NGOs are finally getting zero-rated – but mobile network operators need to move faster

The DG Murray Trust (DGMT) welcomes the latest move by mobile network operator Rain to zero-rate the digital content of 23 public benefit organisations (PBOs), ensuring people who can’t afford data can access information, resources and services provided by South African non-profits for free. This move should serve as a challenge to other major network operators to do the same.

In a country with unequal access to the internet and high data costs, the zero-rating of digital content provides significant opportunity for people to access information for education, social services, healthcare and job seeking.

Mobile network operators, like Rain, are legally obligated to make the content of PBOs data-free as part of their licensing conditions. This rule applies to all mobile network operators that successfully bid for new spectrum during a multibillion-rand auction held by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) in 2022.

In May last year, ICASA published regulations outlining the process that PBOs had to follow to be zero-rated. To streamline the application process, DGMT set up a platform called the Social Innovation Register to assist PBOs with their applications to ICASA and to help them meet the technical requirements for zero-rating.

“Even though 30 were vetted on the register and submitted to ICASA for processing, mobile network operators have been slow to implement zero-rating across all their networks,” says Dr Busisiwe Kabane-Bailey, innovation director at the DGMT. “While network operators have been given three years from 15 January 2024 to implement their zero-rating obligations, each week that goes by means children miss out on stories and early learning, and young people miss opportunities to develop skills and find work.”

While DGMT recognises the efforts of individual mobile network operators to zero-rate certain websites as part of their own corporate social responsibility initiatives, it’s not enough. We need a collective and co-ordinated effort to zero-rate all verified PBOs across all networks.

“Piecemeal efforts are not enough to expand access to those who would benefit most from zero-rating. To date, only two PBOs that applied through the social innovation register are zero-rated by all relevant operators,” Kabane-Bailey explains. “We need network providers to view zero-rating not as an obligation but an opportunity to accelerate socio-economic development in South Africa.”

Why zero-rating matters for low-income families

Among the organisations recently made data-free on the Rain network are Nal’ibali and

ECD Connect.

Nal’ibali is a national reading-for-enjoyment campaign that offers free storybooks in different local languages and encourages parents to read to their children. Considering that a quarter of households in this country have no books, Nal’ibali plays a critical role in embedding a reading culture among young children.

ECD Connect also plays an important role in developing young children as a digital tool designed for early childhood development (ECD) practitioners in low-income settings. It’s a free app that practitioners and principals can use to keep track of their lesson plans, children’s attendance and development, access training and resources, and connect with peers in the ECD sector.

“Zero-rating increases access to online information for users who are most disadvantaged, supporting their learning, earning and ability to care for their families,” Kabane-Bailey concludes.