The Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) has withdrawn plans to hold a high-profile radio frequency spectrum auction. The spectrum, in the 2,6GHz and 3,5GHz bands, is ideally suited to providing the next generation of wireless broadband services.
The decision to postpone the auction follows a recent meeting between Icasa and Siphiwe Nyanda in which the communications minister is understood to have raised concerns that the auction process was not in line with government’s policy on spectrum management.
Icasa councillor Marcia Socikwa says invitations to apply to participate in the auction have been withdrawn because the authority wants the spectrum awarded in a more technically desirable configuration. The authority has promised a new round of engagement with the telecoms industry before it begins a fresh process.
The way Icasa had divvied up the spectrum suited companies wanting to deploy WiMax technology but not those wanting to build networks using long-term evolution (LTE), the evolution of the 3G technology used by the mobile operators.
It’s common cause that the incumbent mobile operators have the deepest pockets, allowing them to build nationwide infrastructure quickly. Both Vodacom Group CEO Pieter Uys and Cell C CEO Lars Reichelt had expressed unhappiness over the process. Uys warned in an interview with TechCentral last month that unless the conditions were changed, Vodacom could walk away from the auction.
Socikwa says that when Icasa began the licensing process, WiMax was more popular than LTE. Market sentiment towards the latter technology has since increased.
She says WiMax and first-generation LTE use two different configurations of spectrum to operate in the same bands. She says the authority will now embark on a consultation process with industry to ensure the best solution for the spectrum.
Icasa also plans to investigate which companies already have spectrum in the 2,6GHz and 3,5GHz bands and what they’re using it for. Socikwa says the authority will be questioning Sentech about whether it’s using its allocation in the 2,6GHz range.
Industry leaders, including former Vodacom Group CEO Alan Knott-Craig, have long demanded that Sentech either use the spectrum, or hand it back to the regulator. Sentech was given the spectrum to roll out a wireless broadband network, but the network, which was built only partially, was later shut down for commercial reasons. — Candice Jones, TechCentral
- Subscribe to our free daily newsletter
- Follow us on Twitter or on Facebook
