More Broadband to come

Made by Serif

The department of communications and the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) are sitting on the digital equivalent of millions of hectares of fertile but fallow land in the form of several hundred megahertz of underused frequency spectrum.

The spectrum being referred to is the so-called “white space” between television channels on the VHF and UHF frequency bands — several hundred megahertz of sub-900MHz spectrum frequency ready to be put to good use by telecoms entrepreneurs. This precious resource is currently being wasted by virtue of the fact that it is underutilised.

White-space frequency comes bundled with a number of benefits that have led some to speculate that it could be used to provide a new class of “super Wi-Fi” services.

It can travel longer distances, provide higher download speeds and penetrate walls better than the 2,4GHz and 5GHz bands currently used to provide Wi-Fi services.

This makes it suitable as a last-mile solution that will help to affordably connect more people to the Internet in places where fibre is too expensive to be viable.

The beauty of white-space frequency is that other countries have already started to work out the business models and benefits for us — our legislators and regulators simply need to learn from the best practices they are establishing. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the US last year released this white space to anyone who wants to use it. Ofcom in the UK and other European regulators look set to follow its example.

Using Wi-Fi technology, Wireless Access Providers’ Association members have already helped countless consumers, businesses, schools and hospitals to connect to the Internet. What we could achieve with white-space frequency is simply staggering.