Mobile operator Cell C sees the creation of a wholesale open access network (WOAN) as being a positive step as it will lead to the reduction in the cost to communicate.
South Africa's government has proposed WOAN as the new model spectrum allocation. The government-backed method of intervention, however, has caused widespread panic across the industry as it proposes shake up of the previous policy framework for allocating spectrum.
The WOAN encourages a sharing model for spectrum allocation as opposed to auctioning the resource to the highest bidder.
The proposal of a WOAN model was put forward in the National Integrated ICT Policy White Paper, which was facilitated by the Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services (DTPS).
The white paper was finalised and published in September 2016, and is supposed to replace the separate white papers on telecommunication (1996) and postal services (1998).
The Cabinet-approved Electronic Communications Act (ECA) Amendment Bill, published on 17 November, aims to give effect to the ICT Policy, according to DTPS.
Department director-general Robert Nkuna has explained that a WOAN model is about the sharing of spectrum by industry.
The wholesale open access network is not a state-owned company; government has no intention to create this entity, Nkuna previously stated. "What it means is that the industry will have to sit down and design this network however they want to. The emphasis is on sharing the scarce resources at our disposal - the radio frequency spectrum resources."
In statement, Cell C says in the context of all initiatives that will reduce costs across the industry including network sharing, consolidation in one form or another and removing duplication to create efficiencies.
It states: "Accordingly, Cell C is supportive of government's objectives as encapsulated in the ECA Bill and we are considering practical implementation options and a potential business case that could make this a viable solution.
"The WOAN is a constructive way to loosen the stranglehold of the current duopoly that has resulted in costs remaining high. It will also hopefully achieve affordable universal access which is a key imperative for sustainable economic growth."
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