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UCC not behind Wi-Fi hotspot arrests – Nyombi
In an exclusive interview with Bukedde TV on October 5, Nyombi said that the recent arrests and seizures did not originate from the regulator.
Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) executive director Thembo Nyombi. (Courtesy photo)
By: Ali Twaha, Journalist @New Vision
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The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) is not behind the ongoing police crackdown on public Wi-Fi hotspot businesses, and is instead fast-tracking a licensing framework to bring operators under regulatory control, executive director Thembo Nyombi has said.
In an exclusive interview with Bukedde TV on October 5, Nyombi said that the recent arrests and seizures did not originate from the regulator. He said licensed internet service providers had lodged complaints with police after unauthorised operators interfered with their networks and infrastructure.
“The recent crackdown that I heard about is not coming from UCC, but the owners of the business must have seen behaviour where some people are interfering with their business yet they are not authorised. They had to lodge their complaints with the police,” he said.
Police have in recent days targeted unauthorised Wi-Fi resellers in Kasangati, Kawaala, Kasubi and Kawempe, confiscating routers, cables, boosters and other equipment. Operators have been accused of selling public internet without approval and, in some cases, attaching cables and devices to poles and other infrastructure belonging to licensed providers.
“The recent crackdown that I heard about is not coming from UCC, but the owners of the business must have seen behaviour where some people are interfering with their business yet they are not authorised. They had to lodge their complaints with the police,” he said.
Police have in recent days targeted unauthorised Wi-Fi resellers in Kasangati, Kawaala, Kasubi and Kawempe, confiscating routers, cables, boosters and other equipment. Operators have been accused of selling public internet without approval and, in some cases, attaching cables and devices to poles and other infrastructure belonging to licensed providers.
The clarification comes months after UCC, on July 7, announced nationwide enforcement against illegal public Wi-Fi services. Following a meeting with the Alliance of Hotspot Operators Uganda in mid-July, the commission later directed its teams to slow enforcement so it could study the business models before deciding how the sector should be regulated. Nyombi said that pause remains in place.
“We already know what they are doing, and I will be informing them in the next two weeks what we shall be doing,” he said. “But what they should prepare for is that you cannot do this job without a licence. All the routers and switches have to be inspected.”
UCC has maintained that offering public communications services requires authorisation under the Uganda Communications Act, and that equipment attached to existing networks must not interfere with licensed infrastructure.
“We already know what they are doing, and I will be informing them in the next two weeks what we shall be doing,” he said. “But what they should prepare for is that you cannot do this job without a licence. All the routers and switches have to be inspected.”
UCC has maintained that offering public communications services requires authorisation under the Uganda Communications Act, and that equipment attached to existing networks must not interfere with licensed infrastructure.