Regulation

The African Telecommunications Union (ATU), a specialised agency of the African Union in the field of telecommunications, has secured a grant from the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to accelerate Africa’s transition from Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) to version 6 (IPv6).

Malaysian telcos and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission’s (MCMC) have promised mobile users that their personal data and privacy won’t be compromised following a news report that telcos were ordered by the MCMC to hand over mobile network usage records for the first three months of 2025.

Qatar regulator the Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA) has announced that it has opened access to more than 4,860 kilometres of government telecom duct infrastructure across Qatar.

The SAMENA Telecommunications Council and the World Broadband Association (WBBA) said on Monday they have signed a MoU to collaborate on advancing broadband access across the South Asia, Middle East, and North Africa region and beyond.

The latest spectrum licence auction in Thailand has apparently only attracted two bidders: True Corporation and Advanced Info Service (AIS) – and they do not seem interested in all the spectrum on offer. So what happens now?

The Namibian government has set out ambitious plans to rapidly improve connectivity services as part of its strategy to stimulate economic growth.

Vietnam’s telecoms regulator has reportedly ordered the country’s telcos to block messaging app Telegram over its alleged failure to prevent its users from using the app to commit crimes under Vietnamese law.

IHS Nigeria, a subsidiary of the IHS Towers group, announced on Thursday it has formed a strategic partnership with the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to increase protection of critical telecoms infrastructure across Nigeria.

The long-running story of service quality issues in Cameroon rumbles on with news that the country’s Telecommunications Regulatory Board (ART) has initiated a new restricted tender for an audit of Cameroon's national fibre optic network.

The extraordinarily long and complex story of the Indian government's adjusted gross revenue (AGR) payment demands on operators continues to make headlines with Monday’s news that India’s Supreme Court has rejected pleas from operators Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea to support a waiver on their AGR dues.

Mexico’s proposed new telecommunications law has been modified after controversy about one of its provisions which, critics have suggested, could enable censorship on digital platforms.

The GSMA has urged governments worldwide to reduce spectrum prices, warning that high fees are choking the telecoms industry and threatening long-term economic development.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said on Friday it intends to charge satellite internet players up to 4% of their adjusted gross revenue (AGR) over a five-year period to use spectrum allocated to them for satellite broadband services.

The Liberian Telecommunications Authority (LTA) announced on Monday that it has launched a nationwide initiative to rehabilitate and maintain rural base stations deployed under the Universal Access Fund (UAF) that have since been abandoned.

Multinational technology company Meta has been in the news lately in Nigeria and Ghana – but not necessarily for positive reasons.

Last week’s agreement between Togo and Burkina Faso to end roaming charges for incoming calls comes into effect at the end of this month. But is it really part of a growing wave of roaming initiatives across West Africa?

There has been unease expressed by the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ)  about many of the provisions in Zambia's new Cyber Security Act, which recently became law.

Peru has opened a call for the allocation of the 3.5GHz frequency band for public telecommunications services using 5G or higher technology. More precisely, the call comprises frequencies in the 3300-3800MHz band.

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has reportedly directed all telcos in the country to proactively resolve internet access issues on a monthly, state-by-state basis rather than wait for customers to complain before taking action.

Operator MTN South Sudan, part of the pan-African MTN Group, has secured a 15-year operating license from the country’s National Communication Authority. MTN had previously operated in South Sudan under a Sudanese license.

India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has reportedly asked all telcos in the country to provide details of Chinese equipment still being used in their networks.

The Philippine Chamber of Telecommunication Operators (PCTO) reportedly said on Wednesday it opposes plans by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to require mobile customers to register for SIM cards in person rather than online, saying it would slow down SIM registrations. 

Philippines operator NOW Telecom Company has, it seems, lost its licence to operate by order of regulator the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).

Thailand’s Association of Digital Television Broadcasting (ADTEB) reportedly urged the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) on Monday to either scrap its plan to auction 3500-MHz spectrum to telcos or postpone it until it comes up with a feasible migration plan for digital TV broadcasters.

Thailand’s National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has reportedly revoked the telecoms licence of mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) K4 Communication Company after its directors were arrested for alleged fraud.

The widely reported sale by international service provider Telefonica of its Argentinian division to Telecom Argentina for US$1.245 billion, a deal agreed in February, is now on hold, apparently by order of Argentina’s government.

India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has reportedly dropped a plan to waive adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues of telcos, which is especially bad news for financially struggling telco Vodafone Idea.

Ugandan MPs have adopted a proposal for a single SIM card policy, which aims to simplify communication across the country’s networks. It also means, in theory, that mobile phone customers will not need to carry multiple SIM cards or handsets.

The Bangladesh government is reportedly planning a major overhaul to the country’s telecoms policy to speed up its transition to a digital economy and improve service quality.

The Africa Group of Six (G6) – a coalition of African mobile network operators – says that while they have made considerable progress in their collective goal to expand mobile coverage in sub-Saharan Africa, 60% of people who live in covered areas can't afford handsets to use mobile services.

China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has reportedly given approval to 13 foreign companies to enter the telecoms sector to offer value added services in Beijing, Shanghai, Hainan and Shenzhen.

There’s been a major boost for broadband expansion in Nigeria with news that eleven states have agreed to waive right of way (RoW) fees.

Delegates at the International Submarine Cable Resilience Summit in Abuja, Nigeria on Thursday outlined steps for stakeholders to cooperate in tackling the issue of subsea cable resilience in the wake of network outages that have plagued countries around the world.