The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) on Tuesday called for public comment on its draft International Mobile Telephony (IMT) Roadmap.
Stakeholders have until January 18 to give their views on the document that seeks to unlock universal availability of broadband services, a vibrant and competitive telecommunications industry and promote investment in the country.
“The IMT Roadmap provides for an analyses of the prospective IMT radio frequency bands in detail and outlines the alternative options for using the bands for consultation with all interested stakeholders,” Icasa councillor Peter Zimri said on Tuesday.
This forms part of a broader regulatory intervention as broadband demand – more mobile broadband bandwidth capacity – rapidly increases, meaning more universal mobile broadband coverage is urgently required.
This will be best served by deploying lower sub 1 GHz radio frequencies that propagate across a wider coverage area.
“Licensees have indicated a need for more spectrum, while on the other hand, many rural communities do not have access to mobile bandwidth, and there is also an outcry to reduce the perceived high cost of data services,” he said.
“Depending on the outcomes of the consultation, the respective Radio Frequency Spectrum Assignment Plans will be developed to specify how the bands will be used, following which the assignment process can take place,” he concluded.