Icasa makes more broadband spectrum available for licensing

31 August 2022 News

The communications regulator in South Africa, Icasa, has started the process of making more radio frequency spectrum available to telecommunications operators needing to provide better broadband services. This has come just months after Icasa concluded a successful auction of various spectrum bands, and it signals a clear intention not to drag its feet in making available more frequencies that network providers heavily rely on. Communications minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni has promised that there will be much greater urgency in unlocking more spectrum for the sector to use.

The recently concluded auction raised R14,5 billion for the coffers which was significantly more than expected. A second round of licensing is also likely to attract huge interest from operators. This next round is to sell off the spectrum in the 800 MHz band that was not auctioned off in the first round due to the onerous conditions attached to this 800 MHz band.

All the bands in question have been identified worldwide for mobile broadband services. They also “complement each other in the sense that they fulfil the requirements for capacity and coverage, which make them suitable for rural and urban areas and for bridging the digital divide”, Icasa said.

In the short term, licensing of the following spectrum will be explored:

• 10 MHz at 800 MHz: this unsold spectrum during the previous auction is still being used by terrestrial broadcasters. It will only become available for full commercial use when government finally completes its long-delayed migration from analog to digital terrestrial television, a process dating back to 2010.

• 15 MHz at 2,1 GHz: this is currently unoccupied spectrum and will be available for immediate use once a license has been acquired.

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