The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA/the Authority) has concluded the much-anticipated high-demand radio frequency spectrum auction.
The auction involved six qualified bidders, including Cell C, Liquid Intelligent Technologies, MTN, Rain Networks, Telkom and Vodacom.
“The revenue collected from this auction totals more than R14.4 billion, which will go to the national fiscus. This is the total amount generated from the Opt-In phase auction, which took place on 8 March 2022, and the main auction stage, which commenced on 10 March 2022 and on 17 March 2022,” ICASA said on Thursday.
The main auction stage comprised 58 rounds of bidding between the six bidders.
The authority has confirmed that there was one unsold spectrum lot of 2x10MHz in the IMT800 Band. This lot will still be licensed by ICASA in future.
“The next stage in the auction process will be the assignment round, which is purely an administrative process and will be held on Tuesday, 22 March 2022, to determine the actual spectrum ranges to be assigned for all the lots bought in the various bands,” ICASA said.
ICASA Chairperson, Dr Keabetswe Modimoeng, has expressed his gratitude to all the bidders for their cooperation and participation in the auction.
He further expressed his utmost gratitude to government and the entire South African society for their support throughout this complex process.
“This was our inaugural radio frequency spectrum auction, and we are really grateful to have reached this stage without any hassles and challenges from the first day of the actual auction to date. This shows South Africa’s capability as an investment-friendly destination,” Modimoeng said.
He also thanked the ICASA staff who were actively involved in the process for their commitment to ensuring that the licensing process is completed successfully.
“We look forward to all South Africans benefitting from the dividends of these regulatory interventions, and to seeing the proceeds of the auction being put to good use for the benefit of all South Africans.
“This auction was indeed in the best interest of all South Africans, as will be the subsequent licensing interventions post government’s revision of the Wireless Open Access Network (WOAN) Policy,” Modimoeng said. – SAnews.gov.za
