STAFF WRITER
The Communication Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN) says Namibia is taking a multifaceted approach to break state monopoly in the cellular phone network industry.
Namibia is dominated by state controlled companies in the delivery of cellphone network and data services with both Mobile Telecommunications Company (MTC) and Telecome Namibia keeping a strong state ownership component.
MTC however managed to list on the Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) a few years back allowing private citizens an opportunity to own shares in the communications giant.
Namibia has also seen some inroads made with Paratus a fully independent company making good inroads in the industry.
CRAN Chief Executive Officer Emilia Nghikembua told Namibia Business Review that several recommendations were made in the ICT Sector – Regulatory Environment Assessment 2023 report to find a lasting solution to state monopoly in the industry.
Some of the suggested solutions, Nghikembua said includes enabling new entrants to come into the market, privatisation of state owned companies, infrastructure sharing and spectrum reform.
“…This involves removing barriers to entry and allowing new players to enter the market. This can be achieved through reducing licensing requirements, simplifying regulatory frameworks, and promoting foreign investment,” Nghikembua said.
She reiterated that the privatisation of state dominated entities will involve selling off state-owned enterprises that operate in the ICT sector to private
investors. This is in line with the objects of the Communications Act and could promote competition by creating new market players while infrastructure sharing refers to the practice of multiple telecom service providers sharing the same physical network infrastructure, such as cellular towers, fiber optic cables, and other network components,” she said.
Nghikembua said spectrum reform will involve reforming the way radio frequency spectrum is allocated.
“In the context of Namibia, this can be done by ensuring that there is spectrum set aside for new players or by excluding dominant operators from some spectrum frequencies or limiting the amount of spectrum that they can be assigned to specific licensees. A study conducted by the World Bank also found that the privatisation of some telecommunication licensees would be the best way forward,” she said.
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