Budget 2020: The Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) will be appropriately capacitated for the impending licensing of high-demand spectrum.
So said finance minister Tito Mboweni during the tabling of the 2020/21 National Budget Speech in Parliament this afternoon.
Mboweni mentioned this while unpacking the steps government is taking to lower the cost of doing business.
The finance minister also emphasised the fact that SA is moving with the fourth industrial revolution, and is determined not to be left behind. “We are relaxing regulations to help our flourishing fintech sector.”
On spectrum, Mboweni said: “The spectrum licensing plan was released in November, preparing the way for auctioning high-demand spectrum. ICASA will be appropriately capacitated for this. A voucher system will be introduced to allow households to acquire digital devices,” the finance minister stated.
In his State of the Nation Address, president Cyril Ramaphosa stated ICASA is looking to conclude the spectrum licensing auction before the end of 2020.
Ramaphosa’s sentiments echoed those expressed by ICASA’s CEO at the end of last year, saying the telecoms regulator plans to expedite the spectrum licensing process, with the intention to grant licences sometime this year.
South Africa’s last big set of spectrum issued was in the 2.1GHz band, which helped the operators in their 3G network deployment. Vodacom and MTN were allocated such spectrum, respectively, in 2004 and 2005, while Cell C received such spectrum in 2011.
During this time, mobile operators have had to split and refarm their spectrum resources to mitigate spectrum shortages and expand 4G availability.
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