The Internet Service Providers’ Association of SA (ISPA) has lauded the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) for successfully concluding the country’s first spectrum auction in 17 years.
ISPA is also encouraged by the regulator’s move to quickly assign the precious resource to the successful bidders.
However, the internet industry’s representative body is concerned the process might be derailed by Telkom's court bid.
“ICASA should be commended for hosting a successful and long-awaited spectrum,” says Dominic Cull, regulatory advisor to ISPA.
“Unfortunately, this success cannot be properly celebrated, as a court challenge by Telkom set down for next month could still derail the realisation of the benefits to competition and consumers of more spectrum in the hands of operators.”
This month, ICASA confirmed the “successful” conclusion of theauction of the International Mobile Telecommunications spectrum – also known as high-demand radio frequency spectrum.
The telecoms regulator indicated the auction process beat financial projections, netting the national fiscus R14.4 billion.
Arriving at the auction process experienced legal hiccups along the way.
In January, majority state-owned mobile operator Telkom approached the North Gauteng High Court to review and set aside the invitation to apply for spectrum published by ICASA on 10 December 2021.
Telkom’s application was in two segments – part A, which requested the court to urgently suspend the spectrum invitation to apply, and part B, which focuses on the merits of its arguments against the licensing process.
While part A of the litigation was eventually removed, a legal battle may be brewing in regards to part B of Telkom’s application.
Communications minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni previously stated that “parties can find each other outside of court on outstanding matters that are related to part B”.
In a statement, ISPA says it’s imperative the assigned spectrum is put into use as soon as possible by the winning bidders − which include Telkom − so the benefits of greater capacity and lower deployment costs can flow through an economy in dire need of job-creating, data-driven expansion.
Furthermore, ISPA notes many of its members are keen to compete in selling mobile data, bringing innovation and lower prices as they have done for fixed data.
The statement reads: “As the incumbent operators are on record as stating that limited access to scarce spectrum is the primary reason they cannot provide resale opportunities to internet service providers, ISPA also looks forward to developments in this regard.
“The current pandemic perfectly demonstrated that remote access to high-speed data boosts real world quality of life. Going forward, SA needs a post-COVID future with a much lower cost to communicate thanks to mobile network operators getting access to the spectrum that powers our connected lives.”
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