Mozambique's new Telecommunications and Scarce Resources Licensing Regulation sets a 15-day deadline for the issuance of class-based licences, counted from the date the application is received by the Communications Regulatory Authority (INCM).
The instrument, approved under Decree No. 36/2026 of 16 July, is already in force and replaces the previous regulatory framework, revoking Decree No. 26/2017 of 30 June. According to the INCM, the regulation defines the procedures for granting telecommunications and scarce resource licences and applies to entities that use numbering resources or operate telecommunications or radiocommunications networks and services.
Based on information from the INCM consulted by Diário Económico, one of the principal changes is the introduction of a model providing for both unified licences and class-based licences, allowing for different frameworks depending on the type of activity carried out by operators.
For class-based licences, the regulation also takes into account the geographic area of operation, which may be municipal, district, provincial, national, or international. 'The new regulation also establishes a 15-day deadline for the granting of class-based licences,' the INCM stated, clarifying that the countdown begins upon receipt of the application by the Regulatory Authority.
Class A and Class B licences will now carry a validity period of 15 years, while Class C licences are valid for five years. In this latter category, companies are exempt from submitting a technical project during the licensing process.
The new regulatory framework also introduces specific regimes for the leasing and sharing of radioelectric frequency spectrum. According to the INCM, this provision is intended to provide greater flexibility in the use of that resource. Spectrum leasing may be authorised for the purpose of testing new technologies, increasing capacity and improving service quality, or establishing new telecommunications and radiocommunications networks.
Decree No. 36/2026 also establishes specific rules for the licensing of broadcasting stations, classifying them as private, community, and public. The regime covers both sound and television broadcasting, as well as satellite services. A further change, set out in Article 59, allows the Regulatory Authority to convert the value of fines imposed under the decree into universal service obligations.
According to the INCM, 'the measure creates the possibility that, in certain situations, the amounts corresponding to fines may be directed towards obligations aimed at expanding access to communications services.'
With the entry into force of the new regulation, the sector now operates under differentiated procedures for the licensing of networks and services, the use of numbering and radioelectric frequency spectrum, as well as for broadcasting and satellite radiocommunications services.
Source: Diário Económico
Original article: https://www.diarioeconomico.co.mz/?p=534193
