Cellular6.09.2016

ICASA spectrum fight, the courts must decide: Minister

ICASA logo on glass

The Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services tried to keep its disagreement with industry regulator ICASA over spectrum licensing out of court.

That’s according to Telecommunications and Postal Services minister Siyabonga Cwele, who was speaking at SATNAC 2016.

Cwele said that unfortunately the process is in court now and there is no way to avoid a legal battle.

This comes after ICASA issued an invitation to apply for prime LTE spectrum, with plans to auction four lots of frequencies to the highest bidder at a reserve price of R3 billion per lot.

Cwele’s Ministry filed court papers to block the invitation shortly after it was issued.

Cwele said they approached ICASA with options to resolve the issue, including mediation, all of which were declined.

“As custodian of these important assets, we had no choice [but to go to court],” said Cwele.

Jan Vermeulen is a guest of Telkom at SATNAC 2016.

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