Cape Town conference for spectrum discussion

The Dynamic Spectrum Alliance (DSA) has announced that its 2017 Global Summit, to be held in Cape Town on 9–11 May, will be co-hosted by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA), the South African national spectrum regulator.

The DSA has also announced the addition of 11 new members from Africa, Asia, Europe and North America, including public benefit companies, multinationals, research institutions, and small and medium enterprises.

The new members are: Telecast Technology Corp., China; Wi-Fi Interactive Network, the Philippines; Nominet, United Kingdom; M-KOPA, Kenya; Ekovolt, Nigeria; C3 Limited, Malawi; Project Isizwe, South Africa; AirJaldi Networks, India; and Marvell Semiconductors, Axiom Technologies and the IEEE, all from the US.

Summit co-host ICASA recently published a discussion paper on the Framework for Dynamic and Opportunistic Spectrum Management that canvasses a proposal to authorise licence-exempt access to unused TV channels, also known as television white spaces.

Several of the new members are focused on opening up more spectrum-sharing opportunities and this will be a key theme in the 2017 Global Summit.

Ekovolt, a wireless broadband and technology services provider, is working to provide affordable, accessible, reliable broadband and technology solutions for households and businesses in Nigeria.

C3 Limited is building a wireless network across Malawi and Project Isizwe aims to bring the internet to people across South Africa by facilitating the rollout of free Wi-Fi for public spaces in low-income communities.

“In 2013, the Dynamic Spectrum Alliance was chartered to work with policymakers and regulators around the world on laws and regulations designed to promote and reward more efficient spectrum utilisation,” said Paul Garnett, the Dynamic Spectrum Alliance’s chairman of the board and director of Affordable Access at Microsoft.

“The spectrum-sharing technologies and policies that the Dynamic Spectrum Alliance began promoting almost four years ago are now central to discussions about current and future spectrum access and emerging 5G scenarios.”

Image courtesy DSA.