Government scraps WOAN spectrum set-aside, freeing more capacity for South Africa’s next auction

Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi has withdrawn the policy direction that reserved high-demand radio spectrum for a wholesale open-access network, or WOAN. The immediate consequence is practical: spectrum that had been held back for the proposed wholesale operator can now be considered by ICASA for future licensing to mobile networks.

For South African consumers, this matters because spectrum is one of the inputs that determines how much mobile capacity operators can deploy. More usable spectrum does not automatically mean cheaper data or better coverage, but it removes a policy constraint that has sat over the sector for years.

A policy idea reaches the end of the road

The WOAN model was conceived as a shared wholesale network intended to widen competition and reduce duplication in mobile infrastructure. Business Day reported on 27 September that Malatsi had scrapped the plan, clearing the way for more radio-frequency spectrum to be available to operators at the next auction.

The change lands while government is also working through amendments to the Electronic Communications Act and while ICASA is updating the machinery it uses to manage and assign spectrum. The regulator published its updated National Radio Frequency Plan in July 2026 and has also been consulting on a longer-term IMT roadmap covering current mobile broadband and future IMT-2030 technologies.

That makes the withdrawal more than an administrative clean-up. It changes the pool of spectrum that can be planned for commercial assignment and removes a structural assumption that has influenced spectrum policy since the 2016 ICT policy white paper.

What operators and consumers should watch

ICASA still controls the licensing process. The regulator will have to decide which bands are made available, the licensing conditions, timing and auction design. Operators therefore do not receive additional spectrum simply because the set-aside has been withdrawn.

MTN, Vodacom, Telkom and Cell C will all watch the next assignment carefully. Coverage gaps, urban capacity and the economics of mid-band 5G all depend on what is released, when it is released, and on what terms. Network-sharing deals already reshape how spectrum translates into service quality; a larger commercial pool could accelerate densification in metros while still leaving rural economics unresolved.

For households, the consumer test is narrower: whether future auctions and licence conditions push more capacity into congested areas and whether that shows up as better peak-hour performance rather than just marketing claims about "more spectrum".

What changes now

The decision does give the regulator more room. South Africa's mobile market has already been reshaped by the 2022 high-demand spectrum auction, network-sharing arrangements and continuing investment in 4G and 5G. Future assignments will be judged against that market rather than against the original assumptions behind the WOAN.

The unresolved question is what ICASA does with the newly unencumbered capacity. Until the regulator publishes a concrete assignment plan, auction timetable and licence conditions, the policy withdrawal is an opening rather than a completed spectrum reform.