Below, please find issue 1 of ENSafrica's telecoms and media in brief, a snapshot of the latest telecommunications and broadcasting developments in South Africa.

telecommunications

  • regulations and notices
    • GG42361 – NN197: Notice Regarding the Final International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) Roadmap 2019
      • on 29 March 2019, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa ("ICASA") published the Notice Regarding the Final International Mobile Telecommunications ("IMT") Roadmap 2019. ICASA recognises that there is a growing demand for mobile broadband in South Africa and a need for more bandwidth capacity in general. Lower frequencies are to be deployed in order to propagate a wider market, especially to ensure reach to the rural areas. The roadmap indicates current licensees who will be moved out of or within bands that have been identified for IMT services.
      • as a result of the public interest nature of this project, ICASA allowed only 14 days for comments on the IMT Roadmap to be submitted. Closing date for comments was 18 April 2019.
    • GG42358 NN518: The Ordering System Specification for Number Portability
      • on 29 March 2019, ICASA published the Ordering System Specification ("OSS") for geographic, non-geographic and mobile number portability in terms of regulation 7 of the Number Portability Regulations of 1 October 2018.
      • the OSS specifies the process in terms of which a recipient operator and a donor operator exchange information between each other in order to provide number portability to a subscriber. It outlines the type of information to be sent, its format, the means of communication, the times when communications may be sent, the time limits for responses, and the handling of error conditions.
      • the OSS further prescribes the process that must be followed whenever a geographic, non-geographic and mobile number(s) assigned to a subscriber is/are ported from one operator to another. The OSS for geographic and non-geographic and mobile number portability will come into effect on a date to be determined by ICASA by notice in the Government Gazette.
    • GG42337 NN166: Notice Regarding the Final Radio Frequency Migration Plan 2019
      • on 29 March 2018, ICASA published the notice regarding the Final Radio Frequency Migration Plan 2019.
      • ICASA has concluded that the forward-looking time frame for a process of spectrum migration should be between three to five years from the moment of announcement. Therefore, to ensure that there is no confusion, where there are multi-year radio frequency spectrum licences, the duration of these licences should generally not exceed three years.
      • the plan will come into effect on a date to be determined by ICASA by notice in the Government Gazette.

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