<- Back to Gazettes

Gazette 5983

ORIGINAL PDF

GOVERNMENT GAZETTE OF THE REPUBLIC OF NAMIBIA

N$22.80WINDHOEK - 1 April 2016No. 5983
CONTENTS PageCONTENTS PageCONTENTS Page
No. 97Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia: Regulations prescribing the National Numbering Plan for use in the Provision of Telecommunications Services in the Republic of Namibia, Numbering Licence Fees and Procedures for Number Licences: Communications Act, 20091
General NoticeGeneral NoticeGeneral Notice

COMMUNICATIONS REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF NAMIBIA

No. 97

REGULATIONS PRESCRIBING THE NATIONAL NUMBERING PLAN FOR USE IN THE PROVISION OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES IN THE REPUBLIC OF NAMIBIA, NUMBERING LICENCE FEES AND PROCEDURES FOR NUMBER LICENCES: COMMUNICATIONS ACT, 2009

The Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia in terms of Section 81 of the Communications Act, 2009 (Act No. 8 of 2009) and regulation 4(3) of the Regulations Regarding Rule-Making Procedure published in General Notice No. 334 of 17 December 2010 hereby publishes these ‘Regulations regarding the National Numbering Plan for Namibia for use in the provision of Telecommunications Services in the Republic of Namibia, Numbering Licence Fees and Procedures for Number Licences’ which will be in force and effective as from date of publication thereof in the Gazette .

Regulation

ARRANGEMENT OF REGULATIONS

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTORY PROVISIONS

  1. Definitions and Interpretation
  2. Purposes of the Regulations
  3. Submissions of documents to the Authority
  4. Applicability
  5. Authorisation
  6. Exclusions

CHAPTER II STRUCTURE OF THE NATIONAL NUMBERING PLAN

  1. Structure of the National Numbering Plan
  2. Short code categories
  3. Use of short codes
  4. Signalling point codes
  5. Network codes
  6. International carrier codes
  7. Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) Codes
  8. Transitional arrangements

CHAPTER III MANAGEMENT OF THE NUMBERING RESOURCES

  1. Responsibilities of the Authority
  2. Licensees’ responsibilities and obligations
  3. Eligibility to apply for numbering resources
  4. Applications for allocation of numbering resources
  5. Criteria for the assessment of applications for an allocation of numbering resources
  6. Transfer of licences and transfer of control of licences
  7. Withdrawal of number licences
  8. Application procedures
  9. Confidentiality of licensee’s information
  10. Reservation of numbering resources
  11. Notification of number activation or de-activation
  12. Duration of number licences
  13. ENUM
  14. Applications for ITU-T numbering resources

CHAPTER IV PROCEDURAL MATTERS

  1. Oral hearings
  2. Condonation
  3. Record of proceedings
  4. Publication of licensing decisions and licences
  5. Reconsideration

CHAPTER V AUDIT OF THE USE OF NUMBERING RESOURCES

  1. Objective of audit
  2. Audit methods
  3. Frequency of audit
  4. Content of the annual audit return

CHAPTER VI FEES

  1. Timetable for the payment of fees
  2. Calculation of fees

CHAPTER VII INTEREST AND PENALTIES

  1. Penalties for non-compliance

CHAPTER VIII REVIEW AND REVISION OF THE REGULATIONS

  1. Review and revision of the Regulations

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTORY PROVISIONS

Definitions and Interpretation

  1. In these Regulations, any word or expression to which a meaning is assigned in the Act, Licence Regulations, and ITU-T Recommendation E.164, has the same meaning, unless the context indicates otherwise - ‘Act’ means the Communications Act, 2009 (Act No. 8 of 2009).

‘Area Code’ is synonymous with the ITU-T’s use of the term ‘Network Destination Code’ as they apply it in their Recommendations relating to numbering matters.

‘Call’ where the context requires the term, it shall include SMS texts and other services.

‘CDMA’ means Code Division Multiple Access

‘Chargeable fee’ means the reference value multiplied by the chargeable quantity of numbers.

‘Chargeable quantity of numbers’ means the total amount of numbers of a specific number length allocated to and in use by a licensee multiplied by weighted value of numbers in terms of regulation 38.

‘Commercial Services’ means short codes that are to be used for services for which a charge is made for the call that exceeds the licensee’s standard cost of call or SMS text message.

‘Customer’ means any person who concluded a contract with the provider of telecommunications services for the provision of such services

‘Day(s)’ means calendar days

‘Dialled’ where the context requires, the term shall include any method a customer uses to initiate a call.

‘DID’ means Direct Inward Dialling

‘E.164’ means the ITU-T Recommendation E.164: The International Public Telecommunication Numbering Plan, 2010.

‘ECS’ means Electronic Communications Service.

‘ECNS’ means Electronic Communications Network Service.

‘ENUM’ means the translation of an E.164 number to one or more IP addresses in accordance with the RIPE specification RFC 3761: The E.164 to Uniform Resource Identifiers (URI) Dynamic Delegation Discovery System (DDDS) Application (ENUM)

‘Emergency and Public Services’ means short codes to be dialled by any customers to access emergency or public services from any network

‘FreeFone’ means a call that is free from charges to the calling customer, also referred to as ‘Toll Free’ calls.

‘Higher Rate’ means a call charge that exceeds a licensee’s standard charge for an off-net call or SMS text and the call charge may include payment for the service accessed by the call.

‘ISPC’ means International Signalling Point Code

‘ITU-T’ means the International Telecommunications Union - Telecommunications.

‘ITU/TSB’ means the International Telecommunications Union - Telecommunications Standards Bureau.

‘Licence Regulations’ means the Regulations Setting Out Broadcasting and Telecommunications Service Licence Categories published in Government Gazette 4714, Notice No. 124 dated 18 May 2011, as amended from time to time.

‘Licensee Services’ means non-commercial services provided by a licensee to its customers to support the provision of telecommunications services e.g. Customer Care or fault reporting by dialling a ‘on-net’ short code.

‘Machine-to-Machine (M2M)’ means a call or data session that is initiated by a device, rather than the customer, to another device or automated answering service.

‘National Numbering Plan’ means the National Numbering Plan for the use in the provision of telecommunications services in the Republic of Namibia

‘Network Access’ means a short code used as a prefix by the customer at the start of the dialling sequence or added by the licensee’s network to ensure correct routing of a call.

‘NSPC’ means National Signalling Point Code

‘Number Portability’ means the ability of users of telecommunications services to retain, at the same location, existing telecommunications numbers without impairment of quality, reliability or convenience when switching from one carrier to another.

‘Numbering Resources’ means the prefixes, codes, short codes, numbers and numbering ranges specified in these regulations.

‘Off-net’ means calls that can originate and terminate or could originate and terminate on different networks. All numbers in these regulations are off-net unless explicitly stated to be on-net.

‘On-net’ means calls that originate and terminate on the same network.

‘Premium Rate’ means a call to service where the charge to the calling customer includes payment for the service accessed, normally in addition to standard call or SMS charges.

‘Reference Value’ means the fee per number equal to the monetary value set by the Authority to offset the cost incurred in respect of management of numbering resources as mandated by section 81 of the Act.

‘SANC’ means Signalling Area/Network Code

‘Short Codes’ means numbers with significantly fewer digits than customer numbers. They may be used as numbers in their own right or as prefixes to other numbers for some special purpose, normally call routing purposes.

‘Specially Tariffed Numbers’ means numbers where the calling customer pays a tariff that is different from the licensee’s standard call tariff

‘Third party service providers’ means service providers that may not be ECS or ENCS providers that offer value added services to telecommunications customers through the use of E.164 numbers

‘TIA’ means the Telecommunications Industry Association

‘USSD’ means Unstructured Supplementary Service Data

‘VSAT’ means Very Small Aperture Terminal

‘Virtual Telephone’ means services that are additional to and enhance a standard Voice or SMS service.

Purposes of the Regulations

  1. The purposes of these regulations are:

Submissions of documents to the Authority

  1. In these regulations ‘submit in writing to the Authority’ means either physically or electronically:

Applicability

  1. (1) These regulations apply to the application for and use of Namibian numbering resources by telecommunications services licensees.

Authorisation

  1. (1) Licensees may not trade in the rights to use numbering resources.

Exclusions

  1. (1) Internet names and addresses such as IP addresses and URIs are not part of the national numbering plan and are not governed by these regulations.

CHAPTER II

STRUCTURE OF THE NATIONAL NUMBERING PLAN

Structure of the National Numbering Plan

  1. (1) The numbering resources based on the initial leading digit is structured as follows:
Access PrefixUseTotal Number length (N[s]N)Notes
+International Access prefix
00 - National Access prefix
00 - International Access prefix
01-09 Reserved for future number plan expansion
-
Leading DigitUseTotal Number length (N[s]N)Notes
1Short Codes3 to 5 digits
2Reserved
3Reserved
4Reserved
5Reserved
660 - CDMA9 digitsNo further allocation to be made. The existing allocation will be withdrawn once the service ceases and the range will become reserved
612, 613, 614, 625, 632, 642, 644, 645, 652, 662, 672 and 673 Existing DID Services only9 digitsAllocations to be made for existing customers only. All new customer services to be assigned 86 numbers
All other rangesReserved
7Reserved
880 - FreeFone
81 - Electronic Communications
82 - Electronic Communications
83 - Electronic Communications
84 - Electronic Communications
85 - Electronic Communications
86 - Electronic Communications

87 - Higher Rate
88 - Virtual Telephone
89 - M2M
9 digits
9 digits
9 digits
9 digits
9 digits
9 digits
9 digits

9 digits
9 digits
12 digits
Fixed line, VSAT to be migrated to this number range







Includes ENUM services
9Short Codes3 to 5 digits

Short code categories

  1. (1) Short codes for voice services shall form part of the National Numbering Plan used for voice and related services and form part of the E.164 numbers but are not part of the International Numbering Plan

Use of short codes

  1. (1) Short codes starting with the digit 1 may be used for commercial, emergency and public services, licensee services and network access. They may consist of three to five digits.

Signalling point codes

  1. (1) The Authority shall manage the international signalling point codes (ISPCS) utilising the signalling area/network codes (SANCs) allocated to Namibia by the Telecommunication Standardization Bureau of the International Communications Union (TSB/ITU) in accordance with ITU-T recommendations. The Authority will adopt the procedures specified by the TSB/ITU from time to time in recommendation Q.708 or its successor recommendation(s).
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| N | M | L | K | J | I | H | G | F | E | D | C | B | A |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
|  3 bits   |            8 bits             |   3 bits  |
+-----------+-------------------------------+-----------+
|           |   Signalling area network     | Signalling|
|           |         code (SANC)           |   point   |
|           |                               |   ident.  |
+-----------+-------------------------------+-----------+
|      International signalling point code (ISPC)       |
+-------------------------------------------------------+

The binary code is represented by three (3) decimal numbers indicated as follows:

The combination of the fields containing bits NML and bits K-D is regarded as the Signalling Area/Network Code (SANC). The three (3) bits (CBA) identify a specific signalling point which when combined with the SANC forms the 14-bit ISPC (e.g. 2-068-1).

+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| N | M | L | K | J | I | H | G | F | E | D | C | B | A |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
|                        14 bits                        |
+-------------------------------------------------------+
|             National Signalling Point Code            |
+-------------------------------------------------------+

A single decimal number represents the binary code, which always consists of 4digits, 1000 to 9999.

Network codes

  1. (1) A licensee may use any scheme of network codes within its individual networks in accordance with ITU-T Recommendations provided such codes are used internally and are not used for public use or used for inter-network purposes, including identifying a signalling point between networks.

International carrier codes

  1. Licensees shall obtain and use an ITU Carrier Code (ICCs) in accordance with ITU-T Recommendation M.1400.

Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) Codes

  1. (1) Licensees shall use USSD codes in accordance with the standards GSM 02.90 Unstructured Supplementary Service Data - Stage 1 (customer initiated USSD) and GSM 03.90 Unstructured Supplementary Service Data - Stage 2 (network initiated USSD).

Transitional arrangements

  1. (1) Every licensee and third party service provider shall enable the introduction of the following changes to be effected in accordance with these regulations:
    • (a) immediately on the date on which these regulations become operative, the revocation of numbering resources allocated to licensees, but not in use by customers;
    • (b) within six (6) months of the date on which these regulations become operative, the revocation of the allocation of numbers and short codes that are in use by customers, but which the Authority has determined shall be withdrawn as contemplated in these regulations;
    • (c) within six (6) months of the date on which these regulations become operative, the replacement of the numbers and short codes to be withdrawn as contemplated in regulation 14(1)(b) of these regulations with new short codes and special tariffed numbers to be agreed upon between the Authority, the licensees and the third party providers (if any), and in the absence of such agreement within five months of the date on which these regulations become operative, to be determined by the Authority within fifteen (15) days of the expiry of such five (5) months;
    • (d) within six (6) months of the date on which these regulations become operative, the implementation of harmonised USSD codes in accordance with regulation 13 of these regulations. to be agreed upon between the Authority, licensees and third party service providers (if any), and in the absence of such agreement within five months of the date on which these regulations become operative, to be determined by the Authority within fifteen (15) days after the expiry of such five (5) months;
    • (e) within twelve (12) months of the date on which these regulations become operative, the migration of short codes, M2M services and numbers used for fixed line, VSAT services and any other numbers to the number ranges specified in these regulations.

CHAPTER III MANAGEMENT OF THE NUMBERING RESOURCES

Responsibilities of the Authority

  1. The Authority shall:
1 st DigitUseProposed Block Size
+International Access prefix
0National and International Escape digits
1Short CodesSingle Number
2N/A 1
3N/A
4N/A
5N/A
6Fixed-Line DID existing services only10,000
7N/A
8FreeFoneSingle numbers
8Electronic Communications (81,82,83,84,85)100,000
8M2M100,000
8Electronic Communications (86)10,000
8Higher Rate ServicesSingle numbers
8Virtual Telephone100
9Short CodesSingle numbers
Signalling, Network and Carrier CodesSingle codes

Licensees’ responsibilities and obligations

  1. (1) Licensees shall:
    • (a) register with the Authority, and maintain with the Authority current and correct details of the primary person, and up to two authorised agents, responsible within their organisation for all matters regulated by these regulations;

    • (b) accept that the allocation of numbering resources by the Authority to licensees only grants the right to use the allocated numbers according to and subject to the applicable legislation, and that no proprietary rights are granted thereby;

    • (c) only assign to their customers, and sub-allocate to third party service providers which are licence exempt, numbers from the national numbering plan which the Authority has allocated to them, and only in accordance with these regulations and terms and conditions attached to the allocation by the Authority;

    • (d) only use numbering resources allocated to them for the purposes specified in their application for such allocation;

    • (e) not use allocation of numbering resources (in general or specific allocations) to gain a competitive advantage;

    • (f) accept that were temporary allocations have been made for any reason, the numbers will be withdrawn at the end of the temporary period, and that for the service to continue the customers may need to undertake a number change;

    • (g) activate in their networks numbering resources allocated to another licensee within three (3) months of the licensee informing them of the allocation;

    • (h) route all calls dialled with a valid allocated number to the correct termination, including transferring ‘off-net’ calls to other networks when appropriate or necessary for the correct termination of the call. Where the routing occurs before the conclusion of an interconnection or commercial agreement, the terms and conditions of that agreement shall be applied retroactively once the agreement is concluded;

    • (i) route calls on the number of dialled digits defined in these regulations and suppress any additional digits dialled before the call is routed to the dialled number or other network;

    • (j) ensure that such end-users are able to call the emergency and public services free of charge using any and all of the designated short codes in these regulations and published on the website of the Authority;

    • (k) as soon as technically and economically practicable, make caller location information available to authorities and agencies receiving the emergency calls dialled using the short codes designated in these regulations;

    • (l) activate the numbering resources in their networks within six (6) months of the date on which the Authority allocated such resources to them, upon failure of which the licensees concerned shall immediately give written notice to the Authority of the un-activated numbers, whereupon the Authority shall immediately withdraw their allocation provisionally. The licensees concerned shall have the right to show good cause, if any, in writing to the Authority within fifteen (15) days of such provisional withdrawal (which fifteen (15) days may be extended in the discretion of the Authority on good cause shown) why the provisional withdrawal should not become final. Should the Authority decide that no such good cause has been shown, the provisional withdrawal shall become final;

    • (m) place a number in quarantine for a period of six (6) months when a number that has been in use is cancelled by a customer, or is recovered or replaced by the licensee, and during this period the number shall not be re-assigned to any customer other than the customer who had the right to use it immediately prior to the commencement of the quarantine period;

    • (n) maintain an accurate record of their assignment to customers, and suballocation to third party providers which are licence exempt, of the numbering resources which the Authority allocated to them, and express such numbers assigned and sub-allocated as a percentage of the total numbers allocated to them by the Authority, which total shall include those numbers in ‘quarantine’, ported to other licensees (if applicable), and numbers reserved for identified customers;

    • (o) submit to the Authority in writing on the last day of January of each year the information required by the Authority for its annual audit;

    • (p) submit to the Authority in writing the information requested by the Authority in writing for an ad hoc audit within fourteen (14) days of the date of such request;

    • (q) not use network - specific numbers or codes or private network telephone numbers that may cause interference with the national numbering plan in terms of these regulations or prevent or hinder the development of the national numbering plan in any way;

    • (r) ensure that the measures which have been agreed upon between all the licensees and the Authority (and in the absence of such agreement imposed by the Authority) to inform and support customers during and after the implementation of the changes to the national numbering plan contemplated in terms of these regulations;

    • (s) ensure that the terms and conditions of their agreements with their customers include a provision or provisions to the effect that the Authority may after a fair hearing withdraw the numbers assigned by the licensees to their customers;

    • (t) recognise that the Authority may, amend, add to or repeal any of the above regulations where the needs of the national or telecommunications industry or the users of telecommunications services require same.

Eligibility to apply for numbering resources

  1. Only duly licenced providers of telecommunications services may apply for and be allocated numbering resources.

Applications for allocation of numbering resources

  1. (1) A licensee intending to offer services requiring a number or a number range as stipulated in the national numbering plan must submit to the Authority in writing an application, in accordance with the prescribed form annexure ‘A’ hereto made available by the Authority, for the allocation of a number or a block of numbers.

Criteria for the assessment of applications for an allocation of numbering resources

  1. (1) The Authority shall in assessing applications for the allocation of numbering resources take the following into consideration:

    • (a) whether the proposed utilisation of the numbers conform with these regulations;
    • (b) whether the proposed use of the numbers conform with national and international regulations, recommendations and standards;
    • (c) whether there are numbering resources available for the proposed use of the numbers or should additional sources be made available;
    • (d) whether the applicant complied with the minimum utilisation of numbering resources already allocated to the applicant for the same of similar purposes, which minimum utilisation is as follows:
    1 st DigitUseRequired Utilisation
    +International Access prefix
    0National and International Escape digits
    1Short Codes100%
    2N/A
    3N/A
    4N/A
    5N/A
    6Fixed-Line DID for existing services only70%
    7N/A
    8FreeFone100%
    Electronic Communications (81,82, 83,84, 85, 86)70%
    M2M70%
    Higher Rate Services100%
    Virtual Telephone100%
    9Short Codes100%
    Signalling, Network and Carrier Codes100%
    • (e) whether the licensee’s utilisation of pervious allocations to the licensee of numbering resources complied with:
      • (i) the general terms and/or conditions of use of numbering resources in terms of these regulations;
      • (ii) any specific terms and/or conditions imposed by the Authority to previous allocations of numbering resources to the licensee.

Transfer of licences and transfer of control of licences

  1. (1) A licensee may apply in writing to the Authority in accordance with the prescribed form, annexure ‘B’ hereto, to transfer numbering resources allocated to the licensee or control thereover.

Withdrawal of number licences

  1. (1) A licensee which intends to discontinue permanently providing the service in accordance with its licence and the numbering resources allocated to it pursuant thereto, must submit to the Authority a written application to withdraw the numbering resources allocated to it in accordance with the attached prescribed form, annexure ‘C’ hereto.

Application procedures

  1. (1) The Authority must give notice in the Government Gazette of any application made in terms of these regulations, inviting the public to submit written comments regarding the application to the Authority within a time stated in the notice which shall not be less than fourteen days of the date of such publication thereof.

Confidentiality of licensee’s information

  1. (1) Any licensee providing information or documentation to the Authority may designate information therein as confidential, provided however that, if the Authority is of the opinion that the information is not confidential, it must inform the licensee that it may withdraw the information, or agree that it will not be treated as confidential, or request a hearing on the issue of confidentiality to be conducted in terms of section 28 of the Act.

Reservation of numbering resources

  1. The Authority may, at its sole discretion, reserve one or more numbers or blocks of numbers for any reason, including but not limited to anticipation of future application(s) of licensee(s).

Notification of number activation or de-activation

  1. (1) The Authority shall in writing notify the licensee making an application of its decision regarding any application for the allocation or withdrawal of numbering resources. A brief summary of the reasons shall be provided with the notification.

Duration of number licences

  1. (1) Unless otherwise specified in the Authority’s decision on a number licence application, all allocations shall last until the end of the licence period of the licensee, and shall be automatically extended, if the licence is renewed or extended, until the end of the renewal or extended period of the licence, subject to regulations 15, 16 and 38 of these regulations.

the Authority may by written notice to the licensee notify such licensee that it intends to cancel such licensee’s number licence and state in such notice the grounds for such intended action.

Applications for ITU-T numbering resources

  1. (1) ITU-T numbering resources include:
    • (a) signalling area network codes;
    • (b) international carrier codes;
    • (c) mobile network country codes; and
    • (d) data network country codes.

ENUM

  1. (1) The Authority shall be the only Namibian organisation permitted to apply to the ITU-T and/or AFRINIC for the delegation of the 264.arpa domain.

CHAPTER IV PROCEDURAL MATTERS

Oral hearings

  1. If the Authority considers it necessary or appropriate, it shall in addition hear oral submissions in respect of any application, which hearing shall be conducted in accordance with the regulations regarding hearings published in Government Gazette No 5037, Notice No 310 dated 13 September 2012.

Condonation

  1. (1) The Authority may on written application to it, on good cause shown extend any time limit in terms of these regulations or set by the Authority itself in accordance with these regulations, provided the application is submitted to the Authority seven days prior to the expiry of the time limit claimed to be extended.

Record of proceedings

  1. (1) All documents deemed relevant by the Authority to the application proceedings contemplated in these regulations, including information and documentation provided in terms of these regulations and decisions made by the Authority, must be maintained by the Authority separately for each application in files located at the head office of the Authority and, if practicable, on the website of the Authority.

Publication of licensing decisions and licences

  1. (1) All decisions in terms of these regulations will be communicated in writing to the applicants and other relevant parties together with reasons, and may be published in the Government Gazette if the Authority so determines.

Reconsideration

  1. (1) The Authority may of its own motion reconsider any decision made by it in terms of these regulations within the time limit set out in section 31 of the Act.

CHAPTER V AUDIT OF THE USE OF NUMBERING RESOURCES

Objective of audit

  1. (1) The Authority will conduct audits of the utilisation by licensees of numbering resources:
    • (a) to confirm that licensees utilise the numbering resources allocated to them efficiently;
    • (b) to confirm that licensees utilise the numbering resources allocated to them for the purposes specified in these regulations;
    • (c) to confirm that only numbering resources allocated to licensees are in use;
    • (d) to confirm the accuracy of the respective records of the licensees and the Authority;
    • (e) to facilitate planning of the utilisation of numbering resources;
    • (f) to perform the obligations of the Authority owing to the ITU-T of monitoring the utilisation of international numbering resources; and
    • (g) to attend to any other matter relating to the utilisation and management of numbering resources.

Audit methods

  1. (1) The Authority shall for each audit select and use one or more of the following methods depending on the objectives of the specific audit:
    • (a) a desk based audit that requires licensees to complete and submit a written return to the Authority responding to specific questions asked by the Authority;

    • (b) a ‘walk through’ of the procedures of the licensee that requires the licensee to explain In person to the Authority the internal procedures that the licensee is using to ensure compliance with these regulations, and by which the licensee shall provide the authority with supporting documentary evidence of such procedures and their use as determined by the Authority;

    • (c) a visit to the premises of the licensee by the duly authorised inspectors of the Authority in terms of sections 123 and 125 of the Act to examine on a representative sampling basis the numbering resources of the licensee;

    • (d) the Authority making calls to numbers on a representative sampling basis to ascertain whether they are in service, and if they are in service, the purpose for which they are being used;

    • (e) any other method the Authority believes is appropriate to achieve the objective of a specific audit.

Frequency of audit

  1. (1) The Authority shall undertake in September of each year a general desk based audit with the objectives of assessing utilisation by licensees of numbering resources allocated to them in and during the year which ended the end of March of that year, and estimating the likely future demand for numbering resources.

Content of annual audit return

  1. Unless the Authority notifies licensees before the end of August of any year of alternative information requirements, licensees must provide the Authority before the end of October of each year with the following information as at 30 September of that year:

CHAPTER VI FEES

Timetable for payment of fees

  1. (1) By the end of December each year the Authority shall notify each licensee of the chargeable fee that they must pay to the Authority for the use of the numbering resources allocated to them as at the end of September of that year.

Calculation of fees

  1. ( 1 ) The Authority shall calculate the fees payable for the use of numbering resources that compensate for the management costs of the numbering plan and the control of its use.

    • (a) based on its own records and the analysis of the annual audit returns, the Authority shall calculate the total quantity of numbers with a given number of digits assigned to each Licensee, including assigned numbers that are to be withdrawn but remain allocated on the date the Authority undertakes the calculation. These totals shall be aggregated to give the total quantity of assigned numbers for each number length.
    • (b) the Authority shall calculate the chargeable fee per Licensee based on the ‘chargeable quantity of numbers’ by applying a weighting to the totals, to reflect the value of shorter numbers, using the following table:
    3 Digit Numbers= 1,000,000
    4 Digit Numbers= 100,000
    5 Digit Numbers= 10,000
    6 Digit Numbers= 1,000
    7 Digit Numbers= 100
    8 Digit Numbers= 10
    9 Digit Numbers= 1
    • (c) The chargeable fee for short codes with a number length of three (3) to five(5) digits will be divided by the number of licensees that have implemented the same short code.
    • (d) The Authority will not impose a chargeable fee on a short code designated as an emergency number by the Authority at its sole discretion and as published on the Authority’s website
    • (e) the reference value is set by the Authority.
    • (f) The reference value for the purpose of this regulation is set at 1 Namibian Dollar (N$1.00) and may be reviewed by the Authority at least every three (3) years

CHAPTER VII INTEREST AND PENALTIES

Penalties for non-compliance

  1. (1) Any licensee who fails to comply with the requirements and obligations contained in these regulations or fails to submit documents and/or information as required to be submitted by these regulations shall be guilty of contravening these regulations.

CHAPTER VIII REVIEW AND REVISION OF THE REGULATIONS

Review and revision of regulations

  1. (1) The Authority shall review these regulations at least every three years.

F. KISHI
CHAIRPERSON OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
COMMUNICATIONS REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF NAMIBIA

ANNEXURE A: - Form CRAN12 Application Form: Number Licence

In terms of Regulation 4 of the Regulations regarding the National Numbering Plan for the Use in the Provision of Telecommunications Services in the Republic of Namibia, Numbering Licence Fees and procedures for Number Licences, any telecommunications service licensee intending to use numbers to provide telecommunications services is required to complete this application form for assignment of a number or block of numbers by the Authority.

After completing the form, sign it and submit it to the Authority as required by Regulation 18.

A. LICENSEE

Applicant
ID or Registration Number of Licensee

B. CONTACT PERSON

Contact Person
Physical Address
Postal Address
Telephone number(s)
Facsimile number(s)
Electronic mail address(es)

C. OWNERSHIP INTERESTS

Owner NamePercentage of OwnershipNationality of Owner

D. NUMBER CATEGORIES

  1. Identify the number category applied for according to intended service to be provided and indicate whether it is a new assignment or an additional assignment.
Number CategoryNewAssignmentAdditional Assignment
Short Codes
Fixed-Line DID existing services only
FreeFone
Electronic Communications (81, 82, 83, 84, 85)
Machine-to-Machine (M2M)
Electronic Communications ( 86)
Higher Rate Services
Virtual Telephone

Please note that numbers as assigned according to the following block sizes

Number CategoryBlock Size
i. Short CodesSingle Numbers
ii. Fixed-Line DID existing services onlyNumber blocks of 10,000
iii. FreeFoneSingle Numbers
iv. Electronic Communications (81,83, 85)Number Blocks of 100,000
v. Machine-to-MachineNumber Blocks of 100,000
vi. Electronic Communications (86)Number Blocks of 10,000
vii. Higher Rate ServicesSingle Numbers
viii. Virtual TelephoneNumber Blocks of 100
  1. Identify ITU-T numbering resource applied for and indicate whether it is a new assignment or an additional assignment. (Attach IUT-T application form)
Other Numbering ResourcesNewAssignmentAdditional Assignment
International Signalling Point Code (ISPC)
National Signalling Point Code (NSPC)
International Carrier Code (ICC)

E. TECHNICAL PORTION

(Please complete the relevant parts as per numbering resources applied for)

  1. Identify the type of telecommunications service licence for which the number licence is applied for:

Individual

Class Comprehensive ECS & ECNS

Class ECNS

Class ECS

Class Non-Profit ECNS

Class Non-Profit ECS

  1. Indicate the planned in-service date for numbers (DD/MM/YYYY):
  2. Set out a concise, but complete and accurate, statement of the services intended to be provided using the number/s applied for:
  3. If the application is submitted for additional blocks of numbers please provide the utilisation of current number blocks assigned for the same number category stating percentage of usage.

F. ANY OTHER INFORMATION

Provide any other information you believe might be relevant to the Authority in considering this application.

PLEASE NOTE:

Signed by _______________________________ at _________________________ in his/her capacity as _________________________________, duly authorised and warranting such authority and warranting that the information provided herein is true and correct, on the _____________ day of ____________, 20.


Signature

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OR RECEIPT BY CRAN

Name

Date

Place

Signature

ANNEXURE B: - Form CRAN13

Application Form: Transfer of Licences and Transfer of Control of Licences -Number Licence

In terms of Regulation 20 of the Regulations regarding the National Numbering Plan for the Use in the Provision of Telecommunications Services in the Republic of Namibia, Numbering Licence Fees and procedures for Number Licences, any telecommunications service licensee intending to transfer its number licence or transfer control of its number licence must submit an application to the Authority on this form.

After completing the form, sign it and submit it to the Authority as required by Regulation 20.

A. LICENCE

Contact Person (full and official names)
Physical Address
Postal Address
Telephone Number(s)
Facsimile Number(s)
Electronic Mail Address(es)
Transferee
ID or Registration Number of Transferee

Set out details of the licence and attached a copy of the licence

Licence Type

Licence Number

Licensee

ID or Registration Number of Licensee

C. CONTACT PERSON

Contact Person (full and official names)

Physical Address

Postal Address

Telephone Number(s)

Facsimile Number(s)

Electronic Mail Address(es)

D. TRANSFEREE

Set out details of the Transferee’s licence and attach a copy of the licence

Transferee

ID or Registration Number of Transferee

E. CONTACT PERSON

Contact Person (full and official names)

Physical Address

Postal Address

Telephone Number(s)

Facsimile Number(s)

Electronic Mail Address(es)

F. OWNERSHIP INTERESTS

Owner NamePercentage OwnershipNationality of Owner

G. FOREIGN OWNERSHIP DETAILS

Provide full details regarding foreign ownership interests in the licensee, if any

H. REASONS FOR THE PROPOSED TRANSFER

Set out a concise but complete and accurate, statement of the reasons for the proposed transfer or transfer of control.

I. ANY OTHER INFORMATION

Provide any other information you believe might be relevant to the Authority in considering this application.

PLEASE NOTE:

Signed by _______________________________ at _________________________ in his/her capacity as _________________________________, duly authorised and warranting such authority and warranting that the information provided herein is true and correct, on the _____________ day of ____________, 20.


Signature

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OR RECEIPT BY CRAN

Name
Date
Place
Signature

ANNEXURE C: - Form CRAN14

Application Form: Withdrawal of Number Licence

In terms of Regulation 21 of the Regulations regarding the National Numbering Plan for the Use in the Provision of Telecommunications Services in the Republic of Namibia, Numbering Licence Fees and procedures for Number Licences, any telecommunications service licensee intending to withdraw numbering resources allocated to it must submit an application to the Authority on this form.

After completing the form, sign it and submit it to the Authority as required by Regulation 21.

A. LICENCE

Set out details of the licence and attached a copy of the licence

Licence Type

Licence Number

Licensee

ID or Registration Number of Licensee

C. CONTACT PERSON

Contact Person (full and official names)

Physical Address

Postal Address

Telephone Number(s)

Facsimile Number(s)

Electronic Mail Address(es)

D. NUMBER LICENCE/S TO BE WITHDRAWN

  1. Identify the single number or block of numbers to be withdrawn as per number category.
Number CategorySingle number/Block of Numbers
Short Codes
Fixed-Line DID for existing services only
FreeFone
Electronic Communications (81, 82, 83, 84, 85)
Machine-to-Machine (M2M)
Electronic Communications (86)
Higher Rate Services
Virtual Telephone

Please note that numbers may be withdrawn according to the following block sizes

Number CategoryBlock Size
i. Short CodesSingle Numbers
ii. Fixed-Line DID existing services onlyNumber blocks of 10,000
iii. FreeFoneSingle Numbers
iv. Electronic Communications (81,82, 83,84,85)Number Blocks of 100,000
v. Machine-to-MachineNumber Blocks of 100,000
vi. Electronic Communications (86)Number Blocks of 10,000
vii. Higher Rate ServicesSingle Numbers
viii. Virtual TelephoneNumber Blocks of 100

E. REASONS FOR PROPOSED WITHDRAWAL

Set out a concise, but complete and accurate, statement of the reasons for the proposed withdrawal.

F. DATE OF DISCONTINUATION

Set out the date the licensee intends to permanently discontinue providing services.

G. FEES

Indicate whether the licensee has paid all the fees payable to the Authority in relation to the number licence.

H. ANY OTHER INFORMATION

Provide any other information you believe might be relevant to the Authority in considering this application.

PLEASE NOTE:

Signed by _______________________________ at _________________________ in his/her capacity as _________________________________, duly authorised and warranting such authority and warranting that the information provided herein is true and correct, on the _____________ day of ____________, 20.


Signature

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OR RECEIPT BY CRAN

Name
Date
Place
Signature