Cape Town — An Independent benchmark study, commissioned by the Department of Communications has found that telecommunications costs in the country are still way too high in comparison to other countries.

Delivering his Budget Vote in Parliament on Tuesday, Communications Minister, General Simphiwe Nyanda said South Africa's high telephony costs have been a subject raised consistently in the past.

"Last year, the department commissioned an independent benchmark study to look at cost, quality, access and usage with comparative countries, namely: Malaysia, India, Chile, Brazil and South Korea.

"The study confirmed that our telecommunication prices are still high compared with those countries," he said.

In this respect, he announced that the department will be developing a programme of action aimed at improving cost, quality, availability and usage of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs).

"I will be appointing an independent panel of experts, whose recommendations will assist me to design appropriate interventions to address the costs of communicating effectively.

"We will also continue to develop policies which will contribute to, among other things, reducing the costs to communicate," he said.