Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. Malawi spans over 118,484 km2 (45,747 sq mi) and has an estimated population of 18,091,575 (as of July 2016). Lake Malawi takes up about a third of Malawi's area. Its capital is Lilongwe, which is also Malawi's largest city; the second largest is Blantyre, the third largest is Mzuzu and the fourth largest is its old capital Zomba. The name Malawi comes from the Maravi, an old name of the Nyanja people that inhabit the area. The country is nicknamed “The Warm Heart of Africa” because of the friendliness of the people. Read more

The Malawi Communications Act 1998 later revised to Communications Act 2016 and the E-Transactions Act 2016, provide the framework for regulating the communications sector in Malawi. The Act was enacted to strengthen the Postal and Telecommunications and to provide for the regulation of the provision of services in the electronic communications sector, posts, information society; for the establishment of the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority, the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation and the Malawi Posts Corporation; and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

The Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) was established pursuant to Section 3 of the Communications Act, 1998 of the Laws of Malawi to regulate the country’s communications sector. MACRA now draws its mandate from the Communications Act of 2016 to regulate and monitor the provision of communications services and ensure that, as far as it is practicable, reliable and affordable communications services are provided throughout Malawi.

Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority Strategic Plan is envisaged for implementation between 2015-2020 in fulfillment of MACRA’s mandate to facilitate the development of the ICT sector through efficient and effective regulation and research.

The legal frameworks are supported by the following Policy; Malawi ICT Policy 2013 National Access to Information Policy The Malawi Digital Broadcasting Policy Doha 2012-13 Postal Strategy

Introduction

Section 18, Section 36, Section 47 and Section 61 of the Communications Act confers upon MACRA the mandate to issue Licences, therefore any person may person apply to MACRA for licence under the Act:

Telecommunication Service Licences

The telecommunication market is segmented into various sub-categories such as Fixed, Cellular, Internet Service Providers (ISP), Satellite and Data etc. Other segments of the market are competitive while the others are still non-competitive. In non-competitive market the number of players is restricted. In the competitive market there is no limit on the number of players. The competitive markets are Internet Service Providers, Data service providers and paging services. The Fixed telephone services and cellular service are currently non-competitive, the Authority will determine the licensing procedure on a case by case in future.

Spectrum Licences

Spectrum Management is essential for maintaining access to radio spectrum to all users. The office of SM is responsible for the frequency planning; coordinating allocations assignments, regulating and administering of the use of radio frequencies; and the monitoring and enforcement procedures.

It is further responsible for establishing regulations, frequency fees structure, technical parameters and standards governing the use of each band ensuring that current international regulations are met.

Spectrum Licence Categories

The following categories of licences are issued in terms of spectrum usage and service provision.

GSM 900 / 1800 MHz.

CDMA 450 / 850 MHz.

Fixed Links (2/6/7/12/13/14/18/23/28 GHz e.t.c.)

HF Services (3 – 30 MHz)

Private Mobile Radio – PMR

Aeronautical – AERO

Industrial, Scientific & Medical – ISM

Sound broadcasting – FM

Television Broadcasting – VHF/UHF

Amateur Services – AMR

Centralized Alarm Services – CRA

VSAT Services – VSAT / SOHO

Broadband Services – ISP Spectrum

Paging Services – PG

3G/ UMTS Services

Postal Licences

Postal services are part and parcel of communications services in Malawi just like elsewhere in the world. They are therefore included in the Authority’s mandate to license, monitor, inspect, regulate and ensure general improvement and equitable distribution of communications services in the country; in accordance with the provisions of the Communications Act of 1998. Hence this Act requires all operators in the Malawian postal sector to obtain an Operator’s Licence issued by the Authority.

MACRA Licence Fees

The Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) charges the following licence fees for telecommunications and radio spectrum.

This categorisation and accompanying licence fees are reviewed from time to time.

Click on the link to view the license fee structure and download:

CLF Licence Application Fees

Spectrum Fee Schedule April 2017

License Application Forms

Our application forms are currently being reviewed and will be uploaded soon. For other licensing categories please download them here or follow the link below:

Converged Licensing Framework

This could be used to frame specific questions that should be asked

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