://www.ispa.org.za/press1.html
 
15 June 1996 ­ ISPA decides to make a submission to the Competition Board because of SAIX's entry into the Internet services market.
 
ISPA press statement at http://www.ispa.org.za/press2.html
 
ISPA submission to Competition Board at
http://www.ispa.org.za/submission.html
 
15 November 1996 ­ The Telecommunications Act15 comes into force.16 The short title of the Act states that it is enacted to make provision for the regulation of telecommunication activities other than broadcasting and to establish an independent South African Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (SATRA) and a Universal Service Agency (USA). The Act establishes a number of telecommunication services17 and regulates them with licensing requirements.
 
 
 
Get the SATRA home page at http://www.satra.gov.za
 
Get the home page of the Universal Service Agency at
http://www.usa.org.za/
 
25 November 1996 ­ ISPA establishes a peering point in Rosebank, Johannesburg. Telkom's SAIX network is prohibited from peering; the effect is that customers who feed from the SAIX tree have painfully slow response times for many local sites.
 
ISPA press statement at
http://www.ispa.org.za/press4.html
 
November 1996 ­ SAIX ISPs Action Group (SIAG) formed to promote the interests of the ISPs connected to SAIX and to lobby against Telkom's entry into the Internet services market.
 
10 February 1997 ­ SATRA is established.
 
21 February 1997 ­ The lack of a SAIX link to a South African peering point again comes under discussion at an ISPA meeting. ISPA decides that any peering with Telkom or SAIX should wait until the Competition Board makes a ruling.
 
An overview of the South African Internet industry at
http://www.internet.org.za/overview1.html
 
7 May 1997 ­ A VANS licence is issued to Telkom18 dealing among other things with Telkom's right to provide Value Added Network Services, which is defined in the licence to include electronic data interchange, e-mail, protocol conversion, voice mail, videoconferencing, telecommunication ­ related publishing and advertising and electronic information services.
 
7 May 1997 ­ A PSTS licence is issued to Telkom19 setting certain roll-out and service targets and giving Telkom a five-year monopoly on, among others, all and any telecommunication facilities to be used by any person for the provision of VANS.
 
27 March 1997 ­ Telkom fails to provide the agreed financial information to the Competition Board to monitor the prices of SAIX.
 
ISPA press statement at http://www.ispa.org.za/press5.html
 
 
March 1997 ­ The concept of a "Blue Paper" originates during discussions mediated by the Competition Board. Participants include Telkom, SIAG and ISPA.
 
12 May 1997 ­ SATRA takes the ISPA complaint to the Competition Board.
 
15 May 1997 ­ SATRA announces in a press statement that the Internet, as a Value Added Network Service, is an area of competition in terms of the Telecommunications Act. It furthermore states that one of the major regulatory challenges in relation to competition policy is to ensure that when markets are opened up, the dominant operator (Telkom) does not leverage its position in one market to achieve dominance in the other.
 
ISPA press statement at
http://www.ispa.org.za/press6.html
 
10 June 1997 ­ ISPA makes a submission to SATRA to take action against Telkom in terms of sections 36(d) and 53 of the Telecommunication Act.20
 
 
ISPA press statement at http://www.ispa.org.za/press7.html
 
16 July 1997 ­ Competition Board makes an interim ruling on the dispute between ISPA and Telkom and confirms that ISPA's concerns are plausible.
 
Interim ruling of the Competition Board at
www.ispa.org.za/interim_ruling.html
 
July 1997 ­ SET 1.0 specifications are published.
 
August 1997 ­ According to ISPA Telkom decides not to provide any new
international bandwidth to the ISPA and its members.
 
ISPA press statement at
http://www.ispa.org.za/press9.html
 
August 1997 ­ "Blue Paper" is published to provide input to SATRA and the government on regulation as it should apply to the Internet. The Paper discusses Telkom's participation in the Internet market, licensing in the Internet industry and matters relating to voice traffic on the Internet.
 
 
5 September 1997 ­ In Regulation 1320 of 199721 SATRA announces its intention to make a ruling on whether or not Internet Protocol falls within the exclusive rights vested in Telkom.
 
14 October 1997 ­ SATRA makes a ruling that access to the Internet will be supplied under Value Added Network Service (VANS) licences and that Telkom has no claim to exclusivity with regard to the provision of Internet access. SATRA also rules that a neutral, industry-administered peering point should be established.
 
October 1997 ­ Media Africa releases ISP survey.
 
Get the Executive Summary of the survey at
http://www.mediaafrica.co.za/isp97.html
 
20 November 1997 ­ SATRA invites submissions on the regulation and licensing of Value Added Network Services (VANS) and Private Telecommunication Networks (PTN).22
 
ISPA press statement at
http://www.ispa.org.za/submission3.html
 
28 October 1998 ­ The South African Chapter of the Internet Society is officially founded.
 
Get the ISOC SA home page at
http://www.isoc.org.za/
 
21 January 1998 ­ ISPA lifts its peering restrictions on Telkom and Intekom by allowing them membership to ISPA.
 
ISPA press statement at
http://www.ispa.org.za/press14.html
 
29 April 1998 ­ SAIX and the Internet Solution reach agreement on a peering agreement.
 
May 1998 ­ The Department of Communications establishes an Information Technology investment cluster to develop coherent legislation on Information Society issues.
 
Get the Department of Communications home page at
http://docweb.pwv.gov.za/
 
4 June 1998 ­ ISOC SA is approved by the Internet Society as the official Chapter of the Internet Society in South Africa.
 
July 1998 ­ Media Africa releases figures from Web commerce survey and Web users survey.
 
Get more detail on the Web user survey at
http://www.mediaafrica.co.za/webusers.html
 
Get more detail on the Web commerce survey at
http://www.mediaafrica.co.za/webcommerce.html
 
4 February 1999 ­ ISOC SA elects members of the namespace drafting committee and commences the drafting of namespace policy for the top za domain.
 
More information on the namespace drafting committee and the terms of reference at http://www.isoc.org.za/namespace.html
 
1 April 1999 ­ The National Research Foundation is established by the National Research Foundation Act 23 of 1998.
 
Get the NRF home page at
http://www.frd.ac.za
 
30 April 1999 ­ The Films and Publications Act is amended to make specific provision for material obtained through the Internet.
 
Get the Films and Publications Amendment Act 34 of 1999 at
http://www.polity.org.za/govdocs/legislation/1999/index.html
 
23 June 1999 ­ For the first time in five years, the growth of Internet usage in South Africa slows down significantly, according to the 3rd South African Internet Services Industry Survey.
 
Get the Media Africa press statement on the 3rd SA Internet Services Survey at http://www.mediaafrica.co.za/sisnew.html
 
Endnotes
  1. 10 of 1911 (Back)
  2. 44 of 1958
  3. 43 of 1947
  4. 44 of 1958
  5. Sec 78 of the Post Office Act 44 of 1958 is incorporated by reference into sec 36(1) of the Telecommunications Act 103 of 1996. (Back)
  6. 44 of 1963
  7. 26 of 1917
  8. 67 of 1968
  9. 113 of 1976
  10. 66 of 1974 (Back)
  11. 10 of 1998
  12. 127 of 1992
  13. 127 of 1992
  14. 5 of 1996
  15. 103 of 1996 (Back)
  16. Some provisions of the Act came into operation on 15/11/96 in terms of GG NO 17578 dd 15/11/1996. Other provisions came into operation on 21/2/1997 in terms of GG NO 17817 dd 21/2/1997 and the final provisions came into operation on 13/6/1997 in terms of GG NO 18074 dd 13/6/1997.
  17. Sec 36­41
  18. GN 769 in GG 17984 dd 7/5/1997
  19. GN 768 in GG 17984 dd 7/5/1997
  20. 103 of 1996 (Back)
  21. GG NO 18272 dd 5/9/1997
  22. GG NO 18462 dd 20/11/1997