Page 91 - SAMENA Trends - May 2025

REGULATORY & POLICY UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

winners by early August. Companies interested in América Móvil for the provision of local carrier, personal
participating must submit expressions of interest to communications and fixed telephony services. In the
communications programmes and projects authority 3600-3800MHz frequency band there are four private
DGPPC between May 7 to June 3. Qualifiers will be and public telecommunications service operators that
decided from June 25 to July 1. The submission of use fixed satellite services. BNamericas says that
envelopes with additional deployment commitments telecommunications operators using fixed satellite
will follow. Auction results are set for August 11. Part services will migrate to the Ku or extended Ku band.
of the band (between 3400 and 3600MHz) is already (April 21, 2025) www.developingtelecoms.com
assigned to operators Entel, Telefónica, Americatel and

Philippines operator NOW Telecom Company has, it (SRF) and spectrum user fees (SUF). A number of rulings
seems, lost its license to operate by order of regulator have upheld the NTC’s position, including one in March
the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC). when the Supreme Court had upheld earlier rulings
The NTC denied NOW’s request for an extension of denying NOW’s petition for a preliminary injunction
Philippines its nationwide mobile telecommunications system against the NTC. The clincher, however, may be that,
according to the NTC, NOW Telecom had agreed to
operating authority. This was a unanimous decision
based on the alleged failure of the operator to comply with conditions in an earlier temporary authorization, stating
specific regulatory and operational requirements. NOW that any violation of the set conditions would lead to the
had, the ruling said, severely underutilized its assigned recall of assigned frequencies. NOW has been around
spectrum and has accrued more than PHP3.57 billion in various forms since 1992 when it was known as
(about US$62.33 million) of unpaid regulatory fees. As Satellite Paging Systems Philippines. It officially took
for rollout, quoted in a number of local news outlets, the name NOW in 2013. In late 2020 NTC granted NOW
the NTC said: “After more than five years, the frequency a provisional authority and a cellular mobile telephone
band 3520-3540 MHz is used only in six out of 2,306 service license. The company has apparently claimed
base stations (0.26%) or three out of 245 locations that it is now the fourth major telecommunications
(1.22%).” The operator is also said to have missed an provider, though this has been disputed by the NTC,
18-month deadline to infuse additional capital accrued which says that it does not have enough frequencies to
in 2020. The NTC has dismissed NOW claims that it compete with the major players.
owes no outstanding supervision and regulation fees (April 7, 2025) www.developingtelecoms.com

The Independent Communications Authority of South and its associated footnotes. The Radio Regulations
Africa has published the Draft National Radio Frequency ensure that the use of the radio-frequency spectrum
Plan (NRFP) 2025 for public consultation. This plan is rational, equitable, efficient, and economical, all
outlines the allocation of radio communication while aiming to prevent harmful interference between
South Africa services within the frequency range of 8.3 kHz to 3000 different radiocommunication services. The Draft NRFP
GHz to ensure the efficient and effective use of the incorporates the agreement reached on the updates
radio frequency spectrum and orbital resources. All to the Radio Regulations identified new spectrum
Radiocommunications Services and Radio Frequency resources to support technological innovation, deepen
Spectrum Assignments in the Republic of South Africa global connectivity, increase access to and equitable
must be in line with the National Radio Frequency Plan use of space-based radio resources, and enhance
in force and on a Technology Neutral basis. The draft safety at sea, in the air, and on land. The Draft NRFP is
update and amendment of the NRFP incorporates the also consistent with the Southern African Development
decisions taken by the 2023 World Radiocommunication Community (SADC) Frequency Allocation Plan (FAP)
Conference (WRC-23) contained in the Final Acts of as well as the African Spectrum Allocation Plan thus
WRC 23, including the Minutes of WRC Plenary. The ensuring that there is Regional Harmonisation with the
amendment and update of the Draft NRFP further resultant benefits on economies of scale, leading to
incorporates the International Telecommunications Maturity of systems of the Radiocommunications that
Union’s (ITU) Radio Regulations Edition 2024, in the main, are affordable.
the relevant frequency allocations in the ITU Region 1 (April 7, 2025) www.icasa.org.za

91 MAY 2025