Page 148 - SAMENA Trends - June-July 2025

REGULATORY & POLICY UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

India's telecom sector continued to soar in May 2025, which included a month-on-month growth of 31.78
recording notable growth across broadband, mobile, and million, representing an increase of 3.37 per cent from
wireline markets, according to the Telecom Regulatory 943.09 million in April. Fixed wired broadband growth
Authority of India (TRAI), reported PTI. Broadband users was up 6.46 per cent, expanding from 41.41 million in
India surged to nearly 975 million, driven by a 60 per cent jump the previous month to 44.09 million users. Additionally,
in fixed wireless (5G FWA) adoption. While the wireline
fixed wireless broadband growth exploded with a
segment grew steadily, wireless users touched 1.168 60.06 per cent increase, growing from 4.87 million to
billion, despite a slight dip in metro areas. Tele-density 7.79 million in May, as subscribers rapidly adopted
remained robust, especially in urban zones. Mobile the 5G FWA (Fixed Wireless Access) service. Mobile
number portability also hit a record 14 million requests, broadband also grew 2.92 per cent, with subscriber
and M2M connections for IoT crossed 73 million. Total numbers reaching 922.99 million.
broadband subscribers reached 974.87 million in May, (June 28, 2025) www.etvbharat.com

Indonesia's Attorney General Office has signed an Office spokesperson told Reuters. The pacts, which
agreement with four telecommunications Operators would include mobile phones, are in accordance with a
to install wiretapping devices, an official from the law passed in 2021 giving wiretapping authority to the
Office said, raising questions among analysts about Attorney General Office. Indonesian police and anti-graft
Indonesia the potential impact on privacy and surveillance. agency are already able to use wiretapping, Wahyudi
The agreement would allow prosecutors to access Djafar an analyst focused on digital governance and
telecommunication recording and enable data exchange public policy told Reuters.
for law enforcement purposes, the Attorney General (June 27, 2025) www. telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com

Kazakhstan now leads Central Asia and the broader 5G networks across Kazakhstan. Analysts from Ookla
CIS region in mobile internet speed, marking a have highlighted that the deployment of 5G technology,
significant step in the country’s digital transformation. which offers speeds up to ten times faster than 4G,
According to the latest Speedtest Global Index by Ookla, has directly contributed to Kazakhstan’s rising position
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan ranked 47th globally in June 2025, moving in global rankings. 5G promises faster data transfer
up three positions compared to the previous month. The rates, lower latency, and enhanced connectivity for a
country’s average mobile internet speed reached 87.27 wide range of devices. While countries like the United
Mbps, outpacing all other CIS nations. States, Japan, South Korea, and China have led global
5G rollouts, Kazakhstan is rapidly establishing its place
Azerbaijan recorded 72.52 Mbps, while Armenia and in this landscape. This progress is also visible within the
Uzbekistan followed with 59.03 Mbps and 55.78 Mbps, country’s major cities. Astana and Almaty now rank as
respectively. Moldova and Kyrgyzstan also trailed the fastest among CIS cities, recording mobile internet
behind, with average speeds of just over 54 Mbps. speeds of 152.95 Mbps and 131.96 Mbps, respectively.
Meanwhile, Russia and Belarus lagged significantly, These figures place Astana 43rd and Almaty 63rd
with Belarus posting only 17.97 Mbps, placing it among among global cities, well ahead of Tokyo, which sits at
the lowest in the world. Kazakhstan’s mobile internet 94th with 72.5 Mbps. Further strengthening its digital
speeds are not only leading the CIS, but are also ahead push, Kazakhstan is advancing a pilot project to launch
of countries such as Germany, Japan, Spain, and the its first 10G broadband network in Astana. The country is
United Kingdom. This momentum reflects a broader also enhancing connectivity in remote and underserved
trend of steady improvement, with the country’s average regions through a new partnership with Starlink, the
mobile speeds rising by 6.7% since January. A key satellite internet service operated by SpaceX.
driver behind this growth has been the expansion of (July 29, 2025) www.caspiannews.com

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Communications Act 2003, the Licensing Regulations
has introduced a formal licensing framework for 2019, and related legislation that empower the NCC
international application-to-person (A2P) messaging to foster a secure, competitive, and well-regulated
aggregator services to enhance regulatory control, boost telecom landscape. The new license establishes a clear
Nigeria service security, and improve the quality of international and standardized approach for managing international
A2P messaging traffic entering Nigeria. This strategic messaging traffic via NCC-approved platforms,
move aligns with the provisions of the Nigerian promoting transparency, accountability, and consistent

148 JUNE-JULY 2025