Page 155 - SAMENA Trends - April-May 2021

REGULATORY & POLICY UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

year. It will offer six lots of 2×5MHz in the 700MHz not assigned. Licensees will be required to make use
band (2×30MHz in total), four blocks of 80MHz plus of all the spectrum allocated to them within 24 months
16 lots of 5MHz in the 3.4GHz-3.8GHz range (400MHz of the date of assignment, with services to be made
in total) and six blocks of 200MHz in the 26GHz band. available nationwide. Malta is currently home to three
Each bidder will be limited to 2×10MHz at 700MHz, mobile network operators: Epic (formerly Vodafone),
100MHz at 3.5GHz and 400MHz at 26GHz, though GO and Melita.
these caps will be raised if all available spectrum is (April 9, 2021) commsupdate.com

The National Regulatory Agency for Electronic 2640MHz, 2×20MHz (FDD)
Communications and Information Technology • License D: 2560MHz-2570MHz/2680MHz-
(ANRCETI) has launched an auction for spectrum in the 2690MHz, 2×10MHz (FDD)
450MHz, e900MHz and 2600MHz bands. The regulator • License E: 2575MHz-2615MHz, 1×40MHz (TDD/
SDL)
Moldova is planning to auction one concession in the 450MHz License A will be valid until 28 June 2026, License B
band, one concession in the e900MHz band and three
licenses in the 2600MHz as follows: (8 November 2029) and Licenses C, D and E (7 August
• License A: 454.6MHz-457.1MHz/464.6MHz- 2027). Applications are invited until 1 June 2021, with
467.1MHz, 2×1.25MHz (FDD) tentative award dates of 28 June 2021 (License A) and
• License B: 885MHz-890MHz/930MHz-935MHz, 6 July 2021 (Licenses B, C, D and E).
2×5MHz (FDD) (May 14, 2021) commsupdate.com
• License C: 2500MHz-2520MHz/2620MHz-

The Namibia approved new regulations on 15 March general of the Namibia Central Intelligence Service, and
that will require all mobile phone subscribers to register all affected telecommunications service providers. The
their SIM cards before being able to access network enforcement data of the new regulation has yet to be
services, reports The Namibian. Minister of Information announced. Once the new regulation is in force, service
Namibia and Communication Technology Peya Mushelenga providers will be required to store all their customers’
information for a period of at least five years from the
stressed the regulation was partly necessitated by
Namibia’s increasing crime rate. ‘Right now, anyone date of telecommunication, while the Namibian Police
can go into a shop, buy a SIM card, and commit a crime. or the Namibia Central Intelligence Service will need
We are moving towards what is happening in South to obtain authorization from a judge or magistrate to
Africa where one cannot just by a SIM card – it must access the records. MTC, the country’s largest mobile
be registered,’ he said, adding the new regulation was network operator (MNO), notes it already encourages
established in consultation with the Communications clients to register their SIMs on a voluntary basis.
Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN), the director (March 29, 2021) commsupdate.com

The Netherlands Authority for Consumers & Markets to cooperate in the installation of a fiber-optic network
(“ACM”) has published its updated market study (“FttH on the basis of a co-investment agreement. As such,
report”) into the roll-out in the Netherlands of fiber- the installation costs can be shared between the
optic broadband networks for households (Fiber-to- operators and ACM also has the option to exclude the
The the-Home). The ACM started its FttH market study resulting network from ex-ante regulations (if one of
the operators would be designated as having a market
in April 2019 in response to indications of strategic
Netherlands overbuild by operators (e.g. the installation of parallel position of Significant Market Power ‘SMP’). However,
networks) and market behavior seemingly aimed at ACM concludes that in practice market players
frustrating the business case of competitors. For more are reluctant to cooperate under a co-investment
information on the initial FttH report of 2019, please agreement and no co-investment agreement has
see our earlier blog in Dutch. In its updated FttH report yet been submitted to ACM for review. An interesting
of May 2021, ACM maintains that co-investment aspect in the updated FttH report is the suggestion by
agreements remain the most suitable possibility to ACM that municipalities, together with the operators,
realize a rapid roll-out. The EU Telecom Code offers may take a coordinating role in selecting the areas
the opportunity for the Dutch legislator to stimulate the for optical fiber roll-out. As part of its updated FttH
roll-out of fiber-optic networks by allowing operators report, ACM provides general guidelines on how the

155 APRIL-MAY 2021