Page 73 - SAMENA Trends - November 2020

REGULATORY & POLICY UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

Government Signs Contract with French Company to Restore SOCATEL

Network

The Central African Republic’s Ministry of fixed line network has been inoperable although the infrastructure will serve as
Post and Telecommunications (MPT) has since May 2019, when its outdated a back-up to the fiber-optic network. The
signed a contract with French company infrastructure finally fell into disrepair. The CEO of SOCATEL, Saturnin Cyrique Sem,
Global Technologies to resurrect the government now needs to raise EUR20 has high hopes for the contract, noting the
country’s monopoly fixed line operator million (USD23.7 million) for the work to company has already hit rock bottom and
Societe Africaine de Telecommunications begin. According to Global Technologies requires investment to get back on its feet.
(SOCATEL) and ultimately enable it to CEO Jean-Paul Steinitz, the contract ‘With the help of Global Technologies we
provide internet and telephone services aims to restore an old microwave network believe the resources will be available to
to 40% of the population, reports Agence built over 40 years ago, as well as deploy us and that SOCATEL can only recover,’ he
Ecofin. The state-owned operator’s additional pylons to re-establish the loop, said.

German Gigabit Network Scheme Receives EC Approval

The European Commission (EC) has approved a scheme to support
the deployment of gigabit broadband networks in Germany,
particularly in rural and unserved areas. The scheme aims to
develop a new, publicly financed very high capacity connectivity
infrastructure that will deliver faster internet for households,
companies and public institutions in the country. It will have an
estimated national budget of EUR6 billion (USD7.1 billion), which
will be complemented by contributions to the individual projects
from regional and local budgets, for an overall estimated budget
of up to EUR12 billion. In order to prioritize households which are
most in need, Germany will firstly focus on connecting households
that have access to speeds of less than 100Mbps. Secondly, from
2023 support will also be available for the deployment of gigabit
infrastructure for households that already have access to speeds be open to other operators competing on the new infrastructure
of 100Mbps, but not to a network which already provides speeds by requiring the provision of wholesale access, including through
of 1Gbps. With the implementation of this second step, Germany physical unbundling. The aid will be awarded based on open,
aims to make gigabit networks available for all citizens by the end transparent and non-discriminatory tenders, with all technologies
of 2025. The scheme ensures that the supported networks will being able to compete for provision of the service.

ARCEP Raps Cellcos’ Knuckles Over Anticompetition Breaches

Togo’s Regulatory Authority for Electronic communications which are ‘harmful to and threatens to seriously undermine ‘fair
Communications and Posts (Autorite competition’, and given them until 20 and healthy competition in the sector’.
de Regulation des Communications November 2020 to do so. In its citation, Failure to comply, it says, could result in
Electroniques et des Postes, ARCEP) has ARCEP accused the MNOs of ‘making ‘a formal sanctioning procedure … against
reportedly cited the country’s mobile calls between numbers of their respective them’. In its financial report for the first half
network operators (MNOs) Togo Cellulaire networks, cheaper than those between of 2020, Moov’s parent company reported
(Togocel) and Atlantique Telecom Togo numbers belonging to two different a significant cut in its interconnection tariff
(Moov) for obstructing competition in the [Togolese] networks’. It argues that the for terminating national mobile calls, down
local market. Togo First writes that the maneuver could ‘potentially discourage from AED0.33 (USD0.08986) per minute to
watchdog has called on the pair to stop calls to the competing network’ (which are AED0.16 per minute, as of January 2020.
‘price differentiation practices’ for on-net mechanically more expensive) and is ‘in
(intra-network) and off-net (inter-network) violation of the clauses of their [licenses]’,

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