An eye-catching headline this week was the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) is finally inviting industry comment about the process of allocating frequencies in the radio spectrum.
This is good news in itself. For far too long Telkom and Sentech have had an unfair share, but I am not holding my breath for a meaningful outcome.
There is no doubt the whole allocation process needs a complete overhaul. In particular, I agree with MTN Network Solutions CEO Mike Brierley that there needs to be a policy of "use it or lose it" to stop the likes of Telkom and Sentech hoarding spectrum. Considering radio spectrum is an extremely rare resource, it is indefensible that Telkom and Sentech are allowed to hold spectrum without using it for the benefit of the country as a whole.
A good example of this is that Sentech is one of the few holders of WiMax spectrum, but industry insiders say it is doubtful Sentech will roll-out WiMax services any time soon. Sentech has again called for WiMax tenders, but it has done so before without any concrete result.
So it's unquestionably good that ICASA is inviting comment on spectrum allocation, but is there really any point?
All been done before
Who in their right mind is going to give ICASA more money when it can't even manage the funds it has already?
Warwick Ashford, technology editor, ITWeb
ICASA has gone through the motions several times before, but nothing has really changed. There is no indication the end result will be any different this time around.
As in the past, the consultations are likely to result in ICASA making some startlingly logical conclusion in line with the hopes and aspirations of many in the country, but it is unlikely to change a thing.
ICASA is very good at getting comment, but SA is getting nowhere fast as a result, because although it may be independent, ICASA definitely has no real authority.
That much has become clear in the months that have followed the gazetting of new ADSL regulations, which appear to have had absolutely no effect on Telkom's ADSL subscribers. In other words, ICASA is incapable of enforcing anything, including government regulations.
Even Telkom conceded it would have to make a few changes to the way it runs things to comply fully with the new laws, but ICASA said it was satisfied. OK, on second thoughts, scratch what I said about ICASA being independent.
Saying all the right things
On the surface, ICASA appears to be getting real about bandwidth allocation. It even acknowledges the challenges it's facing in the process and that the evolution of the telecoms sector demands that the issue be revisited. However, in light of the facts, I am not encouraged.
If only saying were doing. Then SA would be a much better off from a communication point of view because ICASA's chairman Paris Mashile has made some spectacular pledges in recent months.
Unfortunately, just by saying ICASA is committed to promoting competition in the telecoms sector, as Mashile did about a month ago, there is no magic guarantee of delivery. It just sounds good, which is probably why he said it in the first place. But paying lip service to something does not make it a reality. Not by a long shot.
Mashile has also said ICASA is concerned about the lack of competition in the mobile phone market, competition is the best form of regulation, and that ICASA's aim is to transform SA into an information society and a knowledge-based economy.
Wasteful and irregular
All laudable aims, to be sure, but how does Mashile propose to deliver on any of it?
Well, he has outlined a vision of a well-funded, credible, trustworthy, transparent and professional organisation. Again, things like credible and trustworthy sound good, but well funded! Is he nuts? Not even government is that stupid.
Who in their right mind is going to give ICASA more money when it can't even manage the funds it has already? In September, ICASA was slammed by the auditor-general's office for a host of financial irregularities in its 2005/06 financial year.
How Mashile has the gall to ask for more funding in the face of allegations of "wasteful and irregular expenditure, totalling R6.75 million", I will never understand.
Instead of extra funding and lofty visions, aims, recommendations and consultation processes, Mashile first needs to get real about giving ICASA some teeth. Only once authority has been put in the "A" of ICASA is there any hope of real change.
Until ICASA or a future incarnation has some real power, all the consultation about every controversial issue is worthless. There really is no point to debate without change.
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