Connecting Africa is part of the Informa Tech Division of Informa PLC

This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 3099067.

4G/5G

SA operators allowed to keep COVID-19 emergency spectrum longer

Article Image
South Africa's mobile operators don't have to give back temporary 4G and 5G spectrum until March next year. This was announced at a press briefing by the chairperson of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA), Dr. Keabetswe Modimoeng, who also gave details on the country's planned (but very delayed) spectrum auction.

ICASA said it will officially start receiving applications for the much-awaited spectrum auction tomorrow and plans to auction high-demand spectrum before March 31, 2021.

In April ICASA released the emergency spectrum in five different bands for the duration of South Africa's national state of disaster, including the 5G "golden band" of 3.5GHz. This was supposed to help operators meet the spike in demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Modimoeng said the emergency temporary spectrum's validity period will also be extended to no later than March 31, 2021. The temporary spectrum was originally slated to be returned on November 30, 2020.

The extension will be music to the ears of MTN SA's CEO, Godfrey Motsa, who previously expressed his reluctance to give the emergency spectrum back.

In July, when MTN launched 5G across 100 sites in SA it did so using the emergency spectrum. Motsa said at the time that there was "no business case to take the spectrum back."

In May, rival Vodacom also launched 5G in three South African cities using the temporary spectrum assigned by ICASA.

Spectrum scarcity
South Africa's operators are constantly complaining that they need more spectrum and have been waiting for many years for government to issue more high-demand spectrum for 4G rollout.

In 2005, Vodacom and MTN received some 2.1GHz spectrum for their 3G rollout, and Cell C was allocated spectrum in 2011. Since then, operators have had to refarm 3G spectrum to facilitate the rollout of 4G to consumers.

ICASA has now promised that the Invitation To Apply (ITA) for spectrum for both the planned Wireless Open Access Network (WOAN) and individual spectrum for operators will be published no later than Friday October 2, 2020.

The ITA was supposed to be issued by the end of June 2020 but at the beginning of July ICASA said this had been delayed once again. The auction was supposed to happen by the end of December 2020, but this has been pushed to March 2021.

In fact, the auction was first announced back in 2016 but had to be put on hold because of a legal spat between what was then the Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services and the regulator.

ICASA's chairperson, Dr. Keabetswe Modimoeng
ICASA's chairperson, Dr. Keabetswe Modimoeng

ICASA has now given details on next year's auction and some info on the breakdown of spectrum lots that telcos can bid for. This included reserve prices for different lots of spectrum which range from R9.8 million (US$590,200) to R1.1 billion ($69.4 million).

The bands that will be licensed through the auction include lots of 700MHz, 800MHz, 2.6GHz and 3.5GHz spectrum, however, the 2.3GHz band is being excluded for now.

WOAN what?
The WOAN has been on the cards since 2016 when it was envisaged to shake up South Africa's previous policy framework for spectrum allocation in favor of an "open access regime," with the WOAN to function as a public/private owned and managed consortium.

"The spectrum that has been set aside for the WOAN has been considered thoroughly by the Authority and has been prescribed in such a way that the WOAN will become a credible national wholesale player in the market," Modimoeng said.

To do this ICASA has imposed an obligation on successful spectrum bidders to procure a minimum of 30% national capacity from the WOAN collectively, as soon as it is operational, for a period of seven years.

"The 30% national capacity to be procured from the WOAN will be shared proportionally amongst the successful licensees based on the amount of spectrum acquired from the Auction by each successful licensee."

The closing date for applications for the spectrum auction is December 28, 2020, and for the WOAN is March 30, 2021.

Related posts:

— Paula Gilbert, Editor, Connecting Africa

Innovation hub

Story

Omdia View: February 2024

Highlights in February 2024 in the Middle East and Africa included 5G launches in Senegal and 5G trials in Egypt as well as Kenya's first 5G MVNO. Airtel also launched a new wholesale connectivity business while MTN and Huawei are planning a joint Innovation Technology Lab in South Africa – that and more in this month's Omdia View.

Story

Key adoption areas for machine learning in Africa

ICT analyst Francis Hook identifies some of the key sectors that could be positively impacted by machine learning, including education, government services, healthcare and climate tech.

More Innovation hub

Latest video

More videos

Partner perspectives

All Partner Perspectives

Sponsored video

More videos

Industry announcements

More Industry announcements

Upcoming events

Africa Tech Festival 2024
November 11-14, 2024
Cape Town, South Africa
More Upcoming events

Africa Tech Perspectives

Story

Uber's Marjorie Saint-Lot on inclusion and sustainability in Africa

Uber's Country Manager for Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire, Marjorie Saint-Lot, shares how the ride-hailing company is approaching public-private partnerships, environmentally friendly initiatives and gender inclusion in Africa.

Story

The 100 most influential African leaders in 2023

A new report from Africa Tech Festival and Connecting Africa puts a spotlight on the top 100 African leaders in the telecoms and technology sector in 2023.

Story

Deep dive into East Africa's tech startup ecosystem

New survey reveals a lack of access to investors, reliance on international VCs and global recession trends as the biggest barriers for East African tech startups to access funds.

More Africa Tech perspectives

Guest Perspectives

Story

Omdia View: February 2024

By Omdia Analysts

Highlights in February 2024 in the Middle East and Africa included 5G launches in Senegal and 5G trials in Egypt as well as Kenya's first 5G MVNO. Airtel also launched a new wholesale connectivity business while MTN and Huawei are planning a joint Innovation Technology Lab in South Africa – that and more in this month's Omdia View.

Story

Omdia View: January 2024

By Omdia Analysts

Highlights in January 2024 in the Middle East and Africa included a $200 million fintech deal between MTN and Mastercard as well as 5G network trials by Telecom Egypt – that and more in this month's Omdia View.

More Guest Perspectives

Like us on Facebook

Newsletter Sign Up


Sign Up
Tag id test-002