Telecommunications and broadcasting are governed by the Electronic Communications Act, 2005 (ECA). The regulatory authority is the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA).  The Minister of Communications, the head of the Department of Communications, is responsible for developing policy for the communications sector and may issue policy directives to ICASA in this regard.

ICASA is required by the ICASA Act to function without any political or commercial interference. ICASA is an 'organ of state', and its conduct in considering licence applications and performing other regulatory functions constitutes administrative action. This means that ICASA must act in a lawful, rational and procedurally fair manner in exercising its statutory powers. Should it fail to do so, its actions and decisions may be set aside on review by the High Court.

The ECA takes account of the convergence of telecommunications and broadcasting technology, which allows for avariety of different services to be provided over a single platform, and establishes a regulatory framework in line with new communications methods and technologies. To facilitate convergence in the sector, the ECA provides for a single licensing framework in respect of all communications networks (regardless of the services provided across them) and communications services, although a distinction is retained between telecommunications services (which are described as electronic communications services) and broadcasting services.

There are various licensing requirements imposed by the ECA: 

• a licence is required to authorise the operation of physical network infrastructure (whether fixed, wireless, mobile or satellite);
• a separate licence is required to provide telecommunications services (voice, data, internet) to end-users over a network;
• a separate licence is required to provide broadcasting services (being uni-directional audio-visual services) to end-users over a network;
• further licences are required if a network operator uses any radio frequency spectrum to operate a network and to transmit telecommunications or broadcasting signals.

ICASA has exempted certain services and uses of the radio frequency spectrum from the licensing requirements.  On this basis, resellers of electronic communications services and operators of small or private electronic communications networks, amongst others, are not required to be licensed.  The use of the Industrial, Scientific and Medical spectrum bands as well as certain other bands for particular applications and within specific parameters has been exempted from the radio frequency spectrum licensing requirements.

The ECA provides that electronic communications services, broadcasting services and electronic communications networks may be authorised in terms of either an individual or a class licence. The type of licence that is required depends on the scope of the service or network. Individual licences are generally required in respect of services that have a significant impact on socioeconomic development and will be granted pursuant to a relatively intensive adjudication process. Class licences, on the other hand, are required in respect of services that ICASA finds do not have a significant impact on socioeconomic development, necessitating less intensive regulation. Service providers and network operators requiring class licence authorisation are only required to register with ICASA in respect of such services. ICASA has very limited power to refuse such registration.

Operators’ lawful intercept and traffic data retention obligations are dealt with in the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act, 2002.

E-commerce activities are regulated primarily in terms of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, 2002 and the Consumer Protection Act, 2008.