Broadband access roadmap published by ICASA
4 February 2015
News
ICASA has published two important documents on the way to establishing concrete plans for its long awaited regulations governing the rollout of ‘universal’ broadband availability to all South Africans.
The International Mobile Telephony (IMT) Roadmap has been issued in its final form. In addition to ensuring universal availability of broadband services, its objective is to establish a vibrant and competitive telecommunications industry, and to promote investments. The roadmap’s publication followed extensive public consultation with relevant stakeholders.
In a statement, ICASA stated its view that the growing demand for mobile broadband in South Africa indicates a need for more bandwidth capacity in general. “It is generally known that many rural areas do not have access to mobile bandwidth,” the authority stated, “indicating a need for more universal mobile broadband coverage, a need best served by deploying lower frequencies that propagate a wider market.”
The roadmap further involves the migration of a number of current licensees out of (or within) bands identified for IMT services. For bands where costs and benefits of the migration were not straightforward, further feasibility studies were conducted to determine the appropriateness of the migration.
In parallel with this, a Radio Frequency Spectrum Assignment Plan (RFSAP) for IMT was published in draft form. This seeks to specify the technical conditions on the use of the frequency bands and is aimed at soliciting views from stakeholders on the rules for services operating in each frequency band.
This plan follows a review in 2013 into the effectiveness of radio frequency spectrum regulations, which found that there are numerous numbering inconsistencies, and no provisions to outline the consequence for failure to renew a radio frequency spectrum licence or the process the authority will initiate in dealing with illegal users of this spectrum; as well as no provisions to safeguard the rights of end users prior to a licensee ceasing to provide services that require usage of the radio frequency spectrum. The draft RFSAP is open for public comment until 13 February 2015.
Together, these two documents represent not so much a step in the right direction, as they demonstrate the ability to tie the first shoelace in preparation for getting the race to provide universal broadband access underway.
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