TRA orders ISPs to shift
users to legal networks

No additional cost to users

The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) issued a decision to all Internet service providers (ISPs) and data service providers (DSPs) requiring to transfer subscribers currently served through unlicensed networks to legal and licensed networks within 30 days of the decision’s publication in the Official Gazette. The transfer must be carried out either through the Ministry of Telecommunications and Ogero or through licensed DSPs operating in the relevant areas. TRA said that service continuity must be ensured and that subscribers should not bear any additional costs as a result of the transfer.

In a statement, TRA said the decision is based on Telecommunications Law No. 431 of 2002 and related decrees and regulations. It follows verification of the presence of illegal networks providing Internet and data transmission services in violation of regulatory rules. These networks were found within the coverage of several telephone exchanges and in areas where fiber optic networks have been deployed.

TRA also addressed subscribers receiving Internet and data services through unlicensed networks outside the ten telephone exchanges specified in the decision. It said providers must take the necessary steps to remove illegal networks and migrate subscribers to licensed networks in line with regulatory requirements, while maintaining uninterrupted service and avoiding additional charges to consumers.

The authority requested that ISPs submit weekly reports detailing the number of subscribers actually transferred, the names and addresses of entities that had been providing services without a license, the locations of the networks and their main sites, as well as the fees and charges paid to the Treasury.