(Ecofin Agency) - The telecom spectrum is a limited but essential resource for telecommunications services. By devising this review plan, the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia wants to optimize its management.

The Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN) will review its frequency band plan every four years. This was revealed by CRAN CEO, EMILIA Nghikembua, on Tuesday, April 12, during the public hearing organized to discuss the country’s 2022-2024 Spectrum Assignment Strategy. According to Ms. Emilia, the review plan is devised per the new guidelines issued by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). 

According to Emilia Nghikembua (photo), CRAN will “amend frequency band allocations and regulations as required, following due regulatory process.”  Also, spectrum license holders would be required, on a case-by-case basis, to migrate to new frequencies following the implementation of a new frequency band allocation plan.  

This initiative is in line with one of CRAN’s missions, which is the management of spectrum to "facilitate the availability of the spectrum to be used as a tool to develop communication services and access to information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure.  

It comes three weeks after the regulator announced that it was suspending the awarding of telecom licenses to assess the level of competition and saturation of the Namibian telecom market. 

With the review plan, the country wants to keep up with the latest regulatory trends and technological developments to ensure the efficient management of the limited spectrum resources.  “It's crucial to ensure interoperability between systems and networks, facilitating frequency coordination between countries, and establishing international systems," explained Emilia Nghikembua.

The initiative is also expected to help develop Namibia’s ICT sector, therefore contributing to socio-economic development and enabling the government and the population to better capitalize on the opportunities offered by the fourth industrial revolution.

Isaac K. Kassouwi