The South African telecoms regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) has reacted over the decision by Africa’s largest telecoms company MTN to take the regulator to court over the 5G auctioning exercise. This comes on the heels of a similar court dispute instituted by the rival Telkom that went to court in December to halt the sale, a move ICASA says it will also challenge. South Africa’s telecoms regulator said it will challenge a court application by MTN Group seeking to review or scrap the regulator’s auction process for awarding spectrum vital for rolling out 5G technology.
Operators have been waiting more than a decade for ICASA to release new spectrum licences seen as vital to attract new investment and help lower costs for operators and users. The latest legal disputes threaten to further delay the auction, set for the end of March, after similar disputes halted the sale in 2016. ICASA said it was unfortunate that MTN chose to pursue legal proceedings after it had been in constant communication with the mobile operator to resolve the issues raised.
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MTN is challenging ICASA’s decision to put operators in two categories, putting MTN and rival Vodacom in Tier 1 and Telkom, Cell C and others in Tier 2, according to court papers filed last week.Under this classification, MTN says Tier 1 operators would be excluded from an opt-in auction round, undermining their ability to secure access to the 3.5GHz radio frequency spectrum band seen as vital to their rollout of 5G technology.
ICASA Chairperson Keabetswe Modimoeng said in a statement the latest litigation attempt “is characteristic of either impatience or a subtle desire to channel the Authority’s decision-making outlook”.
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“We believe that this licensing process has been balanced, with no room for a winner-takes-all attitude. The process cannot be tailored for the narrow fulfilment of one or two specific mobile operators,” Modimoeng said. ICASA said the auction will continue as planned unless there is a court order issued to delay or halt the process.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry