Thabisa Faye

Thabisa Faye serves as a Councillor the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa, an executive director role she has held for the past 2yrs. Councillor Faye is a seasoned development economist who has practiced as an ICT economic regulatory expert within Sub-Saharan Africa for the past 14 years. Her experience includes, but not limited to: ICT regulatory analysis, economic advisory, renewable energies, trust management, strategic repositioning, public policy, governance and sustainability and project management. Councillor has contributed extensively to a wide range of projects in the Telecoms sector across the African continent, having worked in more than 23 African countries. She has also contributed to the renewable energy space in South as a socio-economic advisor, she further has managed reporting for six operating projects, and administered two Trusts.

Councillor has a long-standing working relationship with the International Telecommunications Union, the UN bureau for ICT, in her capacity as an expert in inclusive and collaborative regulation. Councillor Faye has contributed to the ITU body of knowledge extensively, such has developed a Universal Access Fund toolkit for the ITU, which has subsequently been converted into training modules for regulators in the Africa, Middle East, and Asia regions. Councillor also developed the first Regulatory Sandbox Framework for the African region, this was published by the ITU, and further work continues.

Councillor Faye is currently driving the implementation of a sandbox in the Authority, with the framework being implemented for emerging technologies and future innovations. Complementary to this work, CCouncillor Faye is Chairing the national IMT Forum which is charting the way for 5G and future technologies, as well as the Dynamic Spectrum Assignment and Opportunistic management project using a geolocation database. Furthermore, Councillor Faye is Chairing the satellite licensing framework to establish a licensing and pricing regime that would enable the growth of satellite connectivity direct to end users.

In addition to her career aspirations, Councillor Faye is a founding member of a women led social entrepreneurial initiative called Mbewu Movement, the initiative focuses on wealth creation, networking and mentoring for young professionals.