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The spectrum in question involves the 900MHz, 1,800MHz, and 2,100MHz bands. Spectrum pooling allows multiple radio spectrum users to coexist within a single allocation of radio spectrum space, primarily enabling primary users to rent out unused spectrum to secondary users.
On August 13, 2024, the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria will hear a case where South Africa’s largest mobile operator, Vodacom, is challenging rival MTN and its pooling partners, Cell C and Liquid Intelligent Technologies.
According to a document reviewed by ITWeb, Vodacom has named the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) as the first respondent and Ramusi as the second.
In his answering affidavit, Ramusi argued that Vodacom’s application should be dismissed due to what he termed a self-created urgency that should incur a fine. He contended that if Vodacom had concerns about the pooling agreement, it should have approached the court in 2022 when it first became aware, rather than waiting two years to seek a hearing.
Ramusi defended ICASA’s approval of the spectrum pooling agreements between MTN, Cell C, and Liquid Intelligent Technologies, asserting that it was lawful. He stated, “ICASA resolved to approve these applications in line with sections 30(2)b, 30(3) and 31(3)C of the Electronic Communications Act (ECA) read together with regulations 18(3) and 18(4) of the Radio Frequency Spectrum Regulations (RFSR) of 2015.”
Vodacom has submitted data to the court indicating that it has been experiencing harm from the pooling agreement since at least August 2023.
On June 2024, MTN South Africa, Cell C, and Liquid Intelligent Technologies filed applications opposing Vodacom’s request to the high court.
Meanwhile, Telkom, another company cited by Vodacom as being affected, has stated its neutrality in the matter. This position was communicated in an email to ITWeb by Nozipho Mngomezulu, Group Executive for Regulatory and Legal Affairs at Telkom.
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