The Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN) says it will temporarily suspend the awarding of new telecommunications and broadcasting service licences from 1 October 2022 until 30 September 2023.

CRAN said it wants to use this period to conduct a market research study on fixed data sets linked to licences currently in the market.

It added that the objective behind the study is to determine the current level of competition, market saturation and any existing barriers to entry.

CRAN CEO Emilia Nghikembua said during the suspension period, the organisation will only consider applications for amendment, withdrawal, transfer and cession of existing telecommunications or broadcasting service licences when practically possible and if such shall not result in a change of data set.

She said CRAN conducted preliminary research by studying the preceding sector review reports and international best practices and determined that the envisaged market study on telecommunications and broadcasting markets must be based on a fixed data set, particularly the number of telecommunication and broadcasting service licencees currently in the market.

Nghikembua said, “Therefore, it is apposite that CRAN maintains a still market in terms of market players while conducting the study. While the temporally postponement of the award of new telecommunications and broadcasting service licences will impact the business plans of prospective providers of telecommunications and broadcasting services, it is paramount that CRAN continuously intervenes in market dynamics to ensure fair competition and remove barriers to fair competition for the benefits of consumers.”