Communications Act, 2009
Regulations prescribing the provision of universal service by Telecommunications Service Licensees: Communications Act, 2009
General Notice 178 of 2018
- Published in Government Gazette 6589 on 8 May 2018
- Commenced on 8 May 2018
- [This is the version of this document from 8 May 2018 and includes any amendments published up to 19 April 2024.]
Part 1
1. Definitions
In these regulations, unless the content indicates otherwise, any word or -expression to which a meaning is assigned in the Act, shall have the same meaning and-“Act” means the Communications Act, 2009 (Act No. 8 of 2009)“emergency centres” means centres that facilitate the carrying out of emergency communications to emergency organisations;“emergency organisations” means-(a)any police force;(b)a private or public health organization rendering ambulance services;(c)any traffic authority;(d)a fire brigade;(e)a coast guard; or(f)any other organization providing assistance to the public in case of emergency;“Fund” means the Universal Service Fund as defined in section 1 of the Act;“health facility” means a health facility as defined in section 1 of the Hospitals and Health Facilities Act, 1994 (Act No. 36 of 1994);“higher education institution” means any institution established by or under any law or registered as a higher education institution in terms of the Higher Education Act, 2003 (Act No. 26 of 2003);“hospital” means a hospital as defined in section 1 of the Hospitals and Health Facilities Act, 1994 (Act No. 36 of 1994);“ICT” means information and communications technology;“licensee” means a person to whom a telecommunications service license has been issued in terms of section 38 of the Act or deemed to hold such licence as contemplated in terms of section 45 of the Act;“market gap analysis” means the process of identifying and evaluating the requirements of a geographic area, market segment or target population and possible solutions to meet these requirements, and includes the identification of the true access gap zone and the smart subsidy zone;“school” means any primary, secondary or special school as defined in the Education Act, 2001 (Act No. 16 of 2001);“smart-subsidy zone” means a specific geographic area, a segment of the Namibian population or other segment of the telecommunications market, which is unable to use telecommunication services and may require a subsidy to mitigate commercial risks, making the area or segment, as the case may be, more attractive to commercial operators;“status quo analysis” means an analysis of the current state of the ICT industry in a specific geographic area, a segment of the Namibian population or other segment of the telecommunications market including universal access and universal service provision;“true access gap zone” means a specific geographic area, a segment of the Namibian population or other segment of the telecommunications market that is beyond the smart subsidy zone and commercial viability;“universal access” means the availability, affordability and accessibility of telecommunication services to the general public through public access points in accordance with the processes and criteria set out in these regulations;“universal service provision” means the extent of universal access to electronic communications services that are provided at affordable prices and identified by following the processes and criteria provided for in these Regulations for universal services; and“website” means the Authority’s official website with the uniform resource locator, www.cran.na.2. Submission of documents to the Authority
Whenever documents are required to be delivered to the Authority, such documents must be delivered physically or electronically-3. Minimum telecommunications services to be made available by licensee
The following telecommunications services are the minimum set of services that a licensee must make available-4. Telecommunications facilities and services
5. Telecommunications services and equipment
6. Telecommunications services available to the public
7. Deployment of technology
The Authority may within such period as the Authority deems fit require a licensee to provide periodic reports and returns regarding universal service provision and universal access and such other information concerning the implementation of these Regulations stipulated by the Authority in writing.8. Administration of Fund
9. Universal service department
10. Implementation of Fund projects
The universal service department is responsible for project management of every accepted tender proposal and allocation of subsidies related to universal service provision, and particularly to-11. Fund disbursements and tender procedures
12. Subsidies for universal service
13. Penalties
14. Request for extension of time
History of this document
08 May 2018 this version
Commenced