The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) said it's reviewing the timeline for licensing the Wireless Open Access Network (WOAN) as previously set out in the notice published by the Authority on 1 October. Given the sensitivity of the mobile spectrum licensing process and the ongoing consultation processes in that regard, as well as numerous related legal imperatives, ICASA decided to suspend the licensing of the WOAN. This is done to allow the conclusion of the consultation process on auctioning mobile spectrum and give the regulator time to assess the impact of that on the licensing of the WOAN.
As a result, the Authority resolved not to publish the envisaged WOAN consultation document on 19 November as previously communicated. In the intervening period, ICASA will engage other international jurisdictions to draw lessons from their experiences on the licensing of a typical WOAN.
The Chairperson of ICASA, Keabetswe Modimoeng said that there is a compelling reason to revise this tactical approach with regards to the WOAN process. Based on the outcomes of further engagements and subsequent analysis of the model, coupled with the findings from the IMT spectrum consultation processes, the Authority will publish a notice advising of the process to be followed in respect of the licensing of the WOAN by no later than March 2022.
ICASA said it remains committed to ensuring transparency in its process of issuing the Individual Electronic Communications Network Service (I-ECNS) and Radio Frequency Spectrum licences for the purpose of operating a WOAN. ICASA confirms that there will still be radio frequency spectrum set aside for the WOAN even as the auction is taking place, and the Authority is of the view that the licensing of the WOAN will indeed bring much-needed structural reform to the mobile voice and data services markets.
