WASPA’s Inaugural Board Begins Its Term

South Africa’s Wireless Application Service Providers’ Association (WASPA) recently amended its Constitution to better equip the non-profit industry association to represent the interests of its members while also pursuing a mobile consumer protection mandate.

WASPA’s new Constitution specifically provides for a Board which replaces the former Management Committee structure in place since the Association’s founding in 2004.

The new Board members that began serving their 12-month and 24-month terms this month are James McNab (Vice-Chair & Telco Affairs portfolio), Lianda Holleman (Treasurer & Finance portfolio), Anthony Ekerold (Code of Conduct portfolio), Michiel Huisamen (Communications & Membership portfolio), Conrad Geldenhuys (Regulatory portfolio) and Pierre van Rensburg (Wholesale portfolio).

Steering WASPA for the duration of its 2019/2020 financial year will be long-time mobile industry stalwart, Greg Brophy, who will serve as Chair. He was elected to lead WASPA’s inaugural Board at the recent WASPA Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Randburg, Johannesburg in early March 2019.

Mr Brophy will be familiar to local mobile industry watchers as the founder and owner of numerous successful mobile content and applications firms. His tenure within the SA mobile industry, and greater digital space, kicked-off when he launched IOL, grew it into the country’s biggest online portal, and followed this achievement up with the purchase of the majority stake in iTouch (Pty) Ltd. The latter was listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Mr Brophy has earned a formidable reputation for his ability to faultlessly navigate large organisation structure, process and governance with a view to making systems run better. “Developing effective solutions to navigate challenging bureaucratic terrain is what I do best. I am thrilled to be able to lend my problem-solving abilities to WASPA’s laudable mission of creating a fair and equitable mobile landscape that values consumers while advancing the interests of the plethora of small, medium and large mobile firms that make South Africa’s WASP industry so exciting and such an important contributor to the overall cellular sector,” said Mr Brophy.

He added that certain competition-related initiatives led by the Regulator and others meant South Africa’s mobile industry was set for an equal mix of challenges and opportunities over the next 12 to 36 months. “We’re heading into interesting times and I’m looking forward to getting WASPA and its members into the best possible shape to take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves over the next few years while circumventing the challenges that will inevitably arise,” He concluded.

WASPA was founded on 26 August 2004 with the full support of the four SA mobile network operators (MNOs): Cell C, MTN, Telkom and Vodacom. WASPA has a detailed Code of Conduct which all members must adhere to and a well-established formal complaints process that is central to responsible self-regulation. See www.waspa.org.za.