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Six telecommunications The companies have responded to the invitation to request access to radio frequency spectrum bands suitable for mobile broadband deployment, with no real surprises between the names.
The deadline for companies to apply to participate in the auction was December 28.
The companies that have applied are Vodacom, MTN, Telkom, Cell C, Liquid Intelligent Technologies (formerly Liquid Telecom) and Rain. No international telecommunications operator has chosen to participate in the auction, which will take place no later than March 31, 2021.
A seventh request, from an organization called Women Building a Better Society, was disqualified because it reached the communications regulator Icasa after the 4:00 p.m. cut-off time on December 28.
According to the planned auction, Icasa, through a specialized auctioneer, will make spectrum available in the 700MHz, 800MHz, 2.6GHz and 3.5GHz bands. The authority also intended to auction the 2.3GHz band, but abandoned it after objections from licensees, including Telkom.
‘Unwavering’
“The authority remains committed to defending this important process against any form of litigation, with a full appreciation of what the benefits of licensing high-demand spectrum will be for consumers and the general public. We are firm in this regard, ”said Icasa President Keabetswe Modimoeng in a statement.
Modimoeng’s comments are clearly directed at Telkom, who, shortly before Christmas, approached the high court to intercept the licensing process.
TechCentral first reported on December 22 that Telkom had filed documents in Pretoria’s superior court seeking an injunction to prevent Icasa from proceeding with the spectrum licensing process.
President of Icasa Keabetswe Modimoeng
Telkom group executive for regulatory affairs and government relations, Siyabonga Mahlangu, told TechCentral that the company approached the court because it believed that Icasa’s invitations to request (ITA) spectrum and a planned wholesale open access network had fundamental flaws that could strengthen the “dominance” of Vodacom and MTN.
Telkom requested temporary relief against Icasa, preventing the regulator from processing, evaluating or awarding the applications. He wants the court to review and annul Icasa’s decision to issue the two ITAs.
One of Telkom’s main complaints is that Icasa issued the ITAs knowing that the 700MHz and 800MHz bands, the so-called digital dividend bands used by analog television stations, were not yet available for use by telecommunications operators. . Despite this, Icasa was moving ahead with licensing these bands and would expect payment for them despite the inability of successful applicants to use them, Mahlangu said.
Telkom also challenged the ITAs on other grounds, including that Icasa “was ahead of the outcome of the mobile broadband services investigation,” Mahlangu said.
“By licensing this spectrum without completing this research, Icasa has eliminated spectrum as one of the levers it can use to promote competition in the sector. You are replacing that with a process that is not public. In our opinion, an internal process, called a competition assessment, cannot be a replacement for a public legal process. “
He said the Icasa auction design, as a result, would not promote optimal competition in the sector. “On the contrary, the way the auction is designed will result in the stifling of competition and the entrenchment of the market’s duopoly structure.” – © 2020 NewsCentral Media
