Communications regulator Icasa has gazetted an update to its consumer-protection rules that will materially change how mobile data, voice and SMS bundles work – and sharply limit how operators bill customers once those bundles are depleted.
Published in the Government Gazette on 23 January, the end-user and subscriber service charter amendment regulations introduce stricter requirements around bundle expiry, rollover, transfers and out-of-bundle charges. The regulations will only come into effect 12 months after publication, giving operators until early 2027 to adapt their billing systems and product offerings.
At the centre of the amendments is a rewritten regulation 8A, which for the first time applies uniformly across data, voice and SMS services. Until now, much of Icasa’s consumer-protection focus has been on mobile data, with voice and SMS left subject to more flexible – and often more expensive – billing practices.
Under the rules, operators must notify customers when they reach 50%, 80% and 100% of their bundle usage, using SMS, app notifications or other appropriate channels. While users will retain the option to opt out of these alerts, Icasa’s intention is to ensure customers are properly informed before their services run out.
More significantly, the regulations put an end to silent out-of-bundle billing. Once a bundle is depleted, an operator must immediately stop the service unless the customer has explicitly opted into out-of-bundle charges or purchases another bundle. This requirement applies to prepaid, post-paid and hybrid customers alike and is aimed squarely at preventing bill shock.
Icasa has also intervened in how multiple bundles are consumed. If a customer has more than one active bundle, operators will be required to deplete the bundle with the earliest expiry date first, rather than drawing down newer bundles and allowing older ones to lapse unused. The regulator believes this will significantly reduce the value consumers lose through expiry.
Rollover
Another major change concerns rollover. All bundles with a validity period longer than seven days must automatically roll over unused portions at least once when they expire, provided the Sim card remains active. Crucially, rollover must occur without any action by the customer and without any additional cost. Short-term bundles of seven days or less, as well as free, uncapped and promotional bundles, are excluded from this requirement.
Bundle transfers are also entrenched as a consumer right. Operators will have to allow customers to transfer bundles, or portions of them, to other users on the same network, with no limits on frequency or volume. As with rollover, promotional and free bundles are excluded, but otherwise the rule applies across data, voice and SMS services.
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The amendments further introduce protections where network faults prevent customers from using their bundles. In such cases, operators will be required to extend the validity period of affected bundles to compensate for the loss of service.
In its accompanying reasons document, Icasa sets out why it believes this level of intervention is justified. The regulator argues that previous versions of the service charter were routinely undermined by complex conditions and product designs that complied with the letter, but not the spirit, of the rules. It points to persistent complaints about data expiry, high out-of-bundle charges and confusing rollover mechanisms, particularly among low-income prepaid users.
Mobile operators pushed back during the consultation process. Vodacom, MTN, Telkom and Cell C all argued that the amendments amount to regulatory overreach, interfere with contractual freedom, and risk increasing costs by complicating network planning and capacity management. Several warned that mandatory rollover and bundle transfers would reduce product differentiation and ultimately push prices higher.
Icasa rejected those arguments. It said it is empowered under the Electronic Communications Act to set minimum standards on matters of concern to end users and that modern networks should be engineered with sufficient flexibility to handle fluctuating demand. The authority also dismissed calls for a formal regulatory impact assessment, arguing that such studies are not legally required and that it already has ample evidence of consumer harm.
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The regulator insists it is taking a “light-touch” approach by setting baseline protections while still allowing operators to compete above that floor on pricing, coverage, quality of service and value-added features. Once the rules take effect, consumers should see fewer surprise charges, less wasted data and greater transparency, while operators will be forced to rethink how bundles are structured and monetised. – © 2026 NewsCentral Media
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