Holdup for broadband as High Court upholds state’s block on spectrum tender
THE High Court in Pretoria has upheld the government’s decision to block a R12bn tender for high-speed mobile broadband licences issued by the telecoms regulator.The Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) took the industry by surprise in July when it opened a tender to interested telecoms companies to bid for broadband licences, known as spectrum.This prompted Telecommunications Minister Siyabonga Cwele to pursue legal action to prevent the auction, saying it was made without consulting the government."A further concern is the haste with which Icasa is proceeding to dispose of the spectrum given that this spectrum will not be immediately available," the ministry said in July.He argued that winning bidders for spectrum would be able to provide superfast 4G data download, giving them a huge competitive edge in the mobile market.Despite Cwele’s objections, Icasa is pressing ahead with a planned auction of spectrum, setting a date for May 2017.Icasa said there was an inordin...
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