Icasa publishes regulations on spectrum to be auctioned

Icasa publishes regulations on spectrum to be auctioned

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) on Friday published draft amendments to the Radio Frequency Spectrum Assignment Plan (RFSAP) for the frequency band 2300 MHz to 2400 MHz, ahead of a planned auction.

Icasa said in the Government Gazette that the amendments were published for public comment, and the RFSAP would supersede any previous spectrum assignment. This RFSAP was envisaged to come into effect on April 1, 2023.

No new assignments in the band 2300 MHz – 2400 MHz would be approved unless they complied with the new RFSAP.

The frequency was currently used for flight testing, but existing users would be required to cease using the frequency, the draft regulation said.

MTN said on Friday that it would assess the amendments before commenting. Comment could not be obtained from the other telecommunications companies on Friday.

Spectrum is the lifeblood of the telecommunications industry, as without sufficient access operator’s networks become congested and the mobile phone performance becomes degraded for the end user.

In South Africa, 2G GSM networks use the 900 MHZ and 1800 MHZ frequency bands. 3G networks use the 900 MHz and 2100 MHZ frequencies, while 4GLTE networks use the 900 MHz, 1800 MHZ, and 2100 MHZ frequency bands.

Icasa wants to complete next year the next phase of the International Mobile Telecommunications Radio Frequency Spectrum licensing, which includes the 2300 MHZ frequency band.

In March last year, the government auctioned high demand spectrum (HDS) for 4G and 5G suitable spectrum.

Six mobile operators participated with, for instance, Vodacom securing 110 MHz of High Demand Spectrum (HDS) including 2 x 10 MHz in the 700 MHz spectrum band, 80 MHz in the 2 600 MHz spectrum band, and 10 MHz in the 3 500 MHz spectrum band, for an amount of R5.4 billion. The auction raised R14.5bn for the government.

Another auction, however, is planned and Icasa, according to recent reports, wants one before March 31, 2024.

Telkom indicated, however, it wished the government to postpone the auction until 2025 because of funding concerns, and other factors such as the effects of load shedding, but MTN has said the government should not delay in the auction as mobile broadband was a critical infrastructure for economic growth and additional spectrum was an economic imperative.

BUSINESS REPORT