ICASA Gazettes National Radio Frequency Plan 2026
Brought to you by SA Legal Academy: The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (‘ICASA’) has officially gazetted the National Radio Frequency Plan 2026, finalizing the regulatory process initiated with the publication of the draft plan for public comment in April 2025.
In terms of the Electronic Communications Act, No. 36 of 2005, ICASA is responsible for managing and allocating the national radio frequency spectrum. The updated 2026 plan sets the overarching regulatory framework for spectrum and orbital resource utilization across the 8.3 kHz to 3000 GHz frequency band.
Key structural and regulatory objectives incorporated into the 2026 plan include:
- Spectrum Efficiency: Ensuring the effective and optimal utilization of scarce radio frequency spectrum and satellite orbital slots.
- Protection of Passive Services: Establishing mandatory protection parameters for adjacent-band passive services, including earth exploration satellite and meteorological applications.
- International Harmonisation and 6G: Incorporating globally harmonised frequency allocations to prepare South Africa’s spectrum landscape for future technology evolutions, including 6G deployment.
What this means for you, your business, or your clients
- For yourself: No direct individual compliance obligations; spectrum management is regulated through network operators and service providers.
- For your business: Telecommunications operators, broadcasters, and commercial frequency license holders must review their spectrum footprints against the 2026 allocations to ensure operational compliance and avoid interference with adjacent protected bands.
- For your clients: Enterprise clients acquiring wireless equipment, private network systems, or satellite services must verify that hardware vendor specifications align with the newly harmonised frequency allocations.
Originally published at https://legalacademy.co.za/news/read/electronic-communications-latest-radio-frequency-plan-gazetted