The government through cabinet has given Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) a go-ahead to renew MTN’s licence for another 10 years.The telecom giant’s 20-year licence is due to expire next month.
However, MTN and other telecoms must adhere to the new licencing regime that will be guided by the National Broadband Policy, which among others, requires 100 per cent coverage of the country by all telecoms and national roaming.
The National Broadband Policy, according to a Cabinet brief sent to this website, will also subject telecoms to other stringent rules such as mandatory listing. The National Broadband Policy was approved in a Cabinet sitting on Monday chaired by President Museveni.
“Local listing for all telecom operators as a licencing condition will help mitigate capital flight among other benefits of local content development opportunities that come along,” reads in part the Cabinet brief.
Part of the other requirements that Cabinet asked UCC and the ICT Ministry to implement will include national roaming, national coverage, spectrum management based on the principle ‘use it or lose it’ where a spectrum should not be managed by a private telecom service provider.
In an evaluation report filed by telecom regulator, UCC had noted that whereas MTN had fulfilled much of its licencing requirements over the last 20 years, the telecom had failed to effectively handle inter connection agreements for One Solution, Roke Telecom and Simbanet taking as much as two years and more.
Key licencing demands
Local listing. All telecom operators will have to list on the Uganda Securities Exchange to mitigate the problem of capital flight. It will also emphasise the development of local content and skills development.
National roaming. All telecom operators will be required to activate national roaming facilities to allow customers access services outside territorial coverage area. It will also allow customers have seamless access and coverage for customers irrespective of their networks.
National coverage. All operators applying for a licence must have 100 per cent coverage of the entire geographical area of Uganda in order to enable universal access, promote competitiveness and quality services.