RADHACHARAN SHAKYA Senior Advisor - ICT Authority, Mauritius

ICT in Mauritius as at date

Tariff evolution

Access Spectrum Assignment 2.4, 2.6, 3.5, 5.2 GHz Broadband Wireless Access 5.4, 5.8 GHz Broadband Wireless Access CDMA 800MHz WLL GSM 900MHz All Techs 900 MHz IMT 1989 1996 1997 2004 2005 2006 2012 2017 2018 IMT UMTS 2100 MHz CDMA 800MHz WiMAX 2.6 GHz WiMAX 3.5 GHz ETACS 800/ 900MHz IMT LTE 1800 MHz IMT LTE 2100, 2600 MHz

Broadcasting Spectrum

Opportunities - Administrative Merger of ICTA & IBA PLMN Licences expiring in November 2018/2019 Renewal period 3 years + 3 years Undergoing Projects -Smart City, Safe City & Metro Project Exploring possibility of spectrum trading and sharing Exploring possibilities of Virtual Network Operators (VNO)

Opportunities - Technical Digital dividend TV white space Convergence of services & technologies M2M and IoT /IoET 5G technology Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) Availability of spare spectrum 3.5 GHz 2.5 GHz 2.3 GHz 2.1 GHz (partial)

Digital Dividend

TV white space Expression of interest was floated but not finalized No field trial done Can learn from world communities especially South Africa experience Bring out consultation paper on TV white space to move ahead

M2M and IoT/IoET

5G Technology

Smart City Plan

Smart City Plan

Challenges

Spectrum Management Challenges Limited and Saturated Market Meeting expectations of stakeholders – Government Service providers / licensees Investors Public / customers Fast growing technology making small span of life – no local manufacturer Keeping pace of regulatory framework with technology Add new spectrum management tools in our tool kit Continuous re-farming of frequency band aligning to latest technical evolution

Limited and Saturated Market

Meeting expectations of stakeholders Government would like to have: ICT sector as 3rd pillar or better ICT contribution to GDP should be over 5.6 % Foreign Investment to grow Large growth of employment in ICT sector Service providers / licensees: Long term policy Long duration of Licences Positive return on their investments Level playing field Bring OTT players in licensing framework Investors: Positive environment Clear long term policy Ease of doing business Minimum intervention of government/regulator Public / Consumers: Affordable price Defined quality of service Quick and transparent grievance handling mechanism More choice Choice to change operator Latest technology

Fast growing Technology Short life span of telecommunications equipment Recurring high investments-even before to break even Continuous investment for capacity building Pre-maturity deployment Priority Shifting - Spectrum Band No local study on long term and persistent exposure to radiation Interoperability & Standardization

Way Forward Unified Licensing Technology/Service Neutral spectrum allocation Devise an innovative mechanism for spectrum allocation Introduce Spectrum Trading, sharing and Leasing Allow Virtual Network Operators (VNOs) Induct new technologies after industry consultations-TV White space, Digital Audio Broadcast, LoRA, Sigfox,etc Meeting the vision of the Government making Mauritius a Smart Island and ICT hub for world community

Thanks