New telecoms law in Democratic Republic of Congo

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC’s) National Assembly has adopted a new Telecommunications Act to update the nation’s aging legal framework for the sector, bring the rules in line with the country’s needs and to align with other relevant legislation, notes TeleGeography. “In a statement, the government explained that the Telecommunications Act features ‘more than 10 major innovations’, including an overhaul of the licensing regime, the withdrawal of the state from the commercial sector and the revision of technological/legal definitions with a view to adapting the rules to reflect the convergence of networks and services. Also covered by the legal overhaul are general principles on interconnection, sharing of infrastructure and the management of scarce resources such as spectrum and numbering. Competition has also been put under the spotlight, with the Act implementing specific obligations for operators deemed to have significant market power (SMP), while the jurisdictions of the ICT minister and the regulatory authority have been clarified.” In a related development, the government awarded 4G licences to each of the nation’s cellcos last week, though only Vodacom and Orange have confirmed the allocation. Read more

• Monday, 21 May 2018