Tag: South Africa
Ten Years of TV White Space Advocacy
On Friday, March 23rd 2018, the South African communications regulator (ICASA) formally gazetted Regulations on the Use of Television White Spaces spectrum. This means that, subject to type approval and to authorisation through a geo-location database, TV White Space (TVWS)...
The Failure of Spectrum Auctions in Africa
Spectrum auctions are widely regarded as “best practice” in the assignment of wireless frequencies where demand exceed availability yet, as of 2013 among African countries, only Nigeria had successfully conducted a spectrum auction. This is perhaps not surprising as spectrum...
A Look at Spectrum in Four African Countries
Does effective spectrum management make a real difference when it comes to more pervasive and affordable access to communication? In this post I look at the spectrum management regimes in four African countries: Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, and South Africa, and...
Prism – A Wake-up Call for South Africa?
Richard Poplak wrote a great article earlier today in the Daily Maverick about how the balance between what we can know about government versus what they can know about us has gotten “completely out of whack”. And while I agreed with...
How the ANC is Squandering South Africa’s Digital Future
The release last week of ResearchICTAfrica (RIA)'s report on mobile phone pricing in Africa has provoked a little controversy in South Africa. The facts are quite damning. South Africa has some of the highest mobile costs on the continent. This...