Page 127 - SAMENA Trends - Jan-Mar 2024

REGULATORY & POLICY UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

Telecom regulator presented its 2024 plan for this year. renewal of mobile concessions. In December, telecoms
The document presented by Arcotel, which is subject ministry (Mintel) head César Martín met with Claro
to changes, indicates there is a lack of competition in and Movistar to push for progress in the contract
the telecommunications market and so it proposes renegotiation process. Arcotel also plans to advance
Ecuador working on regulation to improve the situation. with the detection and control of stolen or lost devices.
According to the regulator's latest statistics, as of
The plans also include new quality standards for
December Claro had the largest mobile market share telecommunications services, international recognition
with 51.9% of lines, followed by Movistar with 30.3% and regulation of electronic signatures, as well as
and state-owned CNT with 17.8%. In fixed internet, technical interconnection standards and changes in
the leader was Megadatos with almost 30%, followed the procedures for the return of remaining balances
by CNT (16%) and Claro (10.5%), according to figures from top-ups of mobile service subscribers. Subscribe
compiled by Arcotel at the end of the third quarter to the leading business intelligence platform in Latin
of 2023. An update of the national spectrum plan is America with different tools for Providers, Contractors,
expected for December with the aim of adding the Operators, Government, Legal, Financial and Insurance
latest modifications to the ITU radiocommunications industries.
regulations approved at the CMR2023 event, among (February 8, 2024) www.bnamericas.com
other things. Ecuador still has to resolve the issue of

German Regulator, the Bundesnetzagentur imposed and against the call centers commissioned by them.
fines totaling €1.435 million for unsolicited marketing In 2023, in proceedings for the energy sector alone,
calls compared with €1.15 million. "Many companies the Bundesnetzagentur imposed a fine of €285,000
are still not complying with the legal requirements in each of three proceedings and a fine of €275,000 in
Germany when making telemarketing calls. This resulted in another. A particular feature of these cases, apart from
the Bundesnetzagentur having to impose particularly the high number of consumers as injured parties, was
high fines in 2023," said Klaus Müller, President of the fact that the actual reason for the call was often
the Bundesnetzagentur. "One bright spot, however, initially concealed. At the start of the conversation, the
is the fall in the number of complaints. This is also callers would pretend to be from the energy supplier of
the result of the consistent approach taken by the the person they were calling, or as a price comparison
Bundesnetzagentur against unwanted sales calls." site, so as to gain the trust of the person called and
The reason for the high level of fines in 2023 are the subsequently request them to disclose personal data
many extreme cases of unsolicited marketing calls in such as the meter number or meter reading. The
which companies or their representatives deliberately Bundesnetzagentur is already aware of such patterns
ignore the statutory requirements. As in previous of behavior from previous years, but they continued in
years, the majority of the proceedings were brought a more serious form in 2023.
against companies operating in the energy market (January 19, 2024) www.bundesnetzagentur.de

Ghana’s cabinet has approved the establishment building the 5G network infrastructure in the country.
of shared neutral 4G and 5G networks for all “The government will auction the 5G spectrum since it
telecommunications operators in the country is one or two companies that can buy such spectrum,”
to enhance Internet connectivity. Minister of Minister of Communications, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful,
Ghana Communications, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, has said stated. “Auctioning the spectrum will only create more
the network would also pave the way for other difficult situations for the citizenry with the dominance
telecommunication companies to invest in the country. of one or two telecommunication entity,” she said. In
The Minister of Communications said the government 2015, MTN Ghana won the bid for its 4G spectrum for
is ready to partner with the private sector to deliver 4G $67 million. The company was preparing its 5G pilot
and 5G networks in the country. The minister added in 2022 but announced a suspension with no reason
that there were currently private telecommunication given.
operators that were interested in partnering and (March 22, 2024) www.techlabari.com

127 JANUARY-MARCH 2024