CRAN lifts services licences standstill period

The Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN) has announced that it will lift the stand-still period for applications of broadcasting and telecommunications services licences, on 01 October this year.

CRAN on 01 October 2022, imposed a standstill period on the consideration of applications for broadcasting and telecommunications service licences to enable it to collect data from the market to assess whether the markets are saturated.

CRAN’s Executive for Communications and Consumer Relations Katrina Sikeni in a media statement on Tuesday said after various stakeholder consultations in 2021, CRAN was implored to conduct a market study for the telecommunications and broadcasting sectors, to determine the current market level of market competition, market saturation, and any existing barriers to entry.

“It was appropriate that CRAN maintain a stable market, in terms of market players, while conducting the study,” she said.

The study, Sikeni noted, was conducted based on a fixed data set, particularly the number of telecommunications and broadcasting service licensees currently in the market, and hence the standstill period.

“The data collection has been completed, and CRAN will begin accepting new applications,” she added.

She further stated, that it is paramount that CRAN continuously studies market dynamics to align the regulatory framework to best practices and emerging trends in regulation to ensure fair competition and facilitate investments into the sector.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency