While the planned auctioning of high-demand spectrum has experienced another setback and is unlikely to take place this year, much progress has been made, compared with a year ago.

The release date of high-demand spectrum remains uncertain, owing to several legal battles over the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa’s (Icasa’s) invitation to apply (ITA).

Last month, the Pretoria High Court halted Icasa’s planned spectrum licensing, which was due to start on March 31, pending the outcome of court processes after telecommunications group Telkom moved to have the process suspended on the basis that the respective ITAs were fundamentally flawed, besides other reasons.

The auction of high-demand spectrum has been a bone of contention for over ten years, with the industry desperate to obtain the spectrum required to lower prices and deploy fifth-generation services.

Despite this, progress is evident.

“We know there has been progress. We know that spectrum is now important not just to the mobile network operators Vodacom, MTN, Telkom, Liquid, rain and Cell C, but it has become important to government as a source of revenue,” said Ellipsis owner Dominic Cull during the MyBroadband Conference.

President Cyril Ramaphosa and Finance Minister Tito Mboweni are supporting these processes and providing resources to Icasa to enable the correct implementation of the spectrum process, he says.

“To its credit, Icasa has done what it has needed to do and it has gotten it out there. Now the industry is looking at that ITA and figuring out how it impacts on them, because this is a game-breaker event for the next 15 to 20 years. This is going to define the winners and the losers in South Africa,” Cull highlights.

“Vodacom and MTN have also come in with applications to [review] nuances in interpretation of the ITA, whereas Telkom wants a complete stock,” he continued, noting that Telkom obtained an interdict early in March, which Icasa is currently appealing.

If an appeal is not granted, the case will head to a full hearing at the end of July, with Telkom’s arguments, together with MTN and Vodacom’s position, opposed by Icasa.