Regulation

The United Arab Emirates regulator, The Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA), has announced the launch of what it calls the 6th Generation (6G) Initiative in the country.

The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) reportedly plans to block satellite operators linked to China from providing services to broadcasters and teleport operators in the name of national security.

There is bad news for operators in both Chad and Zambia, whose telecommunications regulators have highlighted what they see as serious quality of service (QoS) deficiencies in their mobile communications offerings.

Tanzania has been accused of shutting down internet access and restricting social media around recent elections that saw protests accusing the state of hindering democracy after the main opposition party, Chadema, was barred from participating, and its leader, Tundu Lissu, was arrested on treason charges.

Mozambique’s government has made 5G coverage compulsory in all provincial capitals, while scrapping its earlier plan to auction spectrum licences to mobile operators.

Malaysia and Timor Leste reportedly signed two MoUs to cooperate on telecoms and media development just before Timor Leste officially became a member of ASEAN on Sunday, while also revealing that data roaming services have been activated between the two countries.

Two recent news stories – from Madagascar and Chad – indicate that some African regulators feel they need to respond strongly to public concerns about quality and cost of mobile services – although powers to enforce these responses often differ from country to country.

Sixty-five nations have signed what is being described as a landmark United Nations treaty in Hanoi aimed at tackling cybercrime.

Turkey's 5G spectrum tender, confirmed in August, is over and, according to Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu, it well exceeded the target of US$2.125 billion, which was set as the minimum value.

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) is reportedly set to auction off 700-MHz spectrum at the start of next year, although how much spectrum will be available depends on a pending court case, which could impact operator interest in the auction.

Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (Kemkomdigi) has reportedly announced that it will kick off its auction for 80 MHz of spectrum in the 1.4 GHz band (1432–1512 MHz) on October 13.

It’s been a busy week for ICT in Zambia with the approval of two new bills for the digital economy, a new strategic plan announced by Zambia's ICT regulator and the awarding of a World Bank grant that reports suggest may be used for digital infrastructure.

The Tunisian government has reportedly announced plans for a staggering 138 projects to accelerate the digital modernisation of government administration over the period 2025–2026.

The latest government attack on internet connectivity – and one of the most drastic so far – comes from Afghanistan, where ruling group the Taliban this week imposed an internet ban on the northern Balkh province, where a Wi-Fi shutdown was confirmed on Tuesday. The Taliban has said that the fibre optic internet ban will eventually be nationwide.

Four of Peru’s mobile operators – Bitel, Claro, Entel and Integratel - have obtained spectrum for 5G deployment. A fifth, Americatel, which had prequalified for the bidding process, reportedly did not participate in the auction.

Vodafone Idea is pushing back against a fresh demand from India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT), which is seeking INR94.5 billion (US$1.1 billion) in outstanding adjusted gross revenue (AGR) charges from both Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel.

Fiji’s Ministry of Trade, Co-operatives, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Communications has officially issued 5G spectrum licences to the country’s three major mobile operators.

Around 3.1 billion people are not connected to the internet despite living in coverage areas, highlighting a massive global usage gap.

UPDATE: The BBC has reported that Nepal has lifted a social media ban, which sparked protests and led to clashes with police that left at least 19 people dead and injured more than 100 others.

Can countries balance access to an undoubtedly popular and convenient service with an effective response to predatory lending practices, data abuse, high interest rates, and aggressive debt collection practices, to name only a few? That’s the question about digital lending that regulators in Kenya and Nigeria are trying to answer.

Axiata’s telecoms infrastructure company Edotco announced on Wednesday that its Sri Lankan subsidiary, Edotco Services Lanka, has received the country’s first licence to provide neutral-hosted infrastructure services in Sri Lanka.

The government of Chad late last week ordered mobile operators Airtel and Moov Africa to connect to its national fibre-optic backbone within seven days or face potential sanctions, after the Telecommunications Minister Boukar Michel met executives from both operators on Wednesday.

Argentina has apparently made plans to start allocating spectrum for private mobile networks. Regulator Enacom has assigned the 2300-2400MHz frequency band for private mobile wireless broadband systems. The spectrum allocation will be for ten years and can be used for indoor or outdoor deployments, according to the resolution published on Monday.

Legislation intended to make it easier for new players to enter the Philippines’ data services market lapsed into law on Sunday over the objection of telcos that have complained the bill is unfair to them and raises cybersecurity issues.

A feared increase in telecom service prices, an apparent extension of a 5% excise tax previously earmarked for telecommunications services in Nigeria, may not now happen.

Turkey is officially going ahead with 5G spectrum auction plans. Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu announced earlier this week that the 5G frequency tender would take place in October.

Ghana and Burkina Faso have reportedly begun a bilateral meeting to address cross-border signal interference. The National Communications Authority (NCA) of Ghana and Autorité de Régulation des Communications Électroniques et des Postes (ARCEP) of Burkina Faso began the meeting, held virtually, on 19 August.

In a move that, unlike some regulatory initiatives, may actually prove popular with mobile operators and consumers, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has issued a manual to aid in the assessment of digital connectivity in properties.

The communications regulators of the Republic of Congo and the Republic of Angola have reportedly taken what is called a decisive step in bilateral cooperation in the management of radio frequency spectrum to reduce interference problems along the common borders of the two countries.

Chilean telecoms regulator Subtel has launched an online platform that aggregates mobile and broadband providers, aiming to make it easier for citizens to get connected and advance the country’s goal of closing the digital divide.

The Armenian government has dismissed media claims that it authorised the sale of its 20% stake in Viva.