ICASA Publishes Draft Spectrum Roadmap Targeting 18,588 MHz by 2030

South Africa’s telecommunications sector is undergoing a profound structural shift. While mobile networks grapple with surging competition from low-cost fixed-line alternatives and satellite providers, the country’s communications regulator is attempting to overhaul the airwaves that feed mobile broadband.

ICASA Maps Out Spectrum Expansion to 2030

Between 24 and 29 July 2026, ICASA issued a draft roadmap for mobile spectrum, an updated national frequency plan, and a public database. The centrepiece of this regulatory push is the draft International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) Roadmap 2026, published on 27 July. The framework governs the planning, management, and assignment of spectrum for current and future mobile broadband generations, explicitly encompassing IMT-2030, the standards family marketed by the industry as 6G.

The regulator aims to lift total available broadband spectrum from about 850 MHz to at least 18,588 MHz by 2030. These ultra-high frequencies offer massive capacity but travel short distances and struggle to penetrate walls, making them suited for dense urban capacity and fixed wireless rather than broad coverage.

A more critical metric for everyday coverage is high-demand spectrum. The proposed measures would raise high-demand spectrum availability by roughly 215%, giving operators the sought-after lower and mid-band capacity needed to cover suburbs and rural districts over the next five to ten years.

Searchable Airwaves and the Search for Efficiency

Alongside the roadmap, ICASA published the updated National Radio Frequency Plan 2026 on 24 July, detailing how each slice of the airwaves may be used. On 29 July, the authority introduced the Electronic Frequency Information System (EFIS), an online platform turning the frequency plan into a searchable, downloadable database complete with supporting International Telecommunication Union recommendations.

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The regulator designed the platform for operators, equipment manufacturers, researchers, academia, investors, and the general public.

Government officials have framed the spectrum overhaul around its socioeconomic impact. Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies Solly Malatsi welcomed the NRFP approval, pointing to its role in expanding the nation’s digital capabilities as the country transitions toward its 5G Advanced era.

Prepaid Fibre and Satellite Rivals Press Traditional Mobile Networks

While regulators work to expand airwave capacity, mobile network operators face intensifying competition on the ground. In townships and informal settlements, cellular connectivity has historically been the primary gateway to the internet. However, the expansion of fibre-to-the-home and disruptive satellite internet services is changing consumption patterns, according to Mybroadband.

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Affluent areas enjoyed rapid deployments of uncapped fibre over the past decade, creating a cost discrepancy that some analysts describe as a “poverty tax.” Fixed-line infrastructure requires extensive, costly trenching, whereas cellular towers cover vast areas with fewer sites. In response, fibre network operators developed lower-cost prepaid models by deploying cables on poles instead of trenching. High population density in informal settlements further lowers infrastructure costs per customer.

Companies like Fibertime now sell vouchers providing access to uncapped 100Mbps connections for R5 per device per day, or R15 daily for five users. By the end of July 2026, Fibertime had connected 521,000 homes with approximately 1.58 million monthly active customers, making it South Africa’s third-largest fibre network operator by connected homes behind Vumatel and Openserve.

Low Earth Orbit Satellites Target Rural Markets

In rural and less-populated regions, conventional geosynchronous satellite services have long suffered from slow speeds, high latency, and steep pricing. Today, low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite services such as SpaceX’s Starlink and Amazon Leo are challenging fixed LTE and mobile solutions by offering fibre-like speeds, low latency, and competitive pricing.

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Starlink’s 250GB product starts around R500 in Southern Africa, while uncapped products run near R1,000, allowing higher bandwidth to be shared across multiple customers. Recognizing the shift, major mobile operators are partnering with satellite providers. Vodacom and MTN have signed partnership agreements with Amazon Leo and Starlink to offer enterprise services in permitted African countries, while Vodacom also took a 30% stake in Maziv with a roughly R13-billion cash injection to expand Vuma Key in underserved areas.

Although ICASA’s draft roadmap offers operators a clearer framework to plan capital investments, actual spectrum assignments must still navigate formal invitations to apply under the Radio Frequency Spectrum Regulations of 2015. As historical precedents show, the path from draft policy to assigned airwaves requires navigating complex administrative timelines.