Industry body, the Wireless Access Providers’ Association (Wapa) has released a draft position paper on licenced and licence-exempt spectrum, the former of which allows service providers exclusive access to certain spectral frequencies, enabling them to deliver services without interference from other users of the spectrum.

In contrast, licence-exempt spectrum could be prone to interference from multiple users, but the cost to build and deliver services over these frequencies was lower, enabling new companies and small, medium-sized and microenterprises (SMMEs) to innovate, thereby increasing competition and lowering the cost of communication.

In its paper, Wapa provided specific recommendations for what it believed was the most efficient use of individual frequency bands, as well as general principles for allocation, licensing and management.

It promoted spectrum allocation as licence-exempt where practical, as the lower costs involved in delivering services in those bands promoted innovation among SMMEs, including Wapa members.

Currently, some spectrum bands were heavily used, while other bands were unused or underused.

“There are many wireless devices that are widely and safely used in other countries, which cannot presently be deployed in South Africa. This limits the abilities of the Internet service providers to innovate with technology to drive down the cost of communications,” Wapa asserted.

It believed this could be solved through the efficient use and management of spectrum that had already been allocated; an expansion in the range of frequencies allowed within existing allocations; and the allocation or reallocation of spectrum based on international best practices and the latest equipment technologies, to relieve pressure in other frequencies.

Wapa believed the paper would provide the regulator and policymakers with real-world examples and industry insight, better enabling various government bodies to achieve their stated telecoms objectives.

“The Wapa position paper on spectrum can be considered a key input to the work the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) is currently undertaking,” the association said on Tuesday.

It further held that its findings should be incorporated into government’s South Africa (SA) Connect strategy, which outlined broad and ambitious goals for connectivity to promote the competitiveness of the South African economy.

Goals included having access speeds of at least 5 Mb/s for half of the population by 2016 and 90% by 2020.

“Within SA Connect there are several elements that are particularly relevant to our paper. For example, the Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services (DTPS) has issued a directive in SA Connect ‘to release high-demand spectrum in ways that encourage efficient use, wholesale access and fair competition’,” said the organisation.

The directive further outlined that the DTPS would be “issuing the necessary policy directives to Icasa to expedite the assignment of broadband spectrum” and that it would “undertake a review of all relevant legislation and regulation required to enable implementation of this policy”.