South African Telcos Given Deadline to Settle Outstanding Spectrum Auction Fees

Mobile operators in South Africa have been issued a deadline of the end of October to clear any outstanding fees related to the 2022 spectrum auction.

The Public Enterprises and Communication Committee of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), South Africa’s upper house of Parliament, received a briefing on this matter last week.

During the presentation, Councillor Peter Zimri from the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) discussed the impact of the high-demand spectrum auction conducted the previous year on competition and communication costs.

In March 2022, ICASA successfully conducted a high-demand radio frequency spectrum auction for international mobile telecommunications. The regulator reported that the auction had exceeded financial projections by raising R14.4 billion ($750 million) for the national fund.

Six mobile service providers, namely Cell C, Liquid Intelligent Technologies, MTN, Rain Networks, Telkom, and Vodacom, had submitted applications to ICASA for spectrum allocation.

Zimri informed the committee members that most operators had initially paid the required fees, despite facing challenges with their payments. However, there are still outstanding payments that need to be settled.

Although Councillor Zimri did not disclose the names of the telcos with unpaid bills or the specific amounts owed, Business Times reported that Cell C is one of the operators that still owes the telecoms regulator money, particularly related to the acquisition of the 3.5GHz spectrum for R288 million ($15 million).