Page 98 - SAMENA Trends - August 2019

REGULATORY & POLICY UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

PURA Fines Cellcos for Activating Unregistered SIMs; Suspends third-Party

Sales

The Gambia’s Public Utilities Regulatory to purchase 186 Africell SIM cards without • new SIM Cards can only be sold at their
Authority (PURA) has fined the country’s ID registration, for which it levied a fine of branches or Customer Care Centers
largest mobile operator Africell GMD5.58 GMD30,000 per SIM. QCell and Gamcel • conduct extra training for Customer
million (USD109,000) for breaching the law received small fines of GMD120,000 and Care Agents and third-party sales
by selling SIM cards activated at points of GMD90,000 for illegally activating four personnel
sale to customers without registering their and three SIMs respectively, while no such • review awareness of the whole SIM card
ID details, newspaper Foroyaa reported. transgressions were recorded for Comium. registration process
PURA explained that it carried out a SIM PURA also ordered the GSM operators to • institute additional checks and controls
registration monitoring exercise for all suspend the sale of SIMs by third parties on the system.
GSM operators in randomly selected until the following remedying conditions
locations across the country, and was able are put in place:

FCC Ready to Authorize Funding for CAF II Auction Winners, Impacts 375
Bids across 12 States

The FCC said that it is ready to authorize process that awarded funding to entities
funding for six more Connect America that committed to deploying broadband
CAF II auction winners. The “ready to service to unserved or underserved rural
authorize” designation indicates that the areas for the lowest level of support. A
FCC has reviewed and approved a winner’s weighting system provided an advantage
application to deploy broadband in high- to entities that said they would deploy
cost areas for which the entity won funding. service at higher speeds or with lower
Entities on the “ready to authorize” list latency. The auction, completed one year
released yesterday have until September ago, tentatively awarded a total of $1.488
10 to obtain irrevocable standby letters of billion over 10 years to the winners. The
credit and bankruptcy code option letters FCC has been releasing “ready to authorize”
from their legal counsel in order to obtain lists at the rate of about one per month and
final authorization. The Connect America also has issued several lists of entities that
CAF II auction used a reverse auction have obtained final authorization.

Nigeria: ALTON Condemns Regulatory Breaches by National IT Development
Agency

The Association of Licensed subsidiary frameworks and legislations Nigeria and believed that its Regulation
Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria issued by NITDA on Public Internet Access overrides the NCC’s existing provisions on
(ALTON) has condemned regulatory (PIA) 2019. The said frameworks had data processing in the sector. ALTON noted
violations by the National Information set out rules for the provision of Public that the preceding developments brought
Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Internet Access disregarding the powers of to light the dreaded multiple Regulation
which border on communications matters the Commission. Also, ALTON mentioned which had been a recurring challenge for
within the regulatory scope of the Nigerian the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation the local industry. The association urged
Communications Commission (NCC). 2019 guideline that was issued by NITDA the NCC to intervene in the current issue
In a letter addressed to the NCC, signed as another violation. The association said with NITDA in order to safeguard the
by Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, Chairman that it appeared as if NITDA had assumed interest of market players and respect the
of ALTON, the association spoke on the role of a Data Protection Agency in powers of the Commission.

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