Hurry up and wait at ICASA

jes

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Hurry up and wait at ICASA

ICASA is putting the brakes on its scarce spectrum assignment plans to accommodate the minister’s policy directive on the matter
 
Please ICASA has plenty of problems to sort out... They can delay LTE its no big issue. Devices are way too expensive anyway. How about forcing Neotel to actually do their ****en job that they were licensed to do in the first place and give me a landline already !
 
“We have no intention to circumvent the provision of the [highlight]Promotion of Administrative Justice Act[/highlight] and the Electronic Communications Act in that regard.”
Never heard of PAJA before now.

ICASA seems to be saying that the DoC is expected to continue dragging its feet and is unlikely to produce a usable policy document, therefore ICASA has decided to ignore the minister until she does her job. A bit like the pot accusing the kettle of having a charred behind.
 
ICASA and the DoC. Taking the definition of "incompetence" to soaring new heights.
 
not ICASA's fault...

how it is meant to work: the Minister issues a draft policy direction, everyone comments and then a finalised version is published. thereafter ICASA develops draft regs or some other process in response to the finalised version.

what has happened here: ICASA have been consulting with the Minister for some time over the draft policy direction (which is why the ICASA document dovetails for the most part with the draft policy document) but seem to have got tired of waiting for the draft policy direction to be released so they have forced the issue. The problem was not helped by the fact that the draft policy direction was drafted by the previous Minister (Roy) and there was an inevitable further delay once he had been replaced).

also to note: in their previous attempt to get the ITA + auction up and running the sticking point was the appointment of an international auctioneer with the necessary expertise. this appointment had to be approved by the Minister but there was a delay of more than a year in getting this done (and it was in fact never done)

so - given that the 2.6GHz process was initiated in June 2006 - let us be fair and spread the blame equally between ICASA and the DoC / Minister. Also be aware that probably the most important initiative of all - conducting a spectrum audit to show what it being used and to explode the myth of scarcity -is sitting with the DoC and has been for a couple of years

i.e. do not see this as flaking: when chatting to rpm immediately after the document was released I flagged this as a potential issue which would open the gates for litigation if not fixed. So i am very happy that they have sorted it out.

[disclaimer: this post should not be understood to reflect my unstinting love and affection for ICASA's work - after years of disappointment it is hard to be enthusiatic. suffice to say that if they stuff this up then they should just be shut down]
 
Setting the bar to a new low. Standards are supposed to be set high, not low.
 
how it is meant to work: the Minister issues a draft policy direction, [highlight]everyone[/highlight] comments and then a finalised version is published.

As a matter of interest (or just plain curiosity on my part), how does the DoC define "everyone" that would be allowed to comment on a draft policy document issued by the minister?

I ask because I don't recall any of the DoC's ministers inviting me or any member of the public (voters and non-voters) to comment on any DoC draft policies.
 
As a matter of interest (or just plain curiosity on my part), how does the DoC define "everyone" that would be allowed to comment on a draft policy document issued by the minister?

I ask because I don't recall any of the DoC's ministers inviting me or any member of the public (voters and non-voters) to comment on any DoC draft policies.

...probably because you have failed to diligently read the Government Gazette ;)

MoC said:
I, Dina Pule Minister of Communications, hereby give notice of
intention to make Policy Directions to the Independent Communications
Authority of South Africa (ICASA) on Exploitation of the Digital Dividend
Spectrum and Radio-Frequency Spectrum for Electronic Communications
Services in the schedule in terms of section 3(2) of the Electronic
Communications Act, 2005 (Act No. 36 of 2005).

Interested persons are hereby invited to furnish written submissions
on the proposed Policy Directions to ICASA on Exploitation of the Digital
Dividend Spectrum and Radio-Frequency Spectrum for Electronic
Communications Services, within 30 calendar days of the date of
publication of this notice
at any of the following addresses:

For attention: Ms Cynthia Lesufi
Deputy-Director, Frequency Spectrum
Department of Communications;

Post to: Private Bag X860
Pretoria
0001;

or deliver to: First Floor, Block F
iParioli Office Park
399 Duncan Street
Hatfield, Pretoria

or fax to: (012) 421 7019;

or e-mail to: [email protected]

Please note that submissions received after the closing date may be
disregarded

Ms. Cynthia Lesufi can be reached at tel. (012) 427 8512/ 082 4797654
for any enquiries
 
...probably because you have failed to diligently read the Government Gazette ;)

Thanks, what is the deadline for comments (based on the date that gazette notice was published), and can we have a thread about the minister's draft exploitation of spectrum policy directives in the Telecoms Regulations forum to formulate a combined consumer response as we did with the LLU submissions to ICASA?
 
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