TCRA relies on local team for spectrum bid

DAR ES SALAAM: TANZANIA Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA), for the first time, the used local experts to manage the competitive spectrum bidding process, a role previously handled by foreign specialists.

The move to use local experts reflects the authority’s growing capacity and commitment to building national professional skills in the telecommunications sector while reducing reliance on foreign specialists and strengthens local expertise in managing critical ICT resources.

TCRA Director General, Dr Jabiri Bakari, said in Dar es Salaam recently that the licensing demonstrated the government’s commitment, through TCRA, to ensure that the country leads in the transformation of the communications sector and the economy through digital solutions.

“TCRA ensures openness, transparency and a level playing field in allocating spectrum,” Dr Bakari said.

Early last month, three service providers Viettel Tanzania (Halotel), Vodacom Tanzania Limited (Vodacom) and Honora Tanzania (Yas) successfully acquired the spectrum through the exercise, which was designed to ensure transparency, fairness and competitiveness.

The released spectrum in four blocks on the 3600 – 3800-megahertz (MHz) band enables high-speed internet using fifth-generation (5G) mobile technology currently flourishing at a high speeding countrywide.

The megahertz bands are also known as Upper C-Band, due to their super capabilities.

The last month competitive spectrum licensing was TCRA’s third. In November 2022, TCRA released and awarded spectrum in the 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 2.3 GHz, 2.6 GHz and 3.5 GHz bands where Vodacom, Airtel, TTCL, Halotel and Smile competed.

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The 2022 competitive spectrum licensing positioned Tanzania among the first countries in East Africa to deploy 5G services.

The other African countries that have released prime spectrum through competitive bidding since then are South Africa, Nigeria, Senegal and Morocco.

Dr Bakari said the spectrum would transform services across multiple sectors through advanced information and communications technologies (ICTs) and has set specific rollout conditions and deadlines for service providers.

Also, these technologies would drive the country’s digital economy and boost sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transport and logistics, commerce, education and health.

Furthermore, TCRA supports innovation by temporarily allocating communications resources free of charge to start-ups and individuals to test projects approved as viable by the Commission for Science and Technology (COSTEC)