ICASA grants final grace period for temporary spectrum holders

25 August 2021 Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT

The Council of ICASA (Independent Communications Authority of South Africa) has resolved that licencees of temporary emergency radio frequency spectrum that was assigned last year will have their spectrum assignments revoked by no later than 30 November this year.

The temporary spectrum was first assigned by means of an expedited process during April 2020 on the initial declaration of the National State of Disaster, which in turn was occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic. ICASA has since twice extended the duration of the temporary assignment, the last expiry date being 31 August 2021.

ICASA says it has, inter alia, taken into account the current environment in relation to the number of infections, the gradual reopening of the economy and the steady progress in the vaccination programme. It classified the need to focus its efforts on the permanent licencing of spectrum as a more important factor, while acknowledging the need to allow the industry adequate time to plan and adjust its operations.

According to the chairperson of ICASA, Dr Keabetswe Modimoeng, ‘‘The Authority’s interventions with regards to the release of the temporary radio frequency spectrum have indeed contributed immensely to the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic and to ensuring that South Africans were and continue to be, able to communicate during these unprecedented times. However, the Authority cannot allow the temporary spectrum assignment to assume a state of permanence.”

He went on to say that, having allowed operators to use the temporarily assigned spectrum for a period of 17 months, it is reasonable that they be allowed a further three months until 30 November 2021 as a sufficient winding-down period.

In order to allow the licencees to wind down their operations on the temporary spectrum and to notify consumers about the impact thereof (if any) on their service offerings, ICASA has resolved to amend the Covid-19 National Disaster Regulations to provide for continued use of the temporary radio frequency spectrum licences for the period ending 30 November 2021.

Further reading:

Smart farming with LoRaWAN
Otto Wireless Solutions Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
Real-time visibility is transforming modern agriculture, and Otto Wireless Solutions, together with Dragino, deliver this capability through a comprehensive suite of long-range IoT sensors and gateways designed for smart farming.

Read more...

---

RTK-enhanced GNSS and INS solution
Dizzy Enterprises Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
This latest XSENS MTi-8 Click provides high-accuracy positioning (RTK-supported) and orientation tracking in demanding outdoor embedded applications.

Read more...

---

High-performance double balanced RF mixer
RFiber Solutions Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
The AM5008 from Mercury Systems is a high-performance, double-balanced MMIC mixer designed for wideband applications spanning 2 GHz to 24 GHz.

Read more...

---

Compact NFC antennas enable easy integration
Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
Leankon has expanded its 13,56 MHz NFC antenna portfolio with a comprehensive suite of nine off the shelf products designed for next generation IoT applications.

Read more...

---

Ultra-low jitter clocks
Altron Arrow Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
Skyworks has introduced a new family of ultra-low jitter programmable clocks designed to meet the increasing demands of next-gen connectivity.

Read more...

---

Efficient Bluetooth SoC
Altron Arrow Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
The EFR32BG29 wireless SoC from Silicon Labs is a highly efficient, high memory, low-power, and ultra compact SoC designed for secure and high-performance wireless networking for IoT devices.

Read more...

---

Minimal size, maximum flexibility
Würth Elektronik eiSos Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
Würth Elektronik has introduced two highly compact radio modules that give developers maximum freedom in designing proprietary wireless solutions that go beyond standard protocols.

Read more...

---

Super Wi-Fi extends industrial connectivity
NEC XON Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
Africa’s harshest mines, ports, and industrial parks are no longer bound by range, latency, and interference challenges.

Read more...

---

HackRF Pro advances Open SDR performance
IOT Electronics Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
Designed for engineers, researchers, and radio enthusiasts alike, the HackRF Pro can transmit and receive signals across a wide frequency range of 100 kHz to 6 GHz, making it a versatile tool for testing and developing modern and emerging radio technologies.

Read more...

---

Deterministic high-speed Ethernet
Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
The Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS has developed a new 10G TSN endpoint IP Core, enabling deterministic real-time communication at data rates of up to 10 Gbit/s.

Read more...

---