ISPA to Promote Value of Membership at Broadband Conference

2 October 2013

South Africa’s Internet Service Providers’ Association (ISPA) plans to take a message of Internet industry unity to this year’s MyBroadband conference being held on 9 October at Gallagher Estate in Midrand.

“The united lobbying voice represented by ISPA has notched up many significant legal, legislative and regulatory victories since a handful of Internet stakeholders first got together in 1996 to discuss promoting the industry’s agenda in the interests of Internet growth and development,” said ISPA co-Chair Marc Furman.

Since then, ISPA has been actively involved in driving liberalisation and competition in the Internet access market, revolutionising wholesale access through the complaint against Telkom at ICASA which resulted in the IPC product, and successful complaints against Telkom to the Competition Commission which have directly resulted in price reductions for consumers.

ISPA was recognised in 2009 by the Minister of Communications as an Industry Representative Body (IRB) in terms of section 71 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act. This recognition was helped by the significant uptake in ISPA membership which currently sits at over 150 Internet Service Providers (ISPs) offering a diverse range of services to a broad set of target markets.

Mr Furman explained that ISPA will be promoting the value of ISPA membership and various ISPA projects at MyBroadband 2013. The latter includes the ISPA Code of Conduct which helps regulate the industry and the iCode which boosts Internet user protection.

“We would also like to give members who may not already have booked a stand a chance to market their companies while as the same time supporting ISPA,” said Mr Furman. He added that ISPA members who wished to distribute marketing material at Stand 3B should contact the ISPA Secretariat to make suitable arrangements.

The MyBroadband Conference is the premier event of its kind in South Africa, attracting IT executives and delegates from around the country. Speakers from all of the major telecoms players in the country will ensure that its ninth instalment is the most enthralling yet.

“A recent illustration of the reputation enjoyed by ISPA can be found in the fact that the Association received an invitation from the Swedish Trade & Investment Council to attend their conference which also falls in the second week of October. ISPA’s reputation and influence extends worldwide, from Sweden to Australia, and we’ll continue to build relationships for the benefits of our members and Internet users in South Africa,” concluded Mr Furman.