Regulation

India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has announced plans to develop a unified interactive portal to consolidate information about the telecom industry and users – now found across several websites – onto a single platform.

The GSMA announced a global coalition with major telecom players, the ITU and World Bank to improve the access of affordable handsets and connect three billion people that are not online.

Telecel Centrafrique has reportedly been forced by the Central African Republic’s Ministry of Finance and Budget to close its offices over US$4.4 million in unpaid taxes.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) has officially revealed its roadmap to switch off 2G mobile services, which stipulates a hard cutoff date of September 16 for 2G-only handsets, and a full cutoff of services in September 2026.

Telecom infrastructure provider ATC Ghana reportedly restored electricity to Telecel Ghana's telecoms towers over the weekend by order of the regulator after intentionally cutting off the power over a financial dispute.

India's new Telecommunications Act contains one little-noticed (until now) provision could benefit the country's regulatory environment. It seems that the eligibility criteria for appointing the chairman and members of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) have been relaxed.

India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has called on the telecoms sector to submit proposals for an R&D programme to accelerate development of technologies for quantum communications networks.

If you needed a reminder of how tricky the situation regarding AI and privacy is going to be for both lawmakers and businesses from now on, one has recently come from Brazil where the country’s National Data Protection Authority (ANPD) has clearly got issues with technology giant Meta's AI privacy policy.

Tunisia’s Ministry of Communication Technologies reportedly launched a call for tenders for 5G operating licences on Sunday, with the aim of launching commercial 5G services in some form as early as November this year.

Bangladesh’s telecoms minister reportedly warned the country’s telcos on Sunday that they will be forced to compensate for mobile call drops, while the country’s regulator is turning to AI to deal with complaints.

Nigerian banks have reportedly started paying a debt they owed operators, following the payment plan that was agreed upon in the last quarter of 2023. As of November 2023, Nigerian banks owed telecom firms ₦200 billion (about US$132 million) for using their unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) services.

Two years after India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) sought views on the need for overhauling laws governing the telecommunications sector (and nearly 75 years after the last relevant legislation of the sector) India has a new, updated Telecom Act. It came into effect on 26 June.

Mobile internet adoption in the Democratic Republic of the Congo surged 40% to 28.9 million subscribers, according to the country’s telecoms regulator.

Claro Chile, a subsidiary of giant mobile network operator América Móvil, has won the second 5G tender in Chile, making it the fourth operator permitted to offer 5G services in the country.

India has a new communications minister. His name is Jyotiraditya Scindia. The former civil aviation minister takes over some, though not all, of the portfolio of his predecessor, Ashwini Vaishnaw.

A puzzling chain of events has seen the Mozambican government suspend the new mobile communications tariffs which its own regulatory body for telecommunications had decided were necessary on 2 May.

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has reportedly decided to let mobile operators pay spectrum fees in local currency rather than the costlier option of US dollars.

MTN group president and CEO Ralph Mupita has called on governments across Africa to harmonise tech regulations, which he says is necessary to increase the capital investment in digital infrastructure needed to accelerate economic development.

Cambodia’s telecoms regulator has reportedly warned SIM card vendors and mobile operators to stop activating unregistered SIM cards or face prosecution.

The Sri Lanka government is reportedly making moves to amend the country’s telecoms laws to allow independent companies to build telecoms towers.

Kenya has reportedly begun talks on data sharing with the European Union (EU) – a process that could enhance Kenya’s income from digital trade.

El Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones (IFT), the Mexican telecommunications regulator, has announced plans to put out to tender 6,158 spectrum blocks for wireless access services.

The planned introduction of a new levy on electronic banking transactions in Nigeria is facing a backlash.

Pakistan’s antitrust regulator warned Pakistan Telecommunication Company’s (PTCL) acquisition of Telenor’s local unit will substantially reduce competition in the mobile market.

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has demanded that the government crack down on sales of Wi-Fi 6E routers that use the 6 GHz spectrum band, which has not yet been officially designated an unlicenced band.

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) reportedly plans to hash out guidelines for LEO and MEO broadband satellite services that could enable SpaceX’s Starlink and similar services to operate in the country.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Wednesday recommended that all telecoms licencees be allowed to passively and actively share all infrastructure and spectrum in the name of promoting optimum resource utilization.

The UAE’s Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA) unveiled on Wednesday its roadmap to not only implement 6G in the country, but to contribute heavily to the technology’s global development.

Malaysia’s Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil has reportedly teased some upcoming big announcements regarding 5G developments in the next few weeks that will focus on boosting uptake in the industrial sector, among other things.