The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) pushed back its troubled spectrum auction for a second time, IT Web reported.

Controversy surrounded the process, which was first scheduled to take place in January 2017, before first being postponed until May following fierce government opposition into how the process was being run.

An official notice from ICASA filed earlier this month offered no explanation for the latest delay, but said the auction had been postponed again with no new date confirmed.

The allocation of new spectrum is much needed in the country, but proved a difficult process for the regulator with efforts being held up by the government’s attempts to encourage greater competition to dominant players MTN and Vodacom.

In September 2017, ICASA and the government were in court fighting the legality of a planned January 2017 auction, which the regulator had already invited the country’s leading operators to take part in.

The government won the case and the auction was postponed until May, when a white paper investigating the market in the country had been produced and debated. ICASA has since held a two day review into spectrum usage and allocation in the country attended by operators and other stakeholders.