Curiosity prevails

It has been a while - can't believe that the FIFA 2010 World Cup has come and gone already! For 6 weeks all we saw and heard about was football - so much so that some interesting announcements were made that did not quite get the airtime they deserved.

So, let's take a step back and look at what's been happening. The telecoms industry was very excited about the opportunity to get their hands on much sought-after spectrum, but when ICASA released the ITA it was full of gaps. So, when this was pointed out by industry players, the deadline was extended. Then the Minister of Communications stepped in, pointing out that there are gaps and that he was not comfortable with the ITA - so we face the possibility of the entire process being delayed - AGAIN.

Speaking of ICASA and the Minister of Communications, very curious appointment this new chairperson of ICASA. While his CV shows that he clearly has the experience in the ICT sector, he is 70, which means he's now coming out of retirement to chair ICASA for 5 years. My personal belief is that this is a bit fishy - has he been appointment due to a relationship with the DoC? Will he just be another figure-head, to be ordered around at the whim of the DoC? I don't know - I sincerely hope my concerns are unfounded - I mean what is the point of having an independent regulatory body that is not independent. And it will really do a lot of damage to the work that has been done to date to liberalise the industry (yes, we all have our perceptions on what has been achieved to date and whether it has had any impact).

Anyway, enough rambling from me for the moment. Will be keeping a close eye on the spectrum auction process, because there are well-founded fears about what the outcome may be.

But more on that later...