ISPA takes spectrum battle to ICASA

Rudolph Muller

Rudolph Muller is the editor at MyBroadband and covers telecoms and broadband news. Rudolph comes from an academic background, but left the University of...

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The Independent Communications Authority’s lackluster performance regarding scarce spectrum regulations and spectrum assignments is well known.  Consistent delays in WiMax spectrum assigning have even made companies like Altech and MWEB rethink their self-provisioning strategies, with their previously planned wireless rollouts now unlikely.

The Internet Service Providers’ Association of SA (ISPA) has repeatedly called on ICASA to urgently put spectrum within the reach of the hundreds of ECNS licensees so that they can build more network infrastructure. “Without well-managed and interference-free spectrum, these service providers will be forced to lease capacity from existing operators rather than build their own networks,” ISPA said last year.

The battle for spectrum is likely to come to a head with ICASA calling on ECNS licensees to show what they have done with their network licenses, but with ISPA hitting back saying that it is simply not possible for these service providers to build networks without the proper spectrum.

Remove spectrum stumbling blocks

ISPA has now highlighted a big stumbling block in the process to apply for spectrum:  the absence of a publicly available list of spectrum assigned to the various telecoms players in the country.

According to Dominic Cull, ISPA’s regulatory advisor, all holders of ECNS licenses have the right to apply to ICASA for licensed radio frequency spectrum with which to provide backbone and access services.

“ISPA’s position is that its members who hold ECNS licenses are not able to exercise this right properly in the absence of knowing what frequency is actually available,” says Cull.

“ISPA further believes that, as a general principle, details of frequency assignments (other than those to security cluster institutions) should be in the public domain so as to allow a proper evaluation of whether this important yet limited public resource is being used efficiently.”

ISPA has now approached the courts to try to get this information from ICASA after all other attempts failed. 

“ISPA filed a request with ICASA for this information under the Promotion of Access to Information Act during 2009 and, despite following up further, no response has been received,” said Cull.  “In the absence of any response ISPA believes that it has very little option but to approach the courts in order to protect the rights of its members.”

Spectrum battle:  ISPA versus ICASA << give your views