South African telecoms regulator delays spectrum release until 2021

JOHANNESBURG: South Africa’s telecoms regulator said on Thursday it now plans to auction high-demand spectrum licences by no later than the end of March 2021, pushing back the process by three-months, due to a delay in issuing invites to apply.

Allocation of high-demand spectrum is seen as key to expanding broadband services, especially 5G, in Africa’s most industrialised economy, where the high cost of telecommunications is a barrier to doing business.