The Mobile TV Consortium has referred the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) to the Public Protector, questioning whether other broadcasters were subject to the same process it was.
The complaint follows the regulator's decision to fast-track regulations governing the implementation of mobile TV, which Fifa has stipulated must be in place by the start of the World Cup next month.
ICASA released the regulations in April, which only allowed licensed broadcasters to apply for the spectrum for the service, sending many other businesses into a flurry. The consortium tried to halt the process with an urgent interdict hoping to be able to get its business plan in on time.
However, the Mobile TV Consortium was unsuccessful, with the court ruling that mobile TV must be in place before the World Cup kickoff.
Mobile TV Consortium chairman Mothobi Mutloatse says the organisation rushed to meet the deadline with a full technical specification, a business plan and paid a hefty R70 000 application fee.
However, he says there was no sign of competitor MultiChoice on the day that the submissions deadline came up. “I was there and there was no representative from MultiChoice.”
MultiChoice is already advertising the mobile TV offering, and Mutloatse is convinced the company has simply assumed it will have a licence, whether it applies or not.
The consortium wants to see the letter of acknowledgment from the various applicants to be sure of the time and date that they applied, and whether they paid the R70 000 application fee that the consortium was required to pay.
“ICASA has failed to respond to a formal request from the Mobile TV Consortium about the application process and specifically disclosure around what submissions had been received and accepted by ICASA. Instead, the regulator has asked Mobile TV to submit an application for access to information,” the consortium explains.
It also wants to get some clarity on whether it will be in the running for a licence to broadcast on the platform, since there are only a few weeks left before kickoff. “We are running out of time, and we still need to find out if we need to buy handsets that will broadcast the service,” explains Mutloatse.
“There is a serious and fundamental issue regarding due process and fairness. If MultiChoice was late with its submission there can be no special favours, especially since MultiChoice opposed an urgent interdict against ICASA's proposed timelines for the invitation to apply for the licence.”
The consortium's application to provide the service has not been denied; however, if it is, it is possible the company will have a hard time catching up with MultiChoice in the lead.
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