02 March 2022

South Africa’s telecoms regulator ICASA said all six applications it had received from telecom firms have qualified to participate in a radio frequency spectrum auction.

The watchdog said MTN, Vodacom, Telkom, Cell C, Rain Networks and Liquid Telecoms are the qualifying bidders in a process that has been slowed by years of legislative delay.

“We can officially proclaim the forthcoming March 2022 spectrum auction as an unparalleled milestone in our country’s communications history as this will be the first ever spectrum auction held on our shores,” Keabetswe Modimoeng, chairperson of ICASA, said in a statement.

Operators have waited for years for ICASA to release spectrum licences that are needed to lower data costs, roll out 5G and add network capacity as data demand has surged and smartphone adoption continues to grow.

The watchdog scheduled a bidder seminar February 28, which were set to be followed by mock auctions from March 1 to 3 with the individual bidders.

Thereafter, the auction stage will commence on March 8, with the main online auction taking place from March 10, ICASA said.