Black ownership level reduced for spectrum licences
July 27, 2009
By Thabiso Mochiko
The black ownership requirement for companies seeking access to scarce radio frequency spectrum licences has been reduced from 51 percent to 30 percent.
The Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) has brought its requirement in line with government codes and telecoms sector requirements after objections from the industry.
Most companies would have been unlikely to qualify under the 51 percent proposal.
Four national licences will be issued and two licences for each region.
Draft regulations published on Friday also call for companies to have financial capacity, affordable prices and commercial and technical expertise.
Internet Solutions and MWeb have indicated their interest in licences. Telkom, Neotel, iBurst and Sentech are the only ones holding them.
The spectrum licence allows for fixed-mobile services, meaning cellphones can be used as landline phones. It can be used for mobile television and Wimax - wireless internet technology that offers fast data connectivity.
Lack of access to licences was the single biggest obstacle to competition in the telecoms market, the Internet Service Providers' Association said.
It prevented more than 300 companies with network and services licences from implementing their business plans because of the high costs of building a fibreoptic network.
Now Dominic Cull, a regulatory adviser for the service providers' association, is concerned about the licensing timeframes. Icasa, which has been working on the regulations for more than two years, said the licensing process could be concluded by next March.
Authority chairman Paris Mashile said that, although the regulator was opposed to the reselling of the spectrum, operators were not prevented from sharing infrastructure.
Companies like Vodacom might be disqualified by a clause in the draft regulations that prevents companies with existing access to the spectrum from applying. Vodacom owns 25 percent of iBurst.
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