Lisa Thornton Consulting

Advisor to the Minister for Communications on various issues including -

• The invitation for applications for the third mobile cellular license
• Electronic commerce policy
  

Advisor to the South African Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, the Independent Broadcasting Authority and the successor organisation, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa, on various issues, including -

• The formulation of regulations, for example, interconnection and facilities leasing regulations
  
• Opinions on various issues, for example, the constitutionality of license fees
• Advice regarding powers of and procedures for inspectors
• Presentation of workshops
  
• Advice regarding the implementation of legislation, for example, the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act and the Competition Act
• Policy development for satellite broadcasting
• Advice on monitoring licensees and imposing sanctions for failure to meet license conditions or adherence to regulations
• The prosecution of license applications for 1800 MHz frequencies by mobile cellular licensees

Advisor to the Competition Commission on several matters -

• The development of the paper, The State of Competition in the Telecommunications Sector in South Africa, available online at internationalcompetitionnetwork.org/media/library/conference_5th_capetown_2006/AppendixIII.pdf
• Presentation of workshop on the implications of the Electronic Communications Act

Advisor to the Universal Service and Access Agency of South Africa on -

• Definitions of Universal Service, Universal Access, Under-serviced areas and Needy Persons, available at usaasa.org.za/index.php?q=publications,2.
  
• Convergence and the impact of the Electronic Communications Act on the Agency
• Under-serviced area licences and their sustainability, available here.
  

Advisor to government institutions regarding the development of legislation including -

• Equality legislation (Human Rights Commission)
• Housing legislation (National and Provincial Departments of Housing)
• Elections legislation (Independent Electoral Commission)
• Expropriation legislation (Department of Agriculture and Land Affairs)

Advisor to clients with regard to out-sourcing ICT requirements, and the preparation of requests for and evaluation of tenders

Conducting regulatory due diligences with regard to communications and media licenses and assets in various African countries

Advisor to clients regarding the licensing of communications and broadcasting networks and services, and other regulatory issues, such as interconnection, pricing, and spectrum

Advisor to clients on policy issues, such as e-commerce, convergence, and competition

Advisor to clients regarding the implementation of new legislation, including the electronic communications legislation, interception legislation, electronic transactions, and access to information legislation

Advisor to clients on contractual and transactional matters

Advisor to clients on competition matters related to the ICT industry, including complaints and mergers