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Icasa will issue two invitations to apply (ITA) to participate in the national spectrum auction and licensing process by the end of September, the communications regulator said in a statement on Thursday.
The spectrum will be allocated at the end of Icasa’s fiscal year in March 2021, which is three months after the December 31, 2020 deadline that it had originally promised to meet.
The ITAs for both the wholesale open access network, or Woan, and the high-demand commercial spectrum for operators such as Vodacom, MTN and Telkom will be published this month. Icasa was originally expected to publish the ITA in late June.
He blamed the need to prioritize the release of the Covid-19 emergency spectrum on operators for not meeting that deadline. Other considerations, including discussions about Woan’s viability and the fact that the council was “almost uneasy” for a period close to three months, were also blamed.
“The publication of the two ITAs shows the authority’s commitment to its plans to release spectrum in the 2020/2021 financial year,” it said in the statement. “In light of the time lost due to the delay in the issuance of ITAs, the auction of the high-demand spectrum, which was originally scheduled for December 2020, will be completed no later than March 31, 2021. “
Key considerations
A rationale document outlining Icasa’s positions on comments received from the industry will be published at the same time as the ITAs. Key considerations arising from representations in a previously published information memorandum include:
- The development of various empowerment obligations to be imposed on selected bidders in the auction process, including the requirement to support mobile virtual network operators;
- The requirement that selected bidders support the Woan by acquiring a minimum of 30% of the national capacity;
- The imposition of empowerment obligations on the Woan to ensure that it is a “credible empowerment tool that will help the authority achieve the sector’s transformation agenda”; and
- The structuring and framing of the spectrum lots in the auction in a way that balances the objective of promoting effective competition, facilitating new participants and generating income for the fiscus.
“Icasa has also completed a process to determine the fair economic value of the five spectrum bands that will be available for auction and the spectrum that will be made available to the Woan, taking into consideration the current state of competition in the South African market, ”Said the president of Icasa, Keabetswe Modimoeng.
President of Icasa Keabetswe Modimoeng
Meanwhile, Icasa has asked industry players and other stakeholders to make representations about the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the market, which the council should take into account when finalizing the ATIs. These supplies must arrive in Icasa before September 16.
“The delicate nature of the licensing process requires the authority to exercise greater caution to ensure full compliance with all administrative and procedural fairness requirements. It is also important that the end result of the process is accepted and supported by all stakeholders, ”said Modimoeng. – © 2020 NewsCentral Media
