South African telecoms regulator delays spectrum release until 2021

The invitations for both the wholesale open-access network, or WOAN, and commercial high-demand spectrum for mobile operators such as Vodacom, MTN, and Telkom will be published no later than Sept.

South Africa's telecoms regulator said on Thursday it now plans to auction high-demand spectrum licenses by no later than the end of March 2021, pushing back the process by three-months, due to a delay in issuing invites to apply. Allocation of high-demand spectrum is seen as key to expanding broadband services, especially 5G, in Africa's most industrialized economy, where the high cost of telecommunications is a barrier to doing business.

Data costs have come down after mobile operators were forced to cut data prices, but they still argue that costs could drop significantly once regulators auction the much needed spectrum. The invitations for both the wholesale open-access network, or WOAN, and commercial high-demand spectrum for mobile operators such as Vodacom, MTN, and Telkom will be published no later than Sept. 30, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) said in a statement.

The delay in issuing the invites was caused by, among others, prioritizing the release of COVID-19 emergency spectrum, not having a sufficient number of members of its council as well as additional considerations related to the viability of the WOAN, which will force operators to share spectrum, the ICASA added.