JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s telecoms regulator ICASA has lambasted Telkom for taking it to court once again, saying the mobile operator appears “hellbent” on stalling its efforts to licence much needed high demand spectrum.
Telkom is seeking an urgent court order to prevent ICASA from holding the auction in March, which would further delay the country’s rollout of 5G and its expansion of 4G capacity.
“Narrow and selfish commercial interests should give way to the overriding public good of cheaper data, universal access to efficient and reliable connectivity, and high-speed broadband transmission,” ICASA said in a statement late Wednesday.
The regulator is studying the court papers with lawyers, who will advise on the way forward, it added.
(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; editing by Jason Neely)
