The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) on Monday announced that it was “eager” to “reinitiate” the licensing process for the assignment of the high-demand spectrum.

Icasa, which was responsible for the allocation of spectrum to broadcasting and electronic communications services licensees, now aimed to work with policymakers and other key stakeholders to “bring to an end the delays that have plagued the high-demand spectrum licensing process”.

In an open letter to the media and stakeholders, Icasa CEO Pakamile Pongwana acknowledged that the stalled spectrum deployment had led to a “wave of consolidation” in the industry amid a shortage of spectrum, which was hampering the various mobile operators’ ability to provide high-quality services, such as long-term evolution, over their networks.

“The key players in the sector have been spectrum constrained, while new entrants have not been able to launch services in the market as they have not been assigned the requisite spectrum,” he noted, pointing to a regression in the information and communications technology sector on the back of indecision by the regulator and policymakers.

In May, Telecommunications and Postal Services Minister Dr Siyabonga Cwele had promised to finalise the much-anticipated spectrum policy to disperse South Africa’s coveted spectrum this year.

Pongwana warned that any future licensing process would consider the need for the creation of a wholesale open-access framework to ensure rapid deployment of broadband services.

“The implication of the consolidation is that a giant infrastructure-based player or two will be created in a first-tier level of the market. A huge number of entities may not have reasonable and easy access to that infrastructure under the current regulatory framework,” he explained, pointing out that concepts, such as wholesale open-access, infrastructure sharing and mobile virtual network operators, become relevant for the South African context.