South Africa’s ongoing cellular spectrum auction has already raised more cash than was expected. The session on March 11th ended with bids of more than 8 billion Rand (about €484m). “ICASA is pleased to announce that the auction is proceeding very well and can confirm that we have gradually passed estimated R8-billion in proceeds. The […]

South Africa’s ICASA telecommunications regulator has started its long-planned spectrum auction. The opening moves (the ‘opt-in’ process) started on March 8th with six players involved: Telkom, Vodacom, MTN, Cell C, Liquid Intelligent Technologies and Rain. The second round opens on March 10. Bidders have to attend the ICASA offices in Pretoria in person and at […]

South Africa has confirmed that its analogue television transmissions will end on March 31st. The process is more than 10 years behind the initial plan which was to see 80 per cent of the nation converted to digital in time for the FIFA World Cup which started in June 2010 The ending of analogue broadcasting […]

South Africa’s government has allocated an additional Rand 300 million (about €17.5 million) in its annual budget for regulator ICASA for 2022-2023. The cash means an increase in ICASA’s budget of more than 50 per cent and comes ahead of its March planned spectrum auction. “[The] additional funding of R300-million in 2022/2023 is earmarked for […]

South Africa’s communications regulator ICASA has approved six bidders for next month’s capacity auction. They are Vodacom, MTN, Telkom, Cell C, Liquid Intelligent Technologies and Rain. The invitations to apply and to submit for the auction was issued back in December 2021 with a requirement to firm up their applications by January 31st. However, telco […]

Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa’s president, has ordered what is described as a “wide ranging probe” into Telkom’s activity since 2006. In the official Proclamation the president has asked the country’s Special Investing Unit to examine Telkom for “serious maladministration in connection with the affairs of Telkom” as well as improper or unlawful conduct by employees […]

South African telco Telkom has, as expected, withdrawn its High Court action against ICASA over the regulator’s upcoming auction of spectrum. Telkom told the Pretoria High Court that it will remove its urgent application for an ‘interdict’ to forbid any progress on the auction. Instead, however, it wants ICASA to promptly hear its objections and […]

South Africa’s Telkom, in its High Court action, has proposed withdrawing its objections to the upcoming proposed spectrum auction. But this might not mean a speedy end to its objections. Local reports say that lawyers for Telkom, in a letter to the Court, appear to want instead to see the various parties have a full […]

South Africa’s communications minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni has presented filings to the country’s High Court in Pretoria saying that the government will firmly oppose telco Telkom in its move to delay the planned spectrum auction. The move is dramatic given that the government holds more than 40 per cent of Telkom’s equity which seemingly has little […]

South Africa’s media and telecoms regulator, ICASA, has slammed telco Telkom for delaying a planned spectrum auction. “The authority is not surprised by Telkom’s relentless resort to litigation, the conduct stretching back seven years or more ago,” ICASA said in a statement. “Telkom appears hellbent on stalling the authority’s every effort to licence the high-demand […]