The Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN) and Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC) have reached a settlement agreement, closing a 10-year legal dispute on the legality of regulatory levies for the period 31 March 2016 to 11 June 2018.
The agreement, whose details were not made public, came after some industry players had challenged Section 23 of the Communications Act (No. 8 of 2009) in the High Court in 2012 in order to determine the constitutionality of the regulatory levies as enforced by CRAN.
According to CRAN, the parties had been engaged in negotiations over an extensive period and have also agreed to withdraw all cases pending between them in the High Court.
“The settlement agreement is a pivotal step in restoring a harmonious working relationship between our two institutions, for the benefit of ICT consumers. Additionally, it has brought to an end a long, protracted and expensive litigation process. We are particularly pleased that we can now jointly focus on promoting technological innovation and the deployment of advanced facilities and services in order to support the social and economic growth of Namibia,” said CRAN CEO, Emilia Nghikembua.
The MTC agreement comes as the telecoms sector regulator struck a similar deal with Telecom Namibia Limited in November last year.
