Page 79 - SAMENA Trends - November-December 2021

WHOLESALE UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

South African Wholesale Open Access Network Put on Hold

Plan for licensing a wholesale open-access network (WOAN) though whether the spectrum offered will be used for 4G, 5G or
in South Africa have been put on hold by the regulator, the both isn’t entirely clear. However, the concept is not too popular
Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA). with private sector players. The operator association the GSMA
This is quite a turnabout for the regulator. As part of the timetable said two years ago, “Citizens are promised better coverage, more
published for South Africa’s planned spectrum auction next year competition, and as a result, more affordable prices. However,
a consultative document related to WOAN licensing was due late turning this vision into a working reality with an impact that goes
last week. As for what caused the change of heart, an ICASA beyond what traditional networks can achieve is difficult.” ICASA
statement said, “Given the sensitivity of the spectrum licensing now plans to outline its plans for the WOAN by the end of March
process and the ongoing consultation processes in that regard, next year – approximately when the next spectrum auction is due
as well as numerous continuous related considerations including to be concluded. ICASA says spectrum will still be set aside for the
legal imperatives, ICASA has resolved to temporarily suspend WOAN during the licensing process.
the timetable relating to the licensing of the WOAN.” It continued,
“This is done to allow the conclusion of the consultation process
relating to the permanent licensing of the IMT spectrum, thus
enabling the Authority to interrogate the impact of the outcomes
on the licensing of the WOAN.” It may seem rather late in the day
to, as ICASA puts it, “engage other international jurisdictions to
draw lessons from their experiences on the licensing of a typical
WOAN”. However, given that one of the highest-profile examples,
ALTAN Redes (on which the South African WOAN was reportedly
partly modelled), has experienced widely reported issues,
including bankruptcy, it may be that ICASA thought it prudent
to take a step back, even at this late stage. The South African
WOAN is intended to encourage competition at the services layer,
rather than the infrastructure layer. It creates a private sector-
led wholesale entity with multiple investors able to serve internet
service providers and others. Operators Vodacom and MTN would
be required to buy 30 percent of the new entity’s available capacity,

Telkom Inks a New Roaming Agreement with MTN

Telkom inked a new roaming agreement with MTN, saying
that its customers now have access to three networks – its
own, Vodacom’s and MTN’s. The latest agreement, effective 1
November 2021, ensures that Telkom has access to MTN’s 2G,
3G and 4G services. Lunga Siyo, CEO of Telkom Consumer, said
in a statement: ‘The access to MTN South Africa’s 2G, 3G and 4G
networks adds coverage while reducing Telkom’s overall roaming
costs. The addition of a second roaming partner is well within
our current roaming spend. We remain on course with our plan
to progressively reduce our roaming costs over time.’ Telkom
previously terminated its roaming agreement with MTN in favor of
a comprehensive agreement with Vodacom (gaining access to its
2G, 3G and 4G services) in December 2018. In related news, MTN
Group has reportedly expressed an interest in acquiring Telkom.
However, Telkom has so far shown no interest in a sale, Bloomberg
News writes citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.

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