Vodacom says mobile operators have paid a total of R150m in fees to the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) for temporary spectrum licences.
Discussions between the government, SA’s telecoms regulator and mobile operators about the possible extension of the term of temporary spectrum beyond November have come to naught. Telecommunications companies are continuing to lobby for an extension.
Icasa assigned the temporary radio frequency spectrum to mobile operators at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic to address the increased need for communication and to offer consumers better quality service as demand for broadband rose. Spectrum refers to the radio frequencies on which data and information are carried.
Vodacom said extending the use of the temporary spectrum is required for as long as the country remains in a national state of disaster amid the pandemic, or until “three months after the high-demand spectrum auction is concluded to allow for requisite network reconfiguration”.
Confirming the discussions between Icasa and operators about the possible extension of emergency spectrum, communications minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni told Business Day the regulator is conducting an assessment on whether halting the temporary spectrum will affect broadband services and if it will interrupt service.
“But we must also be upfront to say the mobile [telecommunications] companies are only paying licence fees and not paying usage fees,” she said.
“It’s like they are using a five-star hotel room on a rental basis and not paying for that, so that is the other challenge that we have been navigating. I have been continuing to engage with the industry.”
The regulator plans to halt the issuing of temporary spectrum in November, having given operators three months since September to wind down operations, saying the allocation of temporary spectrum was not meant to be permanent.
The issuing of temporary spectrum in 2020 was a lifeline to mobile operators who had long argued that access to spectrum, which was last issued in 2004, would improve telecommunications coverage across SA and lower the cost of mobile data. Icasa plans to begin the auction of new spectrum licences by March 2022, after a consent order passed by the high court in September.
Ahead of the November deadline, Telkom last week launched an urgent application at the high court in Pretoria to interdict the regulator’s withdrawal of temporary spectrum. Telkom approached the court to set aside Icasa’s decision not to extend the temporary spectrum licences, saying the move would significantly prejudice it and other mobile operators, “the greater public and the functioning of the national economy”.
In its court application, Telkom group executive for regulatory affairs and government relations Siyabonga Mahlangu said the withdrawal of the temporary spectrum would have a catastrophic effect on the telecoms company’s network performance.
After the release of the temporary spectrum, Telkom’s average monthly data traffic on its mobile network grew by 70% year on year compared with its pre-pandemic mobile traffic, Mahlangu said.
“The new normal is characterised by large numbers of people working and studying from home and the use of online services. People and businesses rely on online applications to trade and interact. This requires broadband connectivity,” he said.
MTN said it is “continuing to pursue solutions on the matter of the spectrum, with all role players. We will inform and update all stakeholders as soon as new information is available.”
Icasa did not respond to queries by the time of publication.
Update: October 14 2021
This article has been updated with new information.
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