The swift allocation of high-demand spectrum is the “low-hanging” fruit that would boost international investor confidence and growth, said RMB Corporate and Investment banking division telecoms, media and technology sector head Thobeka Tubela.

However, as in many countries worldwide, South Africa’s ongoing spectrum process is sensitive and politically charged, requiring a delicate balancing act to ensure social fairness and the best outcome for the country.

“Governments need to balance the inherent tension between beauty parades, in which allocations are weighted towards empowerment and fairness ideals, and auctions, in which allocations are made to those deep pocketed incumbent mobile network operators which contribute significantly to the fiscus,” Tubela commented.

While the spectrum allocation needs to enable broader empowerment in South Africa as an economic imperative, it is also important to ensure a nationwide, properly functioning, modern telecommunications service that will allow the country to keep pace with its Fourth Industrial Revolution ambitions.

Despite the current legal challenges by telecommunications groups MTN and Telkom that could possibly delay the spectrum auction scheduled set down for March, Tubela does not see any reason that the spectrum cannot be allocated by March 2022.

“We have clearly had many frustrating false starts and delays as a country but this time we really have no choice but to allocate spectrum because it is so important for growth, technological advancement and of course empowerment and inclusion.”

The temporary release of spectrum by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa late last year was an encouraging indication of the potential advantages of spectrum, delivering a “profoundly positive impact”.

“Connections were better and more stable and mobile network operators were able to start testing fifth-generation (5G) capabilities. 5G will greatly increase the speed and responsiveness of wireless networks as it supports further innovations by creating a smarter, better connected world,” Tubela said, concluding that the temporary spectrum effectively provided a blueprint for what was possible and offered a hopeful glimpse into the future.