Business
South Africa’s Data Bundle Debate: Why a Three-Year Expiry Could Backfire
A law that sounds good on paper
Imagine never losing data again. That is the vision driving fresh calls in Parliament to force mobile operators to make all data bundles valid for at least three years. The idea is being pushed by the Portfolio Committee on Trade, Industry, and Competition, led by Mzwandile Masina, who argues that it is unfair and exploitative for unused data to expire.
For many South Africans, especially those living on the margins, data is a lifeline. The committee believes that when bundles vanish before they are used, it strips vulnerable people of access to education, work opportunities, and critical information.
Operators push back hard
But South Africa’s biggest mobile networks are not convinced. Cell C, MTN, and Vodacom have all warned that enforcing a universal three-year expiry would hurt the very people it is meant to help.
Cell C argues that “evergreen” data would create enormous pressure on infrastructure. Keeping data alive for three years would demand costly capacity upgrades and could make networks more expensive to run, pushing up consumer prices.
Vodacom echoed this, saying short-term bundles would disappear altogether, leaving only long-term, more expensive options. That could push low-income users out of the market, widen the digital divide, and undo progress in digital inclusion.
MTN explained that data expiry is not just a pricing trick but also a way to manage limited spectrum. Extending every bundle to three years, it said, would reduce flexibility, increase costs, and compromise service quality.
A familiar battle
This is not the first time South Africa has gone in circles over data validity. Back in 2017, Icasa floated the idea of minimum expiry periods but eventually backed down. Instead, it introduced reforms like rolling over unused data, banning out-of-bundle charges without consent, and giving users better tools to track usage.
Those changes were seen as a compromise, but Parliament’s latest push suggests the appetite for tougher consumer protection has not gone away.
Consumers caught in the middle
For ordinary South Africans, the debate is deeply personal. On one hand, people are tired of losing hard-earned airtime and data they cannot afford to waste. On the other hand, warnings of higher prices hit just as hard. The fear is that new rules designed to protect the poor may end up punishing them instead.
Parliament has framed this as a battle between people’s rights and corporate profits. Operators say it is about practical realities and network sustainability. Somewhere in between lies the future cost of connectivity in South Africa.
For now, the arguments continue, and consumers are left waiting to see if the promise of longer-lasting data will ever truly materialise.
Also read: Price pressure looms as electricity hikes set to hit South Africa in 2026
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Source: MyBroadband
Featured Image: BusinessTech
