Intelecon Regulatory News
 

August 25, 2008

Iran to license a third mobile operator

According to a Reuters article, on August 25, Iran invited bids from operators to become the country's third mobile operator.

Iran's two existing operators are state-owned Iran Telecom and Irancell, 49% owned by MTN Group.

"The invitation to take part in the tender will take place through mass circulation newspapers from August 25 to September 4. The sale of tender documents will take place on September 6," IRNA, Iran's news agency said, quoting Saeed Mahdiyoun, the official responsible for setting up the third mobile network.

The government's advisor on the licensing process is Millennium Finance Corporation (MFC), an investment bank created by a group representing a number of investment banking firms in partnership with Dubai Islamic Bank.

"The foreign consulting firm will have responsibilities that include marketing, encouraging investors to participate in the tender, cooperating in the evaluation and determining the qualification of participating companies," the report said.

August 1, 2008

Honduras: Digicel Awarded WiMAX License

According to a report from Cellular-News, Digicel was awarded a 2.5 GHz spectrum license for WiMAX service in Honduras. Digicel's license is the only one to provide coverage of the top eight most densely populated areas, representing about 60% of the population.

Digicel won the competitive bidding process with a bid of US$ 2.0 million. The other bidders for the license were America Movil (Claro), Autoconsa, Axioma Empresarial, Lumelsa and Millicom (Tigo).

"With WiMAX, we will be able to contribute further to the economic growth and social development of Honduras by delivering broadband mobile internet access to customers in the most densely populated locations across Honduras," said Miguel Garcia, the CEO of Digicel Honduras.

Digicel already holds a GSM license in Honduras, which it acquired in December 2007.

July 31, 2008

Armenia: ArmenTel Fined US$ 1.0 Million

According to a report from Armenia Liberty, ArmenTel was fined US$ 1.0 million by Armenia's anti-trust regulator for anti-competitive actions against the country's Internet service providers (ISPs).

The fine comes after the launch of an ArmenTel service offering broadband access at a reduced cost. Competing ISPs claim that ArmenTel refuses to allow them to use its facilities to provide a similar service.

The State Commission for the Protection of Economic Competition (SCPEC) found a complaint filed by the ISPs to be legitimate and gave ArmenTel 15 days to resolve the situation. The 15 day period has expired and ArmenTel has failed to comply with the SCPEC's order, and is now considered to be abusing its significant market power. ArmenTel denies any wrongdoing and is expected to appeal the SCPEC decision.

ArmenTel voluntarily relinquished its monopoly on the country's Internet gateway shortly after its September 2006 takeover by Russia's Vimpelcom. However, competing ISPs still rely on ArmenTel's fibre-optic network linking to Georgia and Iran to carry a majority of Armenia's Internet traffic.

July 30, 2008

Uganda: Hits Telecom Could Have License Revoked

According to a report from The Monitor, HITS Telecom could have its license revoked by the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) since it has failed to launch service over a year after it was licensed.

The company was granted a Public Infrastructure Provider (PIP) license and a Public Service Provider (PSP) license in March 2007. The licenses enable HITS to operate a wide range of services, including fixed, mobile and data.

In 2007, HITS' representative Jimmy Kiberu said that the company's GSM network would be operational in time for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, in November 2007. However, HITS only completed its first test call at that time. At the time of the test call, company representatives said that the company would start operations in the first quarter of 2008.

Fred Otunnu, of the UCC, said that operators holding a PSP license are expected to launch operations within a year of licensing, while PIP license holders have eighteen months to start providing service. Otunnu added that companies failing to meet the requirements of their licenses risk losing them if they do not have sufficient reasons for their failure.

Jimmy Kiberu said, "the company will make a major announcement mid next week, to update the public about what is happening. Until then, we cannot comment on anything."

Commenting on the company's expired license, Mr Kiberu said, "we renewed our PSP license and there were several costs in the process. So, we are still within our license requirements."

July 25, 2008

India: Fee changes for rural telecoms

According to The Hindu, the Telecom Commission, the policy-making body of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), decided to waive the license fee on rural landlines and to reduce the universal service obligation (USO) fund levy.

The Commission decided to waive the license fee on rural landlines to promote telephone use in rural areas. The decision is also intended to improve e-governance through the extended provision of broadband service in villages. The waiver amounts to US$ 46.7 million annually.

The other major decision was to reduce the USO fund levy from the current 5.0% to 3.0% of adjusted ground revenue (AGR) for those telecommunications operators who already cover more than 95% of rural areas. The change requires the operators to dramatically increase rural coverage to take advantage of the levy reduction. Mobile population coverage in India is estimated at between 65 and 70 percent.

July 24, 2008

Rwanda: Country to License Third Operator

According to a New Vision report, the government of Rwanda plans to license a third telecommunications operator now that the duopoly period for the existing operators has expired.

Rwandatel and MTN Rwandacel were granted duopoly licenses in 2003 to provide fixed and mobile communications.

"The duopoly expired in June and the government has decided to select a third national operator through a public tender process," Diogene Mudenge, the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Agency's (RURA) acting director general, said.

Mudenge said the new operator would be issued with fixed and mobile licenses with 15 year duration. He added that the license obligations include contributions to the universal access fund.

The government has invited potential bidders to express interest in becoming the country's third operator. The bidding process is restricted to telecom operators or groups that have proven capabilities to advance the Government's objectives in the ICT sector. Bidders should also have the financial capability to implement a realistic plan to enhance the telecommunications sector in Rwanda.

July 23, 2008

Malawi: Regulator Awards Third Mobile License

According to a report from APA-Lilongwe, Malawi's telecommunications regulator, the Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA), has granted a mobile license to Global Advanced Integrated Networks Limited (GAIN). GAIN is the third mobile operator, along with Celtel Malawi and Telekom Networks.

Zadziko Mankhambo, a MACRA spokesperson, said that GAIN is expected to contribute to the promotion of ICT development in both urban and rural areas.

Mankhambo added that MACRA's Board also reviewed the process of awarding a Second Fixed Line Operator license and is in the process of awarding the license to Access Communications Limited (ACL).

July 22, 2008

Nigeria: Telecommunications and Broadcasting Regulators to Merge

According to a report from Vanguard, the Minister of State for Communication and Information, Alhaji Ibrahim Dasuki-Nakande says that the National Communications Commission (NCC) and the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) will be merged.

"In the telecommunication sector, we have agreed that there is no need to have two regulatory authorities in the sector because as a result convergence between information and communication technologies, a lot of the regulations must come under one umbrella. Presently we have the National Communications Commission (NCC) and Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC), so eventually we must merge them to become NCC," the Minister said.

He continued, "the thinking behind it is that both of them are doing virtually the same thing even though differently this one is selling spectrum of frequency for the broadcast sector for radio and television while the other one is also selling spectrum for telecommunication and broadband services so we will bring the all of them together."

Nakande also stated that the Federal Government would soon issue directives to all network operators on infrastructure sharing.

"In the next two weeks we are issuing a direction to now enforce issues on call location and sharing of infrastructures by the GSM operators, due diligence should be made and submitted to the Ministry...We must insist that they must share their infrastructure and it will reduce the incidences of cable cut either by sabotage or by sincere mistakes. It also helps us to reduce cost for those infrastructures," Nakande said.

July 18, 2008

Chile: Existing mobile operators allowed to bid for frequency

According to a Reuters article, Chile's anti-trust tribunal is allowing existing mobile operators to bid for new frequencies, but stipulated that the process should also enable the entry of new competitors.

The Subsecretary of Telecommunications (Subtel) asked the tribunal for a ruling on whether existing operators should be allowed to bid for 45 megahertz of frequency to be used for 3G service.

"According to anti-trust regulations...it is not necessary to exclude the participation of current concession holders...which means they may participate if they meet applicable norms," the tribunal said.

The tribunal asked that Subtel take steps to promote the entry of new operators, including allowing mobile number portability (MNP). The tribunal suggest that said MNP should be instituted as soon as possible. The government intends to proceed with bidding now that is has received the tribunal's ruling.

Chile's mobile market is dominated by Telefonica Movistar and Entel PCS. Claro is the third largest operator. Chile has mobile penetration of around 90% and a population of 16 million.

July 17, 2008

Russia: Medvedev supports introduction of fees for all radio frequencies

According to a report from BBC Monitoring and Interfax, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev supports the introduction of radio frequency fees for the use of the entire spectrum, including unused frequencies.

"I think this is an interesting idea, but I would like the government to work on this issue. I am sure that special users (including the military) will not be happy, but, in any case, this is a possibility to simplify the situation dramatically. If you possess a resource but do not use it, you should pay money for it", Medvedev said.

"The fees should be reasonable, but enough to prompt the user to either use it or transfer the relevant right", he added.

The proposal was originally put forward by Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Ivanov.

Telecommunications and Mass Communications Minister Igor Shchegolev said that payment procedures for the use of the radio frequency spectrum are unchanged since 1998 and he sees a shift to one-time payments for frequency permits.