Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      Blue Label Telecoms to change its name as restructuring gathers pace

      11 July 2025

      Get your ID delivered like pizza – home affairs’ latest digital shake-up

      11 July 2025

      EFF vows to stop Starlink from launching in South Africa

      11 July 2025

      Apple plans product blitz to reignite growth

      11 July 2025

      Nissan doubles down on South Africa despite plant uncertainty

      11 July 2025
    • World

      Grok 4 arrives with bold claims and fresh controversy

      10 July 2025

      Bitcoin pushes higher into record territory

      10 July 2025

      Cupertino vs Brussels: Apple challenges Big Tech crackdown

      7 July 2025

      Grammarly acquires e-mail start-up Superhuman

      1 July 2025

      Apple considers ditching its own AI in Siri overhaul

      1 July 2025
    • In-depth

      Siemens is battling Big Tech for AI supremacy in factories

      24 June 2025

      The algorithm will sing now: why musicians should be worried about AI

      20 June 2025

      Meta bets $72-billion on AI – and investors love it

      17 June 2025

      MultiChoice may unbundle SuperSport from DStv

      12 June 2025

      Grok promised bias-free chat. Then came the edits

      2 June 2025
    • TCS

      TCS+ | MVNX on the opportunities in South Africa’s booming MVNO market

      11 July 2025

      TCS | Connecting Saffas – Renier Lombard on The Lekker Network

      7 July 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E4: Takealot’s big Post Office jobs plan

      4 July 2025

      TCS | Tech, townships and tenacity: Spar’s plan to win with Spar2U

      3 July 2025

      TCS+ | First Distribution on the latest and greatest cloud technologies

      27 June 2025
    • Opinion

      In defence of equity alternatives for BEE

      30 June 2025

      E-commerce in ICT distribution: enabler or disruptor?

      30 June 2025

      South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

      17 June 2025

      AI and the future of ICT distribution

      16 June 2025

      Singapore soared – why can’t we? Lessons South Africa refuses to learn

      13 June 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CambriLearn
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SevenC
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » News » Woan must get only a ‘small’ spectrum set-aside: treasury

    Woan must get only a ‘small’ spectrum set-aside: treasury

    By Duncan McLeod27 August 2019
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp

    Government’s planned wholesale open-access network (Woan) should only get a small set-aside of radio frequency spectrum, with the rest auctioned off to commercial operators, national treasury has said.

    In a strategy document published on its website on Tuesday, treasury has set out plans for the revival of South Africa’s moribund economy. It deals with everything from electricity distribution to telecommunications and helping support and grow small and medium enterprises.

    The document makes no bones about the challenges facing the economy. “The combination of low growth and rising unemployment means that South Africa’s economic trajectory is unsustainable,” it says. “Government should implement a series of growth reforms that promote economic transformation, support labour-intensive growth and create a globally competitive economy.”

    It says the plans, if implemented, can raise potential economic growth by as much as three percentage points and create over a million job opportunities.

    On telecommunications specifically, the document says:

    • Government should release spectrum through an auction with a small set-aside for a government-controlled network, and competition should be allowed in Telkom’s infrastructure that connects the local exchange to residential homes and businesses. The latter intervention refers to local-loop unbundling, the relevance of which may have diminished significantly in recent years with the roll-out by Telkom competitors of home and business fibre infrastructure. “Immediate enforcement will allow multiple providers access, enhancing competition and reducing unnecessary infrastructure duplication,” the treasury document says.
    • Rapid deployment guidelines that accelerate the installation of telecoms infrastructure should be finalised, and open-access conditions should be imposed to minimise unnecessary duplication of infrastructure.
    • Communications regulator Icasa’s proposed economic regulation component should be independent of line departments and be directly funded from industry levies, as per international best practice.
    • The state should leverage private-sector expertise in broadband roll-out, rather than relying exclusively on state-owned companies.

    In its document, treasury hasn’t defined what it means by a “small” set-aside for the Woan.

    In a policy direction to Icasa, published last month, communications minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams didn’t make any recommendations to Icasa about how much spectrum should be assigned to the Woan. However, the policy direction references a CSIR report, commissioned by her predecessor, Siyabonga Cwele, which recommended that the Woan be granted the following spectrum (based on a 20% market share estimate): 2x25MHz blocks in the 800MHz band, 2x20MHz blocks in the 2.6GHz band (for so-called FDD technology) and 25MHz, also in the 2.6GHz band (for so-called TDD). The minister is likely hoping Icasa uses this recommendation in its decision about how much to reserve for the Woan.

    ‘Bottleneck’

    Treasury says in its document that the delay in digital television migration and allocating new mobile broadband spectrum is the “single biggest” constraint on the growth of the telecoms sector and a “bottleneck for broader economic growth”.

    “A large proportion of high-demand spectrum will only be available for use for mobile technologies (3G, 4G and even 5G) once the analogue signal has been switched off. To date, the digital migration process has been significantly delayed due to the challenges around set-top box procurement, which aims to provide indigent households with set-top boxes for their televisions so that they can receive programming through a digital television signal.”

    With spectrum allocation, broadband speeds will improve dramatically and prices will likely fall, which will support growth and improve welfare, the document says. But the policy position of licensing spectrum has been “one of much debate since 2016”.

    Communications minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams

    “The National Integrated ICT Policy White Paper (2016) stated that all currently unassigned high-demand spectrum will be set aside for assignment to a Woan. However, there was much concern that there is no known example of successful Woan implementation. With no single entity being able to own a portion of the spectrum or pay fair economic value for it, it will reduce infrastructure investment and result in inefficient use of spectrum.”

    Treasury says the plan is to auction batches of spectrum for 4G and simultaneously establish the Woan. However, it says the exact amount that will be dedicated to the Woan is not yet known.

    The document also calls on government to involve the private sector in plans to roll out broadband infrastructure in underserviced areas, including to schools, hospitals and government departments.

    “The department (of communications & digital technologies) is in the process of rationalising state-owned companies in the telecoms sector and has indicated that it seeks to establish a new infrastructure company. In the meantime, there are indications that state-owned companies in the telecoms space will be tasked with the government’s broadband roll-out. However, the private sector’s proven capability in broadband infrastructure development could also be leveraged, through conditions attached to spectrum licences, to speed up the process and reduce the burden on the fiscus.”  — © 2019 NewsCentral Media



    CSIR Icasa Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams Telkom top
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleEskom could sell power plants, treasury says
    Next Article The end of Windows 7 support is looming

    Related Posts

    EFF vows to stop Starlink from launching in South Africa

    11 July 2025

    Icasa publishes new draft regulations for digital TV

    8 July 2025

    Operators to decide 2G/3G shutdown timeline

    2 July 2025
    Company News

    $125-trillion traded: Binance redefines global finance in just eight years

    11 July 2025

    NEC XON welcomes HPE acquisition of Juniper Networks

    11 July 2025

    LTE Cat 1 vs Cat 1 bis – what’s the difference?

    11 July 2025
    Opinion

    In defence of equity alternatives for BEE

    30 June 2025

    E-commerce in ICT distribution: enabler or disruptor?

    30 June 2025

    South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

    17 June 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.