By Paul Colmer, EXCO member at Wireless Access Providers Association (WAPA)
One of the burning debates in South Africa today revolves around 6 GHz spectrum, particularly its allocation for either WiFi or 5G services. The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) has already opened the lower unlicensed 6 GHz band (5.925 6.425 GHz) for indoor, low-power WiFi use a commendable step.
Subsequently, in June this year, ICASA published an RFI requesting submissions from all incumbent users of this band. This was a first step towards creating an Automated Frequency Coordination (AFC) database that will allow spectrum sharing and co-existence between the incumbents and unlicensed users, opening the door for using this frequency band in an outdoor environment.
However, the more contentious issue lies with the upper 6 GHz band, which has sparked a fierce battle between proponents of unlicensed WiFi and advocates for 5G.
