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South Africa’s hotly-contested high frequency digital spectrum auction is set to go ahead in March 2021, following an announcement by President Cyril Ramaphosa during the country’s state of the nation address on Thursday.
The spectrum auction is set to proceed despite a pending court case between Telkom and the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) and fighting between Icasa and the department of communications.
The government has embarked on a widespread campaign to cut the red tape and improve the ease of doing business in the country and expanding access to fast Internet services that remain costly to the majority of the population is one of its priorities.
In his address Ramaphosa said, “The auctioning of high-demand spectrum is expected in three weeks by Icasa. The auction is expected to reduce data costs.”
“Icasa will facilitate the rapid development of broadband infrastructure. This will reduce the cost of digital communication,” he added.
“There are too many regulations in this country that are unduly complicated, costly and difficult to comply with. This prevents companies from growing and creating jobs.”
Ramaphosa said he would be accelerating far-reaching structural reforms to reduce the cost of doing business, increase competitiveness and heighten economic growth.
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