South Africans will soon stop losing unused, expired mobile data

It’s a frustration many South Africans have been grappling with for years. Buying mobile data, only for it to disappear before it’s been fully used up.

When it comes to unused prepaid data, consumers have long been asking the same question: Why doesn’t it roll over?

New Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) regulations aim to put an end to that frustration by allowing data and airtime rollovers.

The rules, expected to come into effect next year, are intended to give consumers more control over data they already paid for.

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has welcomed the move, with national spokesperson Sinawo Thambo saying that the changes acknowledge what many consumers have long felt about data expiry not making sense.

"It's something that we've been championing since the beginning of last year. We had bilateral meetings with the service providers and telecoms experts in the industry."

Thambo said that the party was also at pains to understand the reason behind the expiry of data.

"What was the logic?"

He explains that the party wrote to Parliament to request that tech companies go to Parliament and explain themselves.

The explanation received was not satisfactory, said Thambo.

"We were not pleased with the rationale, which basically prioritised profit over people, limited access to information, which is a Constitutional right."

For millions of prepaid users, the changes could significantly change the way they buy and consume data.

In today's world, data is as critical as food, addedThambo, calling the decision by Icasa a step in the right direction.

Under the new rules, any unused data left at the end of a bundle’s validity period must be rolled over at least once. That rolled-over data must come with the same terms and conditions as the original bundle.

Importantly, customers won’t have to request this rollover, and they won’t be charged for it, as long as their phone number is still active.

For more information, listen to Thambo using the audio player below: