By JOHANNESBURG — The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have sharply criticized South Africa’s leading telecommunications operators, MTN and Vodacom, following their decision to initiate court proceedings against the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) over new data rollover regulations.
Expressing their unhappiness on Monday, 27 July 2026, the political party condemned the operators for seeking to overturn regulatory measures designed to protect consumers from the automatic forfeiture of unused mobile data, voice, and SMS bundles.
The Regulatory Dispute
At the centre of the dispute are rules mandated by ICASA aimed at ensuring that unused mobile data, voice, and SMS units do not expire arbitrarily, requiring service providers to roll over unused balances automatically without imposing extra fees on subscribers.
According to court filings cited in the party’s statement, MTN contends that ICASA exceeded its statutory authority by mandating strict bundle rollover rules, requiring explicit opt-in consent for out-of-bundle charges, and enforcing unrestricted data transfers between users. MTN further argues that these regulations could inadvertently stifle market competition and drive end-user prices higher.
Vodacom, while claiming alignment with consumer protection principles, has challenged specific aspects of the framework as ambiguous and technically complex to implement across existing billing environments.
EFF Pushes Back Against Telcos
The EFF has rejected the operators’ legal arguments, describing the litigation as an effort to preserve profit margins derived from expired customer data.
“There is no rational or moral justification for telecommunications companies to confiscate data that our struggling people have already paid for simply because a date printed in a system has been reached,” the party stated, arguing that data “does not rot, expire, or perish like food.”
Dismissing claims regarding implementation difficulties, the EFF noted that both MTN and Vodacom operate advanced digital infrastructure and billing platforms capable of executing compliance requirements such as out-of-bundle charge notifications and seamless rollover functionality.
“These are some of the largest telecommunications corporations operating in Africa, with sophisticated billing, customer-management, and digital systems,” the statement read. “The argument that protecting consumers will somehow reduce competition or increase prices is particularly cynical.”
Calls on Regulator and Future Engagements
The red berets urged ICASA to defend its regulatory mandate against corporate litigation and refrain from making policy concessions under pressure from market leaders.
In addition to supporting the regulator’s legal defence, the party announced plans to convene direct meetings with telecommunications service providers to address data pricing, rollover mechanisms, and consumer protections.
Neither MTN, Vodacom, nor ICASA have issued formal public responses regarding the EFF’s latest statement as of publication time.
