UCC threatens to limit spectrum sales

Godfrey Mutabazi the Uganda Communications Commission executive director has threated to limit the amount of spectrum that players in the ICT sector can access due to underutilization. 

While speaking at the first Capacity Africa Summit at the Speke Resort Munyonyo, which brought together CEOs from 430 large and medium companies and 31 countries, Mutabazi noted that telecoms should be more innovative to utilize allocated spectrum or face the possibility of limited capacity.  

Spectrum is a wireless frequency which enables players in the industry to facilitate wireless communication. As more consumers buy smartphones, which use 24 times more data, it is expected that telecom companies will require greater amounts of spectrum. 

"We have been very generous when it comes to spectrum. All of these guys (telecom companies) have spare capacity. We had agreed with them behind the scenes that we are going to come in and take it away so that we save" Mutabazi said.

Without sufficient spectrum, operators may incur higher costs of operation which could result in higher prices. 

Frank Tumwebaze the ICT minister opened the summit by acknowledging the role of ICT as a great enabler of a knowledge based economy.

"Our role is to provide an enabling environment for the growth of the ICT industry as an enabler of the transformation of the country into a knowledge based economy," he said. 

"It is for this reason why ICT advancement is at the centre of the national development plan," he added.

The two day conference is largely being sponsored by Liquid Telecom and Uganda Telecom and ends on Wednesday.