MTN and Telkom to Fight in Court over South African Spectrum.

MTN and Telkom to fight in court over South African spectrum.

— MTN opposes a smaller competitor’s bid to block a spectrum auction.

—The auction is considered important for reviving the economy and expanding telco offerings.

—Telkom and MTN had filed separate objections last year, delaying the country’s first spectrum auction in 14 years.

Africa’s largest wireless provider MTN Group Ltd. has joined Telkom SA SOC Ltd. in an effort to avoid further delays in the release of the long-awaited additional Internet spectrum by South Africa.

MTN said in a statement that it filed court papers on Friday to oppose Telkom’s attempt to block the South African Independent Communications Authority from auctioning spectrum in March.

The government sees the auction as a significant fundamental economic change that will help revive the country’s coronavirus-ravaged economy by freeing up broadband investment and cutting data costs.

Reuters – JOHANNESBURG – MTN Group, a South African telecommunications company, said on Friday it has rejected a court application by rival Telkom SA to postpone a spectrum auction, an effort to avoid further delays in the process. I am stuck in bureaucracy and legislative wrangling over the years.

South Africa’s third-largest telecoms firm, Telkom, on Wednesday requested an urgent court order restraining regulator ICASA from launching a spectrum auction in March, calling the auction process “illegal and illegitimate”.

This move by Telkom, which received a court order forcing the regulator to examine its auction process and postpone it until March this year, could potentially delay the country’s rollout of 5G and expansion of 4G capacity. , both are considered important for access. digital services.

“The current ITA (Invitation to Application) is not correct,” Africa’s largest telecom operator said in a statement.

Telkom’s proposal was rejected on Wednesday by ICASA, describing it as “narrow and selfish”.

Last year, ICASA was set to auction airwaves after Telkom and MTN filed separate objections, delaying the country’s first spectrum auction in 14 years.