Government’s planned wholesale open-access network should only get a small set-aside of radio frequency spectrum, with the rest auctioned off to commercial operators, national treasury has said.
Browsing: Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams
Vodacom said on Thursday that there is no reason to delay the licensing of 5G spectrum in South Africa, arguing that its urgent allocation is needed if South Africa is going to take advantage of the fourth Industrial Revolution.
The Competition Commission plans to engage with Icasa on the planned licensing of 4G/LTE and future 5G spectrum to ensure there is “not only universal coverage but also (affordable) access”.
Released five years after Icasa tried to license access to the spectrum for broadband services, the final policy is not dissimilar to what the communications regulator originally intended.
Communications minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams has asked Icasa to ensure that preferential access to spectrum is given to a new wholesale open-access network while opening the way for spectrum to be released to commercial operators.
Communications regulator Icasa has issued an invitation to apply for a tender to help it value high-demand spectrum bands ahead of a planned assignment of the valuable radio frequencies.
The department of communications & digital technologies was meant to publish the policy direction on the assignment of broadband spectrum in South Africa last Friday, but failed to do so.
Access to data will increase, and prices will fall, only if government gets out of the way and allows companies to have more spectrum and compete more freely. By Christo Hattingh.
Communications minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams has promised – like so many of her predecessors – to fast-track South Africa’s migration from analogue to digital terrestrial television. Will this time be different?
SABC chief financial officer Yolande van Biljon says there is no anticipation of “Day Zero” at the public broadcaster for the next three months. Full staff salaries, Van Biljon said, will continue to be paid.