Chairperson, I thank the Minister for the response. I am not going to take a bite at the megabyte or the gigabyte - they seem too large to take a bite at them!
I am glad that the department recognises the need for cellphone charges to go down. In 2010 the former Minister did come to this House and make pronouncements on interconnection rates, but I am talking about the ordinary user in the rural areas.
I believe, and I would like your comments on this, Madam Minister, that something is incumbent upon this government, given the fact that the fixed line that is provided by Telkom is not being used by many people, particularly in rural areas. In many rural areas, and I am sure hon members can confirm this, cables are being stolen and Telkom is refusing to replace the cables. Therefore Mrs Ramfol, Mrs Ngcobo and Mrs Van der Merwe who live on farms are forced to use cellphones.
Now, with this kind of phenomenon, the fact that Telkom is not prepared to invest more, and we agree on this, shouldn't we be putting more pressure on Icasa to put pressure on the cellphone operators to reduce cellphone charges, because they are way too high at this moment? Thank you.