Vodacom South Africa has suffered a legal setback as the Pretoria High Court dismissed its urgent interdict application to halt spectrum-sharing agreements between MTN, Cell C, and Liquid Intelligent Technologies. The ruling means that these operators can continue pooling their spectrum, at least until a final decision is made on the legality of the practice.
Vodacom had challenged the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa), arguing that the regulator secretly and unlawfully approved spectrum pooling, giving MTN an unfair advantage in network performance tests. The telecom giant also raised concerns over the use of guard bands—small unused portions of spectrum that help prevent interference.
While the court acknowledged that Vodacom had a valid reason to question the approval process, it ruled against granting an immediate suspension of the pooling arrangements. Judge Etienne Labuschagne dismissed Vodacom’s application with costs, including the fees of two legal counsel.
Despite agreeing that Vodacom was facing competitive harm and had no alternative remedy besides stopping the pooling agreements, the court ultimately prioritised the broader public interest. Judge Labuschagne noted that spectrum sharing has significantly improved mobile network quality across South Africa, benefiting trade, education, and digital access. Suspending the arrangement now, the ruling stated, would disrupt these benefits and negatively impact millions of users.
Another key factor in the court’s decision was that MTN and Cell C had already made substantial investments in their networks based on Icasa’s approval. Since these operators acted in good faith, the judge ruled that suddenly terminating their agreements would be unfair.
However, the ruling did not absolve Icasa of wrongdoing. The court criticised the regulator for failing to follow proper public consultation procedures and conducting an inadequate competition assessment that did not sufficiently address Vodacom’s concerns.
In a notable twist, the judge also pointed out that Vodacom itself could apply for its own spectrum pooling agreements, provided it follows the same approval process. While Vodacom successfully raised important legal questions, the court ultimately chose to maintain the status quo until a final ruling is made on the matter.
