Six South African telecommunication companies, including MTN Group and Vodacom, will be able to keep their broadband spectrum until their licences expire in 2028, after agreeing to buy at least 30 percent of the government's new Wireless Open Access Network. Communications minister Siyabonga Cwele told a media briefing that the agreement was reached with operators on 19 May.
They had initially opposed a government plan forcing them to ditch their broadband spectrum and share a national network, Reuters reported. Creating a single open-access network is at the heart of a government goal to roll out broadband access in Africa's most industrialised economy.
