South Africa’s regulator has indefinitely deferred its planned auction of high-demand spectrum. In a notice published in the Government Gazette, Icasa said it is deferring the timeframe for the spectrum award process "until further notice", Techcentral reported.
The move is unsurprising, given the planned auction is the subject of a legal challenge by telecommunications and postal services minister Siyabonga Cwele. Cwele already won an urgent interdict stopping Icasa from going ahead with the auction until the courts have had a chance to consider the matter.
The spectrum auction is at direct odds with government policy plans, endorsed by Cwele, to assign the spectrum to a single national operator. Under the national integrated ICT policy white paper, the government wants to allocate all high-demand spectrum — spectrum that can be used to deploy 4G and future 5G networks — to a wholesale open-access network (Woan) provider.
The plan, which has drawn intense criticism from the big mobile operators, the Free Market Foundation, industry analysts and others — while drawing praise, albeit qualified, from the Internet Service Providers’ Association — would bring an end to the allocation of exclusive-use spectrum to companies such as Vodacom, MTN, Cell C and Telkom. While government has said it intends pushing ahead with the plan to create the Woan, Icasa has also refused to budge, insisting that a spectrum auction is the best way of allocating scarce spectrum. It added that its plan was in line with international best practice.
