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Vodacom desperate for spectrum

Nicola Mawson
By Nicola Mawson, Contributor.
Johannesburg, 06 Oct 2014
Vodacom is not picky as to how ICASA delivers more spectrum, says Andrew Barendse, managing executive for regulatory affairs.
Vodacom is not picky as to how ICASA delivers more spectrum, says Andrew Barendse, managing executive for regulatory affairs.

Echoing MTN's concerns about a dearth of spectrum, SA's largest operator has told the regulator it does not care how the process is handled, it just needs more frequency.

Vodacom addressed the Independent Communications Authority of SA's (ICASA's) hearings around the state of competition in the ICT sector on Friday.

Andrew Barendse, managing executive for regulatory affairs at Vodacom, says the company is now at a stage where it does not care about the regulatory process, it just wants spectrum assigned. "We really just want to participate."

However, ICASA councillor Katharina Pillay pointed out the regulator tried, in 2010, to license spectrum, but was hit with a backlash by operators arguing it was not following the correct procedure. The process was then placed on hold pending a policy directive from former minister of communications, Dina Pule, which has yet to be issued.

Executive head of architecture, Max Naidoo, explained to the committee that the 2010 invitation to apply for frequency was problematic as there were conflicts with other policy imperatives. Now, the reality is such that Vodacom is running out of alternatives to use its spectrum more efficiently. "There is little alternative."

Crunch point

Barry Vlok, who consults to Vodacom on engineering issues, says, with 34 million subscribers, it is now facing "spectrum choking" as it has more users than can fit into the allocated spectrum. He notes MTN faces a similar dilemma, but not to the same extent. No new spectrum has been issued in the past decade.

According to Vodacom, SIM penetration is at 145%, while unique user penetration has reached 71%.

Vlok says over-fragmentation of spectrum must be avoided as, based on global trends, this leads to poor performance on the network.

MTN has also decried a lack of spectrum, pointing out it expects a data rush, which will require more towers. Operators have been pushing for spectrum in the 800MHz and 2.6GHz ranges, and Telkom has also indicated it needs more frequency.

Telkom has more high-demand spectrum than any of its competitors, yet has appealed to the regulator to give it first pick at the spectrum that will be freed up with digital migration, arguing its mobile arm is the only operator without access to sub-1GHz frequency.

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