DTPS: Telecommunications and Postal Services on ICASA’s review of the Invitation To Apply for auctioning of spectrum issue

26th July 2016

DTPS: Telecommunications and Postal Services on ICASA’s review of the Invitation To Apply for auctioning of spectrum issue

The Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services Dr Siyabonga Cwele has studied the Invitation To Apply (ITA) issued by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) in Government Gazette No 438 on 15 July 2016 to auction the high demand radio frequency spectrum.

After considering the ITA and on the advice of senior counsel, the Minister intends taking legal action to review the actions of ICASA.

The Minister’s decision follows two meetings held with the regulator on 15 and 19 July 2016 that failed to resolve the matter amicably. ICASA was furthermore not prepared to subject itself to the intergovernmental cooperation governance procedures.

The position of Government is that it is the custodian of spectrum which is a national and public resource and whose utilisation must benefit all the people of South Africa. There is presently no policy direction on spectrum that has been issued. The policy process is ongoing but as yet still incomplete.

In taking its decision to go ahead and by publishing its Notice, ICASA has failed to adhere to the prescripts of the relevant policies, legislation and regulations, and in particular the provisions Electronic Communications. In addition a request to ICASA by Government in September 2015 to halt this process after they published the Information Memorandum for International Mobile Telecommunications was ignored.

The Minister is concerned that ICASA’s invitation to apply for the auctioning of the spectrum was issued without consultation and prior notification to Government as the policy maker. 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 Minister is acting in good faith to ensure that interested parties who may wish to respond to ICASA’s ITA do not act precipitously by engaging in a process which may ultimately be found to be invalid and therefore suffer unintended consequences as a result thereof.

 

Issued by Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services