Regional WiMAX operator raided by ICASA for non-payment of licence fees

According to TechCentral, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) has raided the facilities of Eastern Cape-based WiMAX operator Amatole Telecommunication Services, which trades as Easttel, just weeks after doing the same to iBurst parent company Wireless Business Solutions (WBS). A source close to ICASA told the website that the watchdog had obtained a search-and-seizure warrant from the magistrate’s court in East London, allowing it to raid the company’s premises. Easttel was said to have been awarded access to spectrum under previous telecoms minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri in a bid to extend broadband connectivity to the chronically underserved area of Amatole and other outlying parts of the country.