By: Kanto Kai Okanta
South
Africa’s Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) has
imposed a R6 million fine on Session Telecoms Proprietary Limited for
contravening the country’s Numbering Plan Regulations following an
investigation into the alleged misuse of numbering resources.
The
regulatory action follows a complaint lodged by Mobile Telephone Networks
Proprietary Limited (MTN) against Session Telecoms in April 2023. The complaint
alleged that Session had misused numbering resources allocated by ICASA through
practices associated with interconnect bypass operations, including Calling
Line Identification (CLI) manipulation, call refiling and SIM-boxing.
The
matter was investigated and adjudicated by ICASA’s Complaints and Compliance
Committee (CCC), which conducted hearings between September 2023 and October
2025 before submitting its findings and recommendations to the Authority.
On
18 June 2026, ICASA approved the CCC’s recommendations, finding that Session
Telecoms had breached the Numbering Plan Regulations by using invalid numbers
and numbers that had not been allocated to the company.
The
CCC also found that Session failed to ensure that the numbering resources
assigned to it were used efficiently and effectively, with the investigation
indicating that communications traffic was not being routed through MTN’s
network in line with regulatory requirements.
As
a result, ICASA imposed a R3 million fine for contravening Regulation 6(3)(f)
of the Numbering Plan Regulations and an additional R3 million fine for
breaching Regulation 6(3)(g).
In
addition to the financial penalties, ICASA directed Session Telecoms to
immediately stop any further violations of the Numbering Plan Regulations. The
Authority also barred affected numbering resources to prevent further misuse
and indicated that those resources may be withdrawn where necessary.
Session
Telecoms has further been required to submit monthly compliance reports to
ICASA for a period of 24 months, including details relating to call records and
international call traffic carried on its network.
ICASA
Chairperson of the Numbering Plan Resources Committee, Councillor Mushi, said
compliance with the Numbering Plan Regulations was critical to protecting the
integrity, efficiency and security of South Africa’s national numbering system.
“Numbering
resources are a scarce national asset and must be used responsibly by licensed
operators to ensure the reliable delivery of electronic communications
services,” Mushi said.
