--- title: Put the Woan’s spectrum in orbit, says Vodacom | daily.dev description: Vodacom wants South Africa's regulator Icasa to hand mobile operators the spectrum once set aside for the defunct Woan, but priced for rural satellite-to-phone... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/put-the-woan-s-spectrum-in-orbit-says-vodacom-ktopmo9ox twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Put the Woan’s spectrum in orbit, says Vodacom | daily.dev og:description: Vodacom wants South Africa's regulator Icasa to hand mobile operators the spectrum once set aside for the defunct Woan, but priced for rural satellite-to-phone... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/put-the-woan-s-spectrum-in-orbit-says-vodacom-ktopmo9ox og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/KTOPMo9Ox.png og:image:alt: Put the Woan’s spectrum in orbit, says Vodacom og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Put the Woan’s spectrum in orbit, says Vodacom **[TechCentral](https://daily.dev/sources/techcentral)** · 3 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Vodacom wants South Africa's regulator Icasa to hand mobile operators the spectrum once set aside for the defunct Woan, but priced for rural satellite-to-phone use rather than full terrestrial value. Vodacom Group CTO Dejan Kastelic says the spectrum could help reach '100% coverage' by linking ordinary phones to satellites where towers don't exist. Operators would first use IMT spectrum already supported by phones, later adding mobile satellite service bands once handsets catch up. Kastelic proposed a phased valuation, revisited once MSS allocation and handset support mature, timed to 'the next three to five, five to seven years'. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What frequencies made up the old Woan spectrum set-aside in South Africa? The remaining Woan set-aside consists of 2x10MHz in the 700MHz band and 30MHz at 2.6GHz, totaling 50MHz. Working by elimination from Icasa's 2021 auction documents, the 700MHz block sits at 703-713MHz and 758-768MHz, while the 2.6GHz block spans 2500-2530MHz. These blocks are not currently allocated to satellite services. _Anyone tracking African spectrum policy can follow developments like this on daily.dev._ ### Why would mobile operators want low-band spectrum like 700MHz for satellite-to-phone services? Low-band frequencies such as 700MHz travel further and penetrate buildings better than higher bands, making them favored by satellite-to-phone operators for rural coverage where no terrestrial towers exist. In dense cities, operators prefer to keep that spectrum for IMT towers rather than satellite use, since satellite connectivity delivers less value where terrestrial coverage already exists. _Engineers weighing spectrum trade-offs for connectivity projects can keep up with cases like this on daily.dev._ ### When will satellite direct-to-device services be able to use dedicated mobile satellite service spectrum instead of regular mobile bands? Satellite-to-phone services initially rely on IMT spectrum, the bands already supported by phones in people's pockets, because few handsets yet support mobile satellite service (MSS) bands. The International Telecommunication Union's 2027 World Radiocommunication Conference will consider new satellite allocations for direct-to-device services in the 694MHz-2.7GHz range. _Developers building for satellite connectivity can track standards shifts like WRC-27 on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Prime spectrum lies idle as the Woan’s ghost lingers](https://daily.dev/posts/prime-spectrum-lies-idle-as-the-woan-s-ghost-lingers-g66atgkqi) · TechCentral · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Woan’s ghost exorcised](https://daily.dev/posts/woan-s-ghost-exorcised-esx44bevg) · TechCentral · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Four European carriers to explore a joint bid for satellite spectrum](https://daily.dev/posts/four-european-carriers-to-explore-a-joint-bid-for-satellite-spectrum-3aiib7vgh) · The Next Web · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [South Africa’s broadband future is being decided in orbit, not in Pretoria](https://daily.dev/posts/south-africa-s-broadband-future-is-being-decided-in-orbit-not-in-pretoria-w0ptcxebq) · TechCentral · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/put-the-woan-s-spectrum-in-orbit-says-vodacom-ktopmo9ox) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Put the Woan’s spectrum in orbit, says Vodacom","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/put-the-woan-s-spectrum-in-orbit-says-vodacom-ktopmo9ox","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/put-the-woan-s-spectrum-in-orbit-says-vodacom-ktopmo9ox"},"datePublished":"2026-10-29T09:23:50.425Z","dateModified":"2026-10-29T09:24:20.349Z","description":"Vodacom wants South Africa's regulator Icasa to hand mobile operators the spectrum once set aside for the defunct Woan, but priced for rural satellite-to-phone...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/3f277bc052ad842b74f1b2d4bfa69c77?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/3f277bc052ad842b74f1b2d4bfa69c77?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"TechCentral","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"TechCentral","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--RsqLDZrL--/f_auto/v1717745297/logos/techcentral","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/techcentral"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/put-the-woan-s-spectrum-in-orbit-says-vodacom-ktopmo9ox","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"","timeRequired":"PT3M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"TechCentral","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/techcentral"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Put the Woan’s spectrum in orbit, says Vodacom"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/put-the-woan-s-spectrum-in-orbit-says-vodacom-ktopmo9ox#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What frequencies made up the old Woan spectrum set-aside in South Africa?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"The remaining Woan set-aside consists of 2x10MHz in the 700MHz band and 30MHz at 2.6GHz, totaling 50MHz. Working by elimination from Icasa's 2021 auction documents, the 700MHz block sits at 703-713MHz and 758-768MHz, while the 2.6GHz block spans 2500-2530MHz. These blocks are not currently allocated to satellite services. Anyone tracking African spectrum policy can follow developments like this on daily.dev."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Why would mobile operators want low-band spectrum like 700MHz for satellite-to-phone services?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Low-band frequencies such as 700MHz travel further and penetrate buildings better than higher bands, making them favored by satellite-to-phone operators for rural coverage where no terrestrial towers exist. In dense cities, operators prefer to keep that spectrum for IMT towers rather than satellite use, since satellite connectivity delivers less value where terrestrial coverage already exists. Engineers weighing spectrum trade-offs for connectivity projects can keep up with cases like this on daily.dev."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"When will satellite direct-to-device services be able to use dedicated mobile satellite service spectrum instead of regular mobile bands?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Satellite-to-phone services initially rely on IMT spectrum, the bands already supported by phones in people's pockets, because few handsets yet support mobile satellite service (MSS) bands. The International Telecommunication Union's 2027 World Radiocommunication Conference will consider new satellite allocations for direct-to-device services in the 694MHz-2.7GHz range. Developers building for satellite connectivity can track standards shifts like WRC-27 on daily.dev."}}]} ```