WISPs legal says WAPA

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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A recent report on ITWeb said that “The Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) has vowed to crack down on wireless Internet service providers (WISPs) that operate without a licence or allocated spectrum.”

This may have caused many WISPs to ponder whether they are within the law regarding service provisioning and whether they can look forward to having their equipment confiscated and networks shut down.

The Wireless Access Providers Association (WAPA) however disputes this report, saying that it considers all its WISP members duly licenced and legal.

According to WAPA chairman David Jarvis, all WAPA members have signed a code of conduct which, among other things, commits members to complying with the following:

• Possess a valid Telecommunications license, under the prevailing regulatory regime, i.e. VANS, PTN, PSTS, etc
• Operate using only type approved radio equipment correctly labeled and displayed on all installations.
• Do not use licenced bands without being in position of a valid spectrum licence from ICASA.
• Use un-licenced bands only with strict adherence to regulation limiting potential interference in the band.
• Register all site locations and equipment with WAPA to facilitate interference mitigation and interaction with ICASA.

According to Jarvis, WISPs require a telecommunications service licence, typically a VANS or PTN licence, to operate legally. “All WAPA members that are WISP’s are compliant in this regard,” said Jarvis.

Jarvis further said that most WAPA members use unlicenced spectrum, which does not require a spectrum licence. The WAPA chairman however pointed out that there are strict rules governing the use of this spectrum to avoid interference, which must be observed.

The wireless service provisioning space has been a grey area regarding legislation and regulation for a long time, and according to Jarvis, WAPA has worked hard to provide some of the regulation in the WISP industry.

“This industry was all but off the radar as far as interaction with ICASA until recently. WAPA is seen as an ally to ICASA largely due to the common goals of achieving a well regulated industry, and ensuring sustainable use of both licenced and un-licenced spectrum for all South Africans,” Jarvis concluded.

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