Page 98 - SAMENA Trends - July-September 2024

REGULATORY & POLICY UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

Dr. Mohammed AlTamimi, the Governor of the Communications, Regulators “GSR24” held in Kampala, Uganda. The conference
Space and Technology Commission (CST), met with entrepreneurs aims to enhance discussion in the ICT sector among regulators,
in the Space sector, with the aim to enhance entrepreneurship and legislators, policy developers, officials, and stakeholders. It serves
innovation, develop Space infrastructure, and attract both local as a platform for exchanging knowledge and experiences on
and international investments. The meeting discussed the latest significant regulatory issues and developments in the telecom
developments and advancements in the Space sector, reviewed sector, as well as studying best regulatory practices implemented
local efforts from both the public and private entities. The meeting internationally. Eng. Omar Alrejraje, Regulation and Competition
also addressed current challenges and their solutions, as well as Sector Deputy Governor at CST, headed the Kingdom's delegation
available investments opportunities that contribute to the future in meetings and panel discussions with heads of regulators
of Space sector and enhance Saudi Arabia’s global leadership. from around the world; with the aim to showcase Saudi Arabia's
This initiative is part of CST's efforts to support entrepreneurs leading role in global digital regulations, reflecting its political and
in the Space sector. Noting that CST launched the Space economic value. The Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR) is an
Entrepreneurship Alliance (SEA), which aims at consolidating the annual event organized by ITU's Telecommunication Development
efforts to support entrepreneurship across Saudi Arabia, in order Bureau. It gathers officials of national regulatory authorities from
to promote the growth of startups in the sector, accelerate the both developed and developing countries, along with numerous
release of their products, as well as allow entrepreneurs to engage specialized experts from over 70 nations, representatives of
with investor and Space sector experts. (July 25, 2024) www.cst.gov.sa national and international companies. The event aims to enhance
the exchange of knowledge, share international experiences and
The Communications, Space and Technology Commission facilitate collaboration among relevant sectors.
(CST) represents Saudi Arabia in the Global Symposium for (July 1, 2024) www.cst.gov.sa

South Sudan

The National Communications Authority (NCA) has released said. This serves to inform the public about the approved tariffs
approved tariffs for SpaceX's satellite Internet service, Starlink. & the forthcoming selection of local distributor(s) by Starlink.
In a post on X, the NCA said it had collaborated with Starlink to It should be noted that the tariffs exclude applicable taxes and
release affordable connectivity in South Sudan as Elon Musk's relevant statutory fees. "As per the stipulation of the provisional
high-speed, low-latency Internet service is preparing to launch license granted by NCA to Starlink, customers in South Sudan will
in the country. "Through negotiations, favorable terms have been be required to register and make payments in South Sudanese
agreed upon encompassing accessible capacity and terminal pounds equivalent to the United States dollar prices agreed with
units for utilizing Starlink services within the nation," the NCA Starlink," it added. (July 9, 2024) www.connectingafrica.com

Tunisia

The Ministry of Communication Technologies reportedly of such launches is likely to be limited. Tunisian telcos have been
launched a call for tenders for 5G operating licenses, with the making moves to be ready when 5G licenses become available.
aim of launching commercial 5G services in some form as early Last year, Ooredoo contracted Nokia to upgrade its network RANs
as November this year. The ministry said that each successful in Tunisia to be 5G-ready. The Communication Technologies
applicant will get 5 MHz of duplexed spectrum in the 700 MHz, Ministry first revealed its 5G roadmap in March. The roadmap was
and 100 MHz of TDD spectrum in the 3.5 GHz band for 5G usage. officially greenlighted in June by the government, which sees 5G
The report added that three 20 MHz blocks will be available at as a key component in its overall digital transformation strategy.
the request of operators, and other 5G frequency bands will be According to the National Telecommunications Authority (INTT),
released in later phases. Each 5G license will be good for 15 years. as of the end of February 2024, there were 16.2 million mobile
The ministry has not yet revealed how much telcos will have to subscriptions in Tunisia, which works out to a 136.5% penetration
fork out for the new license. Tunisia’s three mobile operators – rate. There are also 11.5 million mobile internet subscribers (or
Tunisie Telecom, Orange Tunisie and Ooredoo Tunisia – as well 97.2% penetration). About 90.8% of Tunisians use mobile phones,
as other interested parties, including MVNOs and ISPs, will be 65% own smartphones, 72% use fixed internet, and 88% are active
able to submit their tenders from now until September, when the on social media, all of which has contributed to a surge in data
license winners will be announced. After that, commercial service demand that INTT said underlines the necessity of rolling out 5G.
launches can start in November, the report said, although the scale (July 3, 2024) www.developingtelecoms.com

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