South African govt to accelerate licensing of new radio spectrum

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday that the government will accelerate the licensing of delayed radio frequency spectrum to mobile operators.

Allocation of spectrum is seen as key to expanding broadband services in Africa’s most industrialized economy, where the high cost of telecommunications is a barrier to doing business.

“Government has recently decided to accelerate the licensing of the radio frequency spectrum in the 2.6 gigahertz, the 700 megahertz and the 800 megahertz band to hasten the growth of mobile telecommunications,” Ramaphosa told delegates at the opening of the International Telecommunication Union Telecom World Conference.