World Dialogue on Regulation

Ghana’s telecommunications regulator, the National Communications Authority (NCA), has decided to issue a national license for the provision of Fixed Wireless Service.

By issuing the license, the NCA hopes to: enhance competition, accelerate the bridging of the urban-rural opportunity divides in employment, income and taxes, accelerate the attainment of universal service/access, and to meet government mandates per the National Telecommunications Policy 2005.

The winning bidder for the national license will be selected using a combination of a beauty contest and negotiation. The following six groups have submitted unsolicited applications and have been short-listed to participate in the beauty contest: Afritel Ghana, Newland Teletel, Omniacom, Skidlab Ventures, Slemco Company and Visafone Communications.

In addition to the license, the prospective winner could acquire, at the prevailing market rate, an International Gateway Licence. The Gateway License will be offered subject to achieving minimum penetration of 1% (based on year-end 2007 population estimate), and attaining national coverage, defined as the presence of infrastructure in all regional capitals.

The NCA plans to complete the proceedings for the awarding of the license by the end of November.

Source: National Communications Authority (Ghana) press release - WDR/Intelecon Regulatory News.

Jordan's Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (TRC) plans to auction one 3G license to a new-entrant and allocate 3G licenses to the three incumbent mobile operators at the same price.

The reserve price for the license is US$ 35.5 million for a paired block of 5 MHz of spectrum. Bidders will be allowed to obtain as much as 20 MHz of spectrum. The winner of the tender and the incumbent operators can acquire the 2G spectrum license separately, for a fee amounting to 130% of the winning price of the tender. Therefore, the minimum fee to grant the 2G spectrum is US$ 46.1 million.

The tender will be released by the middle of December. The closing date for bids will be in late January 2009. The winner will be announced during the same week.

TRC expects that services will be available within one year of the grant of the first license. The licenses will also come with roll-out obligations to ensure, at a minimum, the provision of service in the capital cities of each Governate within a reasonable timescale.

Jordan had just over 5 million mobile users and the end of the first half of the year, for a mobile penetration rate of 81.6%.

Source: Cellular-News - WDR/Intelecon Regulatory News.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) recently told the Telecom Commission that only telecom license applications received by September 25, 2007 would be considered.

The DoT received a total of 575 applications, of which 343 were filed between September 26, 2007 and the deadline of October 1, 2007. The DoT says that these 343 pending applications are, "not likely to be considered for grant of a UAS (unified access service) license in the foreseeable future due to sufficient competition already in place and scarcity of spectrum."

No explanation was given for choosing September 25, even though October 1 was the announced deadline for license applications. The DoT had said it would not cap the number of operators, so pending applicants had been confident of being granted licenses.

Source: The Times of India - WDR/Intelecon Regulatory News.

Because the government of Senegal cancelled the operating license of Millicom’s mobile network in October, the company has started arbitration proceedings with the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) against the government based on the provisions of Sentel's license and international law.

Sentel operates as Tigo and has about 1.8 million subscribers. Millicom and Sentel are seeking compensation for the expropriation of the license and for breach of the license. However, the government has also started court proceedings against Millicom and Sentel in which the government seeks damages against Sentel and Millicom under various theories.

Sentel's twenty year license was granted in 1998, before the Telecommunications Act of 2002. Although the current government has acknowledged the validity of Sentel's license, it has also requested that Sentel renegotiate the terms of the license. Sentel has indicated its willingness to negotiate certain enhancements to the license, including allowing for the provision of 3G services and the extension of the duration of the license.

There are currently three licensed mobile operators in Senegal. Orange is the market leader, while the third network, Sudatel Senegal, has yet to launch service.

Source: Cellular-News - WDR/Intelecon Regulatory News.

India’s government will charge an additional 2% of mobile operators’ revenues for the use of radio spectrum for 2G services.

Telecom Minister Mr A Raja, Finance Minister Mr P Chidambaramhad and the Prime Minister agreed on the issue after public differences between the two ministries. The latest change comes about after a controversy over new mobile licensees, who were charged a license fee of US$ 347.5 million for pan-India operation and then sold stakes at very high prices without starting operations. As a result, these operators made significant profits before even rolling out their networks.

The new tariff proposal now goes to the Telecom Commission for approval. The government will charge up to 2% of the gross revenue of operators holding 8 MHz of radio frequency for 2G services. In addition, there will be a one-time spectrum charge levied.

Source: The Statesman - WDR/Intelecon Regulatory News.

Communications Minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri is taking the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) to court to prevent it from issuing a telecommunications license to Altech.

The latest proceedings follow a ruling by a high court judge that said the minister had overstepped her powers and was running a flawed licensing process. The judge ruled that Altech and around 300 other voice and data operators are entitled to infrastructure licenses.

Matsepe-Casaburri intends to appeal the ruling, saying it harms the Ministry’s managed liberalisation policy. On October 17, Matsepe-Casaburri applied for an urgent interdict to prevent Icasa from granting Altech an Electronic Communications Network Services (ECNS) license. The minister claims that if every value added network services (Vans) operator gained an ECNS license, it would devalue the licenses of Telkom and the mobile operators, as well as Neotel’s second national operator license.

"The minister is trying to get the court to clarify whether her appeal suspends the judgment that was issued. If the court says the appeal suspends the judgment it means we are not to do anything," an Icasa spokesman said. The spokesman added that Icasa had already halted the license conversions.

The judge’s decision that Vans licensees are entitled to ECNS licenses would mean that Vans operators would no longer have to lease their bandwidth from Telkom, Neotel or the mobile operators. Icasa prepared to issue the licenses, but stopped the process when the minister began her appeal. Altech has since sent a letter saying Icasa would be in contempt of court if it refused to issue it a license.

Source: Business Day -  WDR/Intelecon Regulatory News.

Sudan's second fixed-line operator is confident of obtaining a mobile license by the end of 2008, and wants to extend its fixed-line network into Darfur and southern Sudan.

The mobile license is expected to cost "in the hundreds of millions (of dollars)", Mohammed Bouhelal, chief corporate affairs officer for Canartel said.

Canartel, majority-owned by Etisalat of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), entered the Sudanese market in 2006 as the first direct competition to Sudatel, in which the Sudanese government owns a 26% stake. Etisalat took control of Canartel in 2008 by increasing its ownership in the company to 82%. Bouhelal said Canartel has around 250,000 subscribers.

Bouhelal said the company would make inroads in the mobile market by taking advantage of Etisalat’s international operations to offer roaming deals to Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Mobile penetration in Sudan is estimated to be 30%, and Bouhelal expects it to grow to 60% or more over the next two years.

Canartel’s fixed-line operations are also growing, with the operator planning to invest at least US$ 50 million to establish a network in Darfur and in the semi-autonomous south.

"The future is going to be there. There is good business in the south, but it is a question of time," Bouhelal said.

Source: Reuters - WDR/Intelecon Regulatory News.