There was a recenent announcement of what Somalian regulator the National Communications Authority (NCA) calls an important milestone: an interconnection agreement with Somali telecommunication companies that will allow customers of the various operators in the country to call each other seamlessly across different networks.
The agreement was said to be the result of a series of discussions and consultations between the relevant parties that worked out all the fundamental issues necessary for the signing of the deal, including the tricky (as Kenyan operators may agree) mobile termination rate (MTR) issue. The interconnection agreement comes into force on 10 January 2023; the interconnection process will be completed by February of the same year.
Mustafa Yasin Sheikh, General Manager of the National Communications Authority, said of the agreement: “In addition to the interconnection agreement being a requirement and a right for the customer, it is also an important benchmark for the growth of the telecommunications market and the investment in technology and innovation, and I hope that this agreement will put an end to discussions that have lasted since the inception of telecom companies in the country.”
The National Communications Authority (NCA) is the regulatory body for the communications sector in Somalia. NCA was established through the Communications Act of 2017. Its mandate is to regulate the communications sector including telecommunications, internet, broadcasting, information, communications technology and e-commerce services.