Telkom South Africa has filed High Court papers to block the Independent Communication Authority of South Africa (ICASA) from going through with an auction of radio frequency spectrum, Mybroadband reported. Telkom has criticised Icasa's approach to licensing the spectrum, saying that the regulator has not corrected many of the issues from its previous attempt.
According to Telkom regulatory affairs head Siyabonga Mahlangu, there are several problems with Icasa’s latest attempt to licence high-demand spectrum. Crucial analogue TV spectrum is still unavailable and eMedia’s pending court case against the Minister of Communications and Icasa about this will only be heard in mid-March.
One of Telkom’s primary concerns is that E-tv has refused to migrate away from analogue terrestrial TV technology by March 2022. E-tv is sitting on the spectrum that Telkom desperately wants, said MyBroadband. This is because MTN, Vodacom, and Cell C all have an assignment of frequencies below 1 GHz, while Telkom does not. Sub-1 GHz spectrum lets cellular towers cover a wider area and offers better indoor penetration.
