Page 102 - SAMENA Trends - July-September 2024

REGULATORY & POLICY UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

The Canadian Radio-television and four communities, along with local hunters and trappers
Telecommunications Commission says it's putting organizations, Inuit associations and businesses. The
$271.9 million toward a 1,300-kilometre-long commission expects the project to be constructed
undersea fiber internet link for Iqaluit, Kinngait, Coral within three years. The commission's decision to fund
Canada Harbour and Kimmirut. The funding would come from the project was not unanimous. In a dissenting opinion,
the commission's broadband fund at the request of the
commissioner Claire Anderson wrote that Nunavut
Nunavut government, and is conditional on getting the Tunngavik Incorporated should have been consulted
support of Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated. "Given the before the commission gave conditional approval.
challenges and the significant costs associated with "Any time we look at whether our decisions advance
bringing fiber to Nunavut, as well as the potential for reconciliation, we must consider the concerns and
the project to enable future fiber deployments in the interests of Indigenous representatives, which was not
region, the commission views the funding requested fully contemplated by the majority in this decision,"
for this project as necessary," the commission wrote she wrote. She pointed out that Nunavut Tunngavik
in a decision Friday. Last year, the territory cancelled Incorporated had already put its support behind a
its plans to run fibre to Iqaluit and Kimmirut because different Inuit-led application for funding — one that is
it ended up costing too much. Nunavut's internet no longer being considered, now that the commission
currently comes via satellite. The decision notes that has selected the territory's application instead.
the territory's funding request received support from all (July 8, 2024) www.cbc.ca

The telecoms regulator Arcep, has renewed the license a “noticeable deterioration in quality” in Airtel services
of telco Airtel Chad with some new specifications and following an audit required under an MoU signed by
stronger QoS requirements. In a signing ceremony Arcep, Airtel and rival telco Moov Africa Chad in 2021 to
streamed on Facebook earlier this week, Minister of address a barrage of complaints from subscribers over
Chad Post and the Digital Economy Boukar Michel said the service quality. Under that MoU, Airtel and Moov agreed
to invest XAF29 billion and XAF27 billion respectively
new specifications for the license include deploying
optical fiber in "urban and peri-urban areas". According in network development over three years. As part of
to a report from Ecofin Agency, that will enable Airtel the agreement, a committee was set up to monitor
Chad to chase new revenue streams as it deploys investment impact on quality of service. According to
fiber to strengthen its home and enterprise broadband Datareportal, there were just over 13 million cellular
data offerings. The revised license also comes with mobile connections in Chad at the start of this year,
conditions Airtel Chad must fulfill, with a particular which represents 70.4% market penetration and 9.6%
emphasis on improving quality of service. Airtel Chad growth from the start of 2023. However, internet usage
knows full well the consequences of falling short of is considerably lower in the country, with just 4.18
QoS conditions. In August 2023, we reported that Arcep million internet users in January 2024, or 22.5% of the
fined the telco XAF5 billion (US$8.3 million) for failing population.
to meet QoS requirements. The regulator said it saw (July 18, 2024) www.developingtelecoms.com

The Democratic Republic of the Congo recorded private sector to connect more citizens to mobile. An
more mobile subscribers in 2023 with over half example being the partnership between the Congolese
of the country’s large population now connected, Fiber Optic Company and the Agency for Coordination
reported Ecofin Agency. The Congolese Post and and Monitoring of Collaboration Agreements, to
Congo Telecommunications Regulatory Authority recorded install fiber optic cables along roads. By onboarding
more citizens to mobile, the government aims to have
6.4 million more mobile subscribers in the whole of last
year taking total number of connected from 49.8 million more will tap into information from the internet and
to 56.2 million, a rise of 12.8%. This equated to around financial services, which has proven to be assets for
59.1% of the DRC’s massive 95.2 million population, the economies of African countries. But mobile money
however the actual figure could be lower due to penetration only stood at 23.3%, and mobile internet
multiple SIM card usage, the regulator acknowledged. penetration was 31.5%.
The government pushed initiatives to encourage the (July 15, 2024) www.developingtelecoms.com

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