Page 147 - SAMENA Trends - April-May 2021

REGULATORY & POLICY UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

The Minister of Transport and Communications, top (OTT) services and other ‘disruptive technologies.
Thulaganyo Segokgo, has announced that plans to The smallest of the country’s three cellcos, BTC Mobile,
implement mobile number portability (MNP) have been will arguably be the most disappointed at the failure to
abandoned after more than six years of preparation. introduce portability as it hoped to increase its share of
Botswana The Minister has told Parliament that the initiative the market to at least 30% by luring subscribers away
would not proceed as an operator network readiness from its larger rivals Mascom and Orange. MNP allows
assessment study had shown that it was not feasible. a customer to change network provider while retaining
He said operators were being encouraged to investigate their original number.
other alternatives to MNP, such as promoting over-the- (April 8, 2021) Mmegi

The Superintendence-General (SG) of the Telecom is a company of Spanish group Telefonica,
Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade) which has activities in Brazil in various sectors of
has approved without restrictions the purchase of the telecommunications. Telefônica holds 50.1% of
towers of Telxius Torres (a subsidiary of Telefónica / Telxius, which, according to the operator, will not be
Brazil Vivo) in Brazil by American Tower. According to local extinguished with the sale of the towers. The company
media reports, Cade's decision was published in the will remain to manage about 100 thousand km of
Federal Official Gazette this Thursday, 29, after dispatch submarine cables belonging to the operator.
issued the previous day. The reports said that some (May 3, 2021) developingtelecoms.com
competitors in the tower market wanted conditions
to approve the deal. Telefónica signed an agreement The National Telecommunications Agency (Agencia
with American Tower in mid-January for the sale of Nacional de Telecomunicacoes, ANATEL) has issued a
the tower divisions in Europe and Latin America. The new ‘Monitoring Report’ regarding the country’s mobile
transaction, one of the most important in the history of sector, which confirms that it has now licensed a total
the Spanish telecom company, allowed it to enter some of 105 MVNOs. Of this figure, ten hold a Autorizada de
7,700 million euros at the closing. It was configured Rede Virtual (Authorized Virtual Network) concession,
in two parts: that of the assets of the Old Continent while the remaining 95 have Credenciada de Rede
and those of Latin American territory. They both had Virtual (Accredited Virtual Network) status. The
different closings and schedules. The first has already main difference between the license types is that
come to an end in the regulatory journey. Competitors Accredited MVNOs do not need to have their wholesale
of American Tower contested the transaction, but, arrangements approved by ANATEL, whereas
according to the local media reports, Cade understood Authorized MVNOs do. Interestingly, the regulator
that, even though American Tower has more than 20% notes that just four of the Authorized licensees had an
of the national market, there are not enough indications active subscriber base at end-2020.
of concentration for anti-competitive actions. Telxius (April 26, 2021) commsupdate.com

The 5G pilot project is deployed as commissioned by when there was a global race in becoming the early
the Ministry of Transport and Infocommunications adopters of 5G technology, “but now we start to hear
(MTIC), and spearheaded by the Authority for that adoption of 5G is not a sprint, it is a marathon”. “As
Info-communications Technology Industry of we understand, 5G is more than just a faster network, it
Brunei Brunei Darussalam (AITI) with involvement from will redefine the network, establish a new global wireless
Darussalam telecommunications infrastructure and service standard for speed, throughput and bandwidth as well
providers as well as industry stakeholders and players.
as build a bridge to the future. 5G is about tomorrow,
Minister of Transport and Infocommunications Dato so we need to prepare ourselves for the journey ahead
Seri Setia Awang Abdul Mutalib bin Pehin Orang Kaya by addressing any current issues at hand. It promises
Seri Setia Dato Paduka Haji Mohd Yusof launched to be the standard that facilitates the giant leap to a
the 5G Pilot Project at The Mall, Gadong. The 5G Pilot connected future with faster data speeds and more
Project, is aimed at supporting strategic objectives and bandwidth to carry growing levels of Internet traffic.”
priorities under the Digital Economy Masterplan 2025. He added that the Brunei Darussalam 5G Taskforce
The pilot project also serves to demonstrate 5G Proof- was established in March 2020 to ensure readiness
of-Concept network environments, promote the value and identify key issues in equipping Brunei Darussalam
of high speed 5G mobile communications and create to adopt 5G technology, by focusing on three key
awareness in accelerating 5G adoption. Acting Chief areas – policy, regulatory and spectrum; use cases,
Executive of AITI and 5G Taskforce Chairman Ir Haji applications and infrastructure; and education and
Jailani bin Haji Buntar said it was just a few years ago awareness relevant to ensure success in rolling out 5G.

147 APRIL-MAY 2021