Regulation

Regulator the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has announced that it is planning to auction the remaining two lots of 100MHz in the 3.5GHz spectrum band to support 5G deployment in Nigeria.

Mexico’s IFT (Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones) has awarded China Unicom a 30-year operating licence, reports El Economista.

Iran is planning to criminalise the sale of virtual private networks (VPNs) used to bypass internet restrictions, a minister said this week.

Free Caraibe, which provides telecom services across the French Antilles, has been fined by French regulator ARCEP (Autorite de Regulation des Communications Electroniques et des Postes) for failing to meet deployment requirements across several of its markets.

It’s not being described as an extension in either case, but both Kenya and Ghana are now offering more time for the SIM card registration process to be completed.

The president of Mexico’s Communications and Transportation Commission of the Chamber of Deputies, Víctor Manuel Perez Diaz, has called for spectrum prices to be lowered to facilitate the country’s deployment of 5G.

The uneasy relationship that many governments have with online discourse continues; a new law in Uganda has imposed restrictions on the use of the internet that some people feel could silence legitimate criticism.

The Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) has concluded a multiband spectrum auction, bringing in a total of US$187.5 million.

Brazilian regulator Anatel ruled that Telefonica can expand mobile coverage in underserved locations instead of slapping its local unit Vivo a fine to the tune of BRL45.2 million (US$8.5m).

The deadline for complying with the Indian government’s controversial new cybersecurity directives is likely to be extended, according to Indian media – though only for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) as well as small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

A lively debate has opened up over Chilean regulator Subtel’s decision to reduce the amount of spectrum it had originally earmarked for Wi-Fi, delighting mobile industry group the GSMA but upsetting Wi-Fi proponents like the Dynamic Spectrum Alliance (DSA), which promotes and showcases the value of spectrum sharing.

As has long been expected, a law has been passed in the Philippines making SIM card registration compulsory.

Celcom Axiata, DiGi Telecommunications, YTL Communications, and Telekom Malaysia have signed up to take shares in government 5G wholesale agency Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB), and commercial 5G services are to be available from this month.

The proposed merger of VTR and Claro Chile has been cleared by Chile’s FNE (Fiscalia Nacional Economica / National Economic Prosecutor).

While some sub-Saharan African countries are making things difficult for telecommunications operators and equipment suppliers through new or increased taxes, Zambia appears to be taking a different route – at least when it comes to infrastructure.

After blocking the sale of NuevaTel PCS in August, Bolivian regulator ATT (Autoridad de Regulacion y Fiscalizacion de Telecomunicaciones y Transportes) has now threatened to revoke the mobile operator’s licence.

Yet another SIM card registration exercise is having problems after reports that in Kenya, as the latest registration deadline draws closer, some 15 million SIM cards could be rendered unusable by 15 October.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has reviewed the country’s existing broadband quality of service regulations, which date back to 2014, and has issued what it calls the Fixed Broadband Quality of Service (QoS) Regulations 2022 after consultation with stakeholders.

Indonesia's parliament has this week passed into law a personal data protection bill. Apparently modelled on European Union legislation, it is widely reported to be a response to a number of data leaks and alleged breaches at government firms and institutions in Indonesia.

President Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo has ordered the implementation of the country’s universal service fund (USF) within “a reasonable timeframe”.

Hungary’s National Media and Communications Authority (NMHH) revealed that 50,000 outdated mobile phones were traded in its replacement programme in the last seven months, an initiative in preparation for the shutdown of 3G networks.

When we reported on the new rules on data storage introduced in Vietnam and announced in August, we added: “We’ll no doubt see how operators and social media companies respond fairly soon.” We didn’t have to wait long for a response, though it came from a slightly different source.

There may be more regulatory issues for the online giants to deal with, this time in Mexico where Google and Apple have been the target of accusations of uncompetitive behaviour.

Indonesia’s Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) plans to sell off a spare 2×5MHz block of spectrum in the 2.1GHz band as it looks to push 5G deployments across the country.

A long-running dispute over unused spectrum in and around the 3500MHz band in Costa Rica appears to be at an end after an agreement this week between the government and the state utility that owned the spectrum.

Estonian regulator TTJA (Tarbijakaitse ja Tehnilise Jarelevalve Amet / Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority) has commenced its latest round of 5G spectrum auctions, with six lots in the 700MHz band available.

A spectrum auction in Guatemala in the mid-2.5GHZ band, delayed for a number of years, is, apparently, set to go ahead.

Nigeria has, for now, held off on plans to impose a 5% tax on telecommunications services that the Ministry of Finance and the Nigerian Customs Service had suggested would be imposed in 2023.

Ghana’s National Communications Authority (NCA) has ordered the country’s mobile operators to temporarily block calls and data services for unregistered SIM cards as part of its registration drive.

South Africa’s Communications Minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni has announced plans to shut down South Africa’s 2G and 3G networks by 2025. The proposal has now been published for public comment.