Telecoms Action Group

The Shuttleworth Foundation has made a significant donation to the Telecoms Action Group (TAG) – an organisation that aims to address the restrictive state of telecommunications in South Africa with campaigns that aim to raise public awareness and bring about change in the local market, ultimately leading to the deregulation of the telecommunications industry.

The Shuttleworth Foundation believes consumer activism has a vital role to play in the deregulation of the telecommunications industry in South Africa. The donation to TAG was made so that the organisation could continue their campaign and raise consumer awareness of the issue.

However, the Shuttleworth Foundation maintains no influence over the Telecoms Action Group or its activities. As part of the terms of the donation made, the Foundation simply requested that TAG provide it with a breakdown of how the donated funds were allocated.

The Shutteworth Foundation feels that TAG is effective in its combining of niche online activities with mainstream media. Instead of merely providing an online forum for consumers to vent their frustration, TAG proactively exposes the issues of telecommunications regulation to a broader audience. An example of how the organisation achieves this is an advert it placed in the Mail & Guardian newspaper.

The Foundation continues to support the efforts of the Telecoms Action Group and wishes it every success in raising public awareness surrounding the state of telecommunications in South Africa.

• Telecommunication Profile for South Africa