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USAASA has opened consultation on updating South Africa’s 2010 universal access and service determination, with comments due by 30 October 2026, according to TechCentral’s 2 October report. Separately, government intends to disestablish the agency and repurpose its fund, but the enabling bill had not been published by that date. Neither the consultation nor the announced plan means new service targets have been adopted or USAASA has been abolished.
What does universal access mean in the consultation?
The consultation asks whether the minister’s 2010 determination of universal access and universal service should be updated. TechCentral reported that the discussion document favours a “targeted revision”: keeping distinct the idea of access shared by a community and service available to an individual or household, while broadening the definitions to reflect broadband and emergency communications.
Shared access and individual service are different measures
| Dimension | Shared community access | Individual or household service |
|---|---|---|
| What it describes | Public access available to a community, such as at a shared access point. | Service available to people or households individually. |
| How the proposal treats it | Retains it as a distinct form of universal access. | Retains it as distinct from shared public access. |
The reported proposal is technology-neutral: fixed, wireless and satellite connections could be considered if they meet the required service attributes. That does not mean any particular technology has already qualified or that a household has an entitlement to a specified connection.
Effective use, not a new numerical guarantee
The report says the proposed definitions would consider quality and cost sufficient for “effective use.” This consultation does not set a minimum broadband speed, affordability ceiling or maximum distance to a public access point. The report describes those benchmarks as matters for a later, separate instrument, which would have its own consultation and review timetable. It also says the discussion document cautions against setting fixed percentages or speeds without examining possible consequences for low-income households.
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Are the old universal access targets still in force?
That legal question remains unresolved in the material reported to date. Government Notice 85, issued in February 2010, set numerical targets covering public access points, household access, affordability and broadcasting. The targets were intended to apply for no more than two years. TechCentral reported that USAASA says the old figures “must not be presented as current targets” without separate legal verification, and that the determination’s present legal status still needs confirmation. The report identifies no replacement targets.
So the 2010 targets should not be treated as today’s service entitlements, but the available account also does not establish that the determination is definitively void. Consultation on revised definitions is not itself a legal determination of the old notice’s status.
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How many households have internet access at home?
The answer depends on what “access” means and which survey or reporting year is being used. Access from any location is not the same as fixed internet at home. The figures below come from separate sources and should not be combined as if they were results from one survey.
| Source and reference year | Measure | Reported figure |
|---|---|---|
| Stats SA, General Household Survey 2023, summarized by the South African government | Households with at least one member who could access or used the internet at one or more locations | 78.6% |
| Stats SA, General Household Survey 2023, summarized by the South African government | Households with access to fixed internet at home | 14.5% |
| Stats SA, General Household Survey 2023, summarized by the South African government | Households able to access the internet using mobile technology | 72.6% |
| Stats SA, General Household Survey 2023, summarized by the South African government | Rural households with internet access at home, compared with metropolitan households | 1.7% rural; 23.8% metropolitan |
| ICASA, State of the ICT Sector report published in March 2026; figures refer to 2024 and are cited by TechCentral | Households with internet access from any location, compared with access at home | 82.1% from any location; 17.4% at home |
These measures show why a single headline access percentage can obscure the gap between being able to connect somewhere and having a fixed connection at home. Separately, Stats SA’s Census 2022 found that 79% of South African households owned televisions; television ownership is not a measure of internet access.
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Is USAASA being abolished?
No. Government has announced an intention to disestablish USAASA and repurpose the Universal Service and Access Fund (USAF), but the institutional change was not complete as of TechCentral’s 2 October 2026 report. Communications Minister Solly Malatsi said the agency’s disestablishment “must be preceded by legislative enablement,” as reported by TechCentral.
What the proposed legislation would do
The separate, unpublished bill is intended to convert USAF into a Digital Development Challenge Fund, disestablish USAASA, and transfer employees, assets and liabilities to successor arrangements. Before public consultation, it would first need to pass through a ministerial cluster and Cabinet process. Malatsi anticipated possible introduction in Parliament “in the next financial year”; that was an expectation, not a published timetable. The Electronic Communications Amendment Bill then before Parliament did not contain provisions on USAASA or USAF.
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The plan predates the current consultation: Malatsi’s 2025/26 budget vote described continuing the process of disestablishing USAASA and repurposing the fund. That announcement did not itself dissolve the statutory body.
Why governance has also drawn attention
On 28 January 2026, Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies raised concern about prolonged leadership and governance instability at USAASA. The committee said the instability “continues to undermine institutional performance, accountability and the effective delivery of its mandate to advance universal connectivity.” This is the committee’s assessment, not an independent audit finding.
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Where does the Universal Service and Access Fund spend its money?
TechCentral reported USAF expenditure of R521.2 million in 2025/26. Most of the reported spending went to broadcasting digital migration, with a smaller share for broadband projects.
| USAF spending, 2025/26 | Amount reported | Share or use |
|---|---|---|
| Broadcasting digital migration project | R430.7 million | About 83% of reported spending |
| Broadband projects | R83.3 million | 16% of reported spending |
| Overheads and audit fees | R7.2 million, calculated as the remainder of the reported total | Remainder |
| Total reported expenditure | R521.2 million | 2025/26 |
The remainder above is calculated by subtracting the two reported project amounts from the reported total; TechCentral describes it as spending on overheads and audit fees.
Set-top boxes are part of the fund’s migration work
Parliament’s 2026 budget document says USAF will continue subsidising set-top boxes for indigent households that applied and qualified. The same budget material plans broadband network construction or extension in underserved areas identified by ICASA, with a projected R168.7 million over the medium term to target 60 underserved areas. A DVB-T2 set-top box is therefore a tangible connection to the fund’s digital-migration spending, but buying a box is not required to participate in the consultation, and no particular retail product or eligibility for subsidy is established by these details.
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