In what appears to be an attempt to dodge yet another legal battle, the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) has promised to release the master frequency list to the public.
The list supposedly holds details of which companies have been assigned spectrum, information about how that spectrum is being used, and what terms and conditions are attached to each assignment.
Spokesman for the regulator, Paseka Maleka, has confirmed a list of this nature exists and the regulator openly admits it should be available in the public domain. However, Maleka says there have been technical difficulties that have prevented the list from being published on its Web site.
“The information should have been published on our Web site, but could not due to technical challenges,” he notes.
The statement follows a pending legal battle being put together by the Internet Service Providers' Association of SA (ISPA), which has been battling to get a copy of the list since last year.
ISPA regulatory advisor Dominic Cull says the association's members need to have access to the list, because they are looking to make applications for spectrum licences to start rolling out networks. “ISPA members are entitled to apply for frequency, but, at the moment, every application made by ISPA members is hit and miss.”
Cull says the association requested access to the list several times, which, according to him, had been ignored. The industry body has now decided to take the matter to the High Court and Cull hopes to have the papers submitted within the next two weeks.
However, ICASA says it does have the database of all the assignments and has made summaries of most critical assignments. “This information has always been available to stakeholders when requested.”
The regulator's quick turnaround could be a means to dodge ISPA's legal suit. ICASA says it is busy implementing an “advanced spectrum management system” that will make the information available to the public, through its Web site.
The regulator did not indicate how long it would take for the master list to be made available, and it is likely the legal action will go ahead, if it is not published within the next two weeks.
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