Communications minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams and her deputy have met captains of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry to discuss the country's spectrum licensing process, her department said.

The government said licensing of high-demand spectrum is necessary to lessen resource constraints experienced by incumbent mobile operators, enable transformation of a historically vertically integrated market, level the playing field and enable new entrants into the market. 

Ndabeni-Abrahams said since the advent of mobile broadband, spectrum had turned out to be both a competitive and an anti-competitive tool for incumbent network operators and a barrier to entry for new entrants.

"Some spectrum lies un-utilised or underutilised in time or space and we would like to change that by making sure that spectrum is effectively and efficiently licensed in order to address not only revenue generation, but to also ensure inclusive participation,” she added.

Attendants to the meeting said spectrum licensing processes must be swiftly finalised to propel the industry forward and enable effective and efficient delivery of fourth industrial revolution imperatives that require wireless networks.

A final policy directive on spectrum allocation is expected to be issued at the end of this month.