NUMBERING-REGULATIONS

Figure1

Arrangement A7

4. TheallocationforPPDRservicesinaccordancewithResolution646(WRC-19)andthe SADCFrameworkforHarmonisationofRadioFrequencySpectrumforPublicProtection andDisasterRelief(PPDR)-

• a. 698-703MHzforUplink and753-758MHzfordownlink(2x5MHz);and
• b. 733-736MHzuplink and 788-791MHz downlink(2x3MHz) is shown inFigure2below:

Figure2

698- 703	703- 708	708- 713	713- 718	718- 723	723- 728	728- 733	733- 736	736- 753	753- 758	758- 763	763- 768	768- 773	773- 778	778- 783	783- 788	788- 791
PPDR	b)	b)	b)	b)	b)	b)	PPDR		PPDR	b)	b)	b)	b)	b)	b)	b)
a)	IMT	IMT	IMT	IMT	IMT	IMT	c)		a)	IMT	IMT	IMT	IMT	IMT	IMT	PPDR
up-link	uplink up-link	uplink up-link	uplink up-link	uplink up-link	uplink up-link	uplink up-link			down- link	downlink	downlink	downlink	downlink	downlink	downlink	c) down-
			(MFCN)									(MFCN)				link
5MHz	30MHz(6blocksof5MHz)	30MHz(6blocksof5MHz)	30MHz(6blocksof5MHz)	30MHz(6blocksof5MHz)	30MHz(6blocksof5MHz)	30MHz(6blocksof5MHz)	3MHz		5MHz	30MHz(6blocksof5MHz)						3MHz

COMMUNICATIONSREGULATORYAUTHORITYOFNAMIBIA

No.445

2021

AMENDMENTTOREGULATIONSPRESCRIBINGTHENATIONALNUMBERING PLANFORUSEINTHEPROVISIONOFTELECOMMUNICATIONSSERVICESINTHE REPUBLICOFNAMIBIA,NUMBERINGLICENCEFEESANDPROCEDURESFOR NUMBERLICENCES:COMMUNICATIONSACT,2009

The CommunicationsRegulatoryAuthority of Namibia,in terms of Sections 81(5) and129 of the CommunicationsAct,2009(ActNo.8of2009),amends theRegulationsPrescribing theNational NumberingPlanforUseintheProvisionofTelecommunicationsServicesintheRepublicof Namibia,Numbering Licence Fees and Procedures for Number Licences as published in the Government GazetteNo.5983,GeneralNoticeNo.18 dated 01April 2021 as set out in theSchedule.

H.M.GAOMABII CHAIRPERSON COMMUNICATIONSREGULATORYAUTHORITYOFNAMIBIA

SCHEDULE

AMENDMENTOFTHEREGULATIONSPRESCRIBINGTHENATIONAL NUMBERINGPLANFORUSEINTHEPROVISIONOFTELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICESINTHEREPUBLICOFNAMIBIA,NUMBERINGLICENCEFEESAND

Amendment of regulation 39

1. Regulation 39 of the Regulations is amended by the substitution for subregulation (1)(b)ofthefollowingsubregulation
2. (a) TheAuthority shall calculatethechargeablefeeper numberbasedonthechargeable quantity of numbers by applying the reference value to aweight,to reflect the value ofshorternumbers.
3. Regulation39of theRegulationsis amendedby the substitutionfor subregulation (1)(e)ofthefollowingsubregulation
4. (e) Thereferencevalue is determined by theAuthority as set out inAnnexureD and maybereviewedonannualbasis.
5. Regulation 39 of the Regulations is amended by the repeal of subregulation (1)(f).

Number	Weight
3Digit Numbers	=1000.000
4DigitNumbers	=100,000
5DigitNumbers	=10,000
6Digit Numbers	=1,000
7DigitNumbers	=100
8DigitNumbers	=10
9Digit Numbers	=1

ANNEXURED

Regulation 39(e)

CHARGEABLEFEE

Intermsofregulation39(e)theAuthorityherebydeterminethereferencevalue.

ThereferencevalueissetatZeroNamibianDollarsandFourEightZeroThreeCents(Ns0.4803).

Number	Weight	NS (fees payable)
3Digit Numbers	=1000.000	=480,300
4Digit Numbers	=100,000	=48,030
5Digit Numbers	=10,000	=4,803
6Digit Numbers	=1,000	=480.30
7 DigitNumbers	=100	=48.03
8Digit Numbers	=10	=4.803
9Digit Numbers	=1	=0.4803

AnnualNumberFee=numberxweightxreferencevalue

IWeighting refers to the total numbers not available foruse if a certain number with lesser digits is allocated for use to a licensee.

ANNEXUREE

DISCUSSIONPAPERONNUMBERINGFEESFORCRAN

1. Introduction

In2016CRANsetoutRegulationsprescribingtheNationalNumberingPlanforusein theProvision ofTelecommunicationsServices in theRepublicofNamibia,Numbering LicenceFees andProceduresforNumberLicences.Thefeesprescribedintheseregulations were chargedfor thefirst time in2018 and thenin subsequent years.TelecomNamibia andMTCchallengedthefeesbasedonsection81(5)whichstates that"theAuthoritymust allocatenumbersinreturnforafeethatisnogreaterthannecessarytocompensateforthe managementcostsofthenumberingplanandcontrol of itsuse."

TheobjectivesoftheActguideallof CRAN'sactions:ThefeesCRANcollectsaresubject to theobjectives of the Act,whichfit inwith the general trend towardsliberalisation, privatisation andincreasedcompetitionin ordertomeet theobjectives ofaffordability and increased penetration.

2. Economics of Numbering

Theriseofnewservices andtheadventofcompetitionhavegiventotelecommunication numbersasignificanteconomicdimension.Anyeconomicconsiderations aroundnumbers arisefortwomainreasons:

• First,afairlyadministerednumberingplancanfacilitatecompetitioninservice provision and thus bring benefits to usersbyreducing tariffs and byincreasing the quality standards in services provided.In orderfor competition to flourish,however, operators and service providers should be treated on an equal basis regarding access tonumberresources.
• Second,numbersbecomeimportanttoolsinthehandsofvalue-addedservice providers.Given that most of these services arehighlyprofitablefor operators,the allocation of specific numberranges to provide exclusive access toservices such as mobile telephony, personal communication and premium rate services increases the valueof numbers.Moreover,itisrecognisedthatalimitedrangeofnumberscontain "higher"value thanothersbecause theirmemorablestructurebringsbenefitsto the calledparty.(OCDE/GD(95)117).

As competition increases and new numbering requirements emerge it becomes universally recognised thattelephonenumbers area national resourceandshouldbeforthecustomer --not for the operators to brand'(OFTEL,1993a).New operators and service providers needtohave accesstonumbers and havetherighttoutilisetheminawaythatbestsuitstheir needsandcanfacilitateserviceprovision.

Not all numberrangeshave the same value to users.Different users may attributemorevalue toanumberthanothersbasedonhoweasyitistorememberandwhatitmightbeutilised for.Numbers arethereforea scarceresource thatshouldbemanaged andpaidfortakingthe economicvalueofthenumberintoconsideration.

3. CurrentNumberingFees

Regulation 39(f) of the Regulations Prescribing the National NumberingPlan for Use in the provisionof TelecommunicationsServicesin theRepublicof Namibia,NumberingLicence FeesandProceduresforNumberLicencessetthereferencevaluefornumbers atN$1.00. TheRegulationfurthermakes provision that it should be reviewed every three (3)years.

In linewith the above requirement CRANhas therefore decided thatarecalculation of numberingfeeshavetobe done aswell as some amendments to thecurrent regulations.

The current numberingfees are asfollows:

3Digit Numbers	=1,000,000
4 Digit Numbers	=100,000
5 Digit Numbers	=10,000
6Digit Numbers	=1,000
7 Digit Numbers	=100
8DigitNumbers	=10
9DigitNumbers	=1

4. CRAN Financials for Numbering

The total cost of managing thenumberingplanincludes costfor thenumberingaudit,legal fees,calculation of fees,management of numberportability,etc.

Thecostsfrom2018/2019to2022/2023areasfollows:

Table l:Financials and Calculations for Numbering	Table l:Financials and Calculations for Numbering	Table l:Financials and Calculations for Numbering	Table l:Financials and Calculations for Numbering	Table l:Financials and Calculations for Numbering	Table l:Financials and Calculations for Numbering
	2018/2019	2019/2020	2020/2021	2021/2022	2022/2023
Financials	6,696,309	7,654,700	2,000,000	2,090,000	2,184,050
Numbers	41,208,451	48,988,851	4,164,462	4,164,462	4,164,462
Cost/number	0.16	0.155	0.4803	0.502	0.5244
Source:	AFSforCRAN2018/19- 2019/20	AFSforCRAN2018/19- 2019/20	Budget 2020/2021	Projected Budget	Projected Budget

There are anumber of reasons on why the cost per number increased:

• a. Duetomore effcient numberuse3-digit numberswerewithdrawnbylicensees and licensees startedutilising 5-digit numbers;and
• b. Unutilisednumberswerewithdrawn;

The CRANbudget tomanage thenumber licenses have also decreased due tofewer number licences,but the total cost per number still increased.

5. Numbering Fees in otherJurisdictions

Most countries thatchargefeesfornumberingresources have anumber offees that are charged for such as registration-, usage- and annual fees. A number of SADC countries donot chargenumberingfees at alleven though theyhavenumberingplansdue to their legislation not providingfor the chargingfornumbers.

Table 2: Zambia ZICTA's Fee structure for Numbering	Fee Units	Fee Units
Item	ZMW	NS
Registration fees
All other categories	40,000	26,942
Carrier pre-selection	200,000	134,712
Annual Fees (C)	1	0.674
Annual Fee (F)
Annual Return	233	157

Table 2:Zambia ZICTA'sFee structure for Numbering	Fee Units	Fee Units
Item	ZMW	NS
Other Codes
MobileNetworkCode	20,000	13,471
National Destination Code	20,000	13,471
International SignalingPoint Codes	20,000	13,471
National Signaling Point Codes	20,000	13,471
NetworkColour Codes	20,000	13,471
SIM Headers	10,000	6,736
ServiceNumbers(Freephones,Premiums)	10,000	6,736
Carrier Selection Codes	100,000	67,356
Short Codes
3 digits	100,000	67,356
4digits	60,000	40,414
Source:	https://www.zicta.zm/storage/posts/attachments/ 0r9W6SdgD02vUW4N7D8k5NIA9dDCeVDex- QDHFzx8.pdf	https://www.zicta.zm/storage/posts/attachments/ 0r9W6SdgD02vUW4N7D8k5NIA9dDCeVDex- QDHFzx8.pdf

• Registrationfeesareonce-offfeestobepaidatlodgingtheapplication
• Thesubscribernumber(C)feesetoutinthetableshallbetheapplicationfeeforthe purposeofdeterminationoftheannualnumberingfeeformulae,whereC=1unit
• Forresourceuser'sindividuallyassignednumberblocks,thepayableannualfees shall becalculated asperequationbelow;F=Bx C,where a.Fis the annual mumberingfeetobepaidbyresourceuser,Bisthetotalmumberblockassigned, allocatedtotheresourceuserC,Cisthefeeforeachsubscribernumberinthe assignedmumberblockallocatedtotheresourceuser

Uganda charges nofees for the othernumbering resources exceptfor short codes.Their numbering plan is currently under review.

Tanzania also uses a number offees.

Table 3:TanzaniaTCRA'sFee structureforNumbering	Table 3:TanzaniaTCRA'sFee structureforNumbering	Table 3:TanzaniaTCRA'sFee structureforNumbering	Table 3:TanzaniaTCRA'sFee structureforNumbering	Table 3:TanzaniaTCRA'sFee structureforNumbering	Table 3:TanzaniaTCRA'sFee structureforNumbering	Table 3:TanzaniaTCRA'sFee structureforNumbering
Type of Numbering Resource	Application	Application	Registration	Registration	Annual Maintenance Fee	Annual Maintenance Fee
	USD	NS	USD	NS	USD	NS
Prefix forNetworks (NDC &MNDC)	10	145	2,000	29,055	2,000	29,055
Subscriber Numbers	N/A		N/A		0.20/sub- scriber number	2.89
National SignalingPoint	10	145	2,000	29,055	2,000	29,055
International Signaling Point	10	145	2,000	29,055	2,000	29,055
Mobile Network Identifi- cation Code	10	145	2,000	29,055	2,000	29,055
SIM Header	10	145	2,000	29,055	2,000	29,055
Data NetworkIdentifica- tion Codes	10	145	2,000	29,055	2,000	29,055

Table3:TanzaniaTCRA'sFeestructureforNumbering	Table3:TanzaniaTCRA'sFeestructureforNumbering	Table3:TanzaniaTCRA'sFeestructureforNumbering	Table3:TanzaniaTCRA'sFeestructureforNumbering	Table3:TanzaniaTCRA'sFeestructureforNumbering	Table3:TanzaniaTCRA'sFeestructureforNumbering	Table3:TanzaniaTCRA'sFeestructureforNumbering
Type of Numbering Resource	Application	Application	Registration	Registration	Annual Maintenance Fee	Annual Maintenance Fee
	USD	NS	USD	NS	USD	NS
Corporate ServicesNet- workAccessNumbers	10	145	2,000	29,055	2,000	29,055
Carrier Selection/Pre- selection Codes	10	145	10,000	145,277	5,000	72,639
Premium Rate Access Codes	10	145	10,000	145,277	5,000	72,639
Special and FixedAccess Codes (block)	10	145	1,000	14,528	2,000	29,055
Special and Fixed Access CodesPremium Rate Access codes (Single number)	10	145	2,000	29,055	2,500	36,319
VASSMS&Special Ser- vices Short Codes:
Gold	10	145	4,000	58,111	2,500	36,319
Source:	https://www.tcra.go.tz/document/Application%20Guidelines%20 and%20Fees%20for%20Numbering%20Resources%20-%20 April%202018	https://www.tcra.go.tz/document/Application%20Guidelines%20 and%20Fees%20for%20Numbering%20Resources%20-%20 April%202018	https://www.tcra.go.tz/document/Application%20Guidelines%20 and%20Fees%20for%20Numbering%20Resources%20-%20 April%202018	https://www.tcra.go.tz/document/Application%20Guidelines%20 and%20Fees%20for%20Numbering%20Resources%20-%20 April%202018	https://www.tcra.go.tz/document/Application%20Guidelines%20 and%20Fees%20for%20Numbering%20Resources%20-%20 April%202018	https://www.tcra.go.tz/document/Application%20Guidelines%20 and%20Fees%20for%20Numbering%20Resources%20-%20 April%202018

Zimbabwehasthefollowingfeestructurefornumbering.

Table4:Zimbabwe-POTRAZ'slicensefee structure	Table4:Zimbabwe-POTRAZ'slicensefee structure	Table4:Zimbabwe-POTRAZ'slicensefee structure
	USD	NS
Subscriber numbers	0.10/unit	1.45
NetworkDestination Codes	50	723
Premium Rate service Short Code	1,200	17,356
No Premium Rate service Short Code	50	723
International Signaling Point Codes	50	723
National Signaling Point Codes	50	723
MobileNetworkIdentifiers-MNC+NCC	50	723
System Access (USSD) Short Codes	50 (excl 15%VAT)	723 (excl 15%VAT)
Premium Rates Short Code	1,200 (excl 15%VAT)	17,356 (excl15%VAT)
Source	http://www.potraz.gov.zw/?p=80	http://www.potraz.gov.zw/?p=80

ICASA is not charging any numbering fees.

Namibia's proposed numbering fees are on par with those countries in the SADC region that chargefornumbering andis lower thanmostcountriesusedin the comparison.

Figure 1: Numbering Fees in SADC (NS/number)

6. ConclusionandRecommendations

The following is therefore recommended:

• a. Areferencevalue of NAD 0.4803pernumberbasedon thecosting andapproved budgetofCRANresultinginthetablebelow:

Number	Weight	Fee in NAD
3DigitNumbers	1,000,000	=480,300
4DigitNumbers	100,000	=48,030
5DigitNumbers	10,000	=4,803
6Digit Numbers	1,000	=480.30
7 DigitNumbers	100	=48.03
8Digit Numbers	10	=4.803
9DigitNumbers	1	=0.4803

AnnualNumberFee=numberxweightxreferencevalue

• b. Thatanewfeefornumberingbedetermined,annually,basedonthecostinthe approvedbudget and thenumber audit to ensure no over-or under recovery as set outinsection81(5)oftheCommunicationsAct.

7. References

OECD(1995-01-01),"The Economicand Regulatory Aspects of Telecommunication Numbering", OECD Digital Economy Papers, No.12, OECD Publishing, Paris.http:// dx.doi.org/10.1787/237502514428

http://www.potraz.gov.zw/?p=80

https://www.tcra.go.tz/document/Application%20Guidelines%20and%20Fees%20for%20 Numbering%20Resources%20-%20April%202018

https://www.zicta.zm/storage/posts/attachments/0r9W6SdgD02vUW4N7D8k5NIA9dDCe VDexQDHFzx8.pdf