Pretoria – The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa is reminding all interested communities who wish to establish community radio stations that the pre-registration process in respect of applications for Class Community Sound Broadcasting Service Licences and Radio Frequency Spectrum for purposes of providing community sound broadcasting services will close on 30 April 2020.

Having considered the effects of the National State of Disaster and the subsequent Lockdown the country is currently on, ICASA has created an email address where interested communities can submit their applications. The dedicated e-mail address is ITP-R@icasa.org.za. This is to ensure that ICASA and its stakeholders observe social distancing and the related National Disaster Regulations.

On 12 November 2019, ICASA issued an invitation to apply for pre-registration in respect of applications for Class Community Sound Broadcasting Service Licences and applications for Radio Frequency Spectrum for purposes of providing community sound broadcasting services. The closing date for pre-registrations was 30 March 2020.

Subsequently, ICASA published a media statement on 20 January 2020 reminding all interested communities to observe the closing date that was slowly approaching so that they can prepare themselves and finalise their applications for submissions. At the time, ICASA stated that there would be no extension for submission with regards to the process.

However, ICASA extended the submission date to 30 April 2020 following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus and the subsequent national lockdown.

The Authority believes that community broadcasting, and in particular, community radio, remains an important platform that provides a mechanism for enabling individuals, social groups and communities to tell their stories in their own languages, to share experiences and most of all to become creators and contributors of media in general. Furthermore, community radio remains one of the most accessible and readily affordable medium for rural development as well as youth empowerment.

Communities are therefore advised to submit only an electronic copy of their pre-registration application by no later than 11h00 on 30 April 2020 using the above email address.
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For all media enquiries please contact:
Paseka Maleka
Tel : 012 568 3455
Cell : 079 509 0702
Email: pmaleka@icasa.org.za