Page 107 - SAMENA Trends - August-September 2025

REGULATORY & POLICY UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

REGULATORY ACTIVITIES BEYOND

THE SA-ME-NA REGION

Argentina has apparently made plans to start allocating own networks, in sectors such as mining, oil and gas,
spectrum for private mobile networks. Regulator agribusiness, automaking, construction, ports and
Enacom has assigned the 2300-2400MHz frequency airports, and road and rail infrastructure are expected
band for private mobile wireless broadband systems. to apply. In fact some companies in these sectors
Argentina The spectrum allocation will be for ten years and can already have private network infrastructure in place, but
be used for indoor or outdoor deployments, according in partnership with mobile network operatorsMovistar
to the published resolution. Rates vary depending and Telecom.
on whether the deployment will be indoor, outdoor or This model may be adequate for some companies.
both, albeit outdoor deployments will be restricted to Indeed, the BNamericas new service, quoting José
operator property, premises or a defined area where Otero, a consultant at ICT Development Consulting,
the operator carries out its work. There may also be a suggests that the decision to build a fully private network
bidding process if more than one applicant requests or partner with an existing operator will depend on
spectrum in the same operational area, However, it does company size and financial strategy. Bigger companies
seem that the available bandwidth of 50-60MHz (below are more likely to be able – and willing – to go it alone.
standards body 3GPP's recommendation of at least (August 28, 2025) www.developingtelecoms.com
80MHz) may slightly restrict 5G speeds. Companies
with the financial capacity to build and manage their

The Australian regulator has sued Optus, alleging said. The AIC is alleging one breach of the law for
the Singapore Telecommunications-owned carrier each of the 9.5 million customers affected by the data
breached privacy laws during a 2022 cyber-attack that breach, with the court potentially able to impose fines
compromised the personal data of millions of customers, of up to A$2.2 million per breach. However, the privacy
Australia both parties confirmed. Optus, one of Singtel's largest watchdog did not provide details on the total amount
overseas investments, said in a statement that the it is seeking. Optus said it is reviewing the claims but
Australian Information Commissioner (AIC) has accused has not assessed the potential financial impact. The
the telecom operator of violating the Privacy Act 1988. September 2022 breach, one of the worst in Australia's
The Privacy Act governs how personal information is history, exposed sensitive customer data including
handled by government agencies and private entities. home addresses, passport details and phone numbers.
The proceedings have been filed against Singtel Optus (August 8, 2025) www.reuters.com
Pty Ltd and Optus Systems Pty Ltd, Australia's Optus

The CRTC is acting to help make telecommunications better support Canadians and help providers restore
and broadcasting services more reliable for Canadians. services more quickly. Second, the CRTC is launching
Service outages, even if they are short, are highly a public consultation to consider new requirements and
disruptive and can seriously impact Canadians’ standards for how service providers design and operate
Canada lives. Outages can have harmful effects on people, their networks. These measures aim to help make
especially when they cannot connect to emergency
Internet and cellphone networks more resilient, reduce
services in times of need. To help lessen the impact outages, and support providers to manage them better.
of outages and further protect Canadians, the CRTC is Third, the CRTC is launching a public consultation to
announcing three key actions. First, following a robust look at additional consumer protections to help ensure
public consultation, the CRTC is issuing a decision to Canadians have the information they need during an
establish final reporting requirements for Internet and outage. These measures include ensuring customers
cellphone service providers for major outages. This will receive meaningful and timely updates, as well as
ensure that public safety and government authorities refunds or bill credits after an outage.
are informed about major outages, so they can (September 4, 2025) www.canada.ca

107 AUG-SEP 2025