Licensing

The Uganda Communications Commission's statutory mandate covers telecommunications, broadcasting, radio communication, postal communications, data communication and infrastructure.

Captured from the official UCC page itself.

Uganda's technology-neutral licensing framework (introduced 2019/2020 under the Uganda Communications (Licensing) Regulations, 2019) replaced the earlier PIP/PSP classes with principal categories including National Telecom Operator (NTO), National Public Service Provider (NPSP), Regional Public Service Provider (RPSP) and Regional Public Infrastructure Provider (RPIP), plus authorisations for capacity resale and value-added services.

Framework legal basis now T1-anchored (UCC licensing page: categories established under ss.5,6,21,22,24,25 + Regulations). The principal-class enumeration (NTO/NPSP/RPSP/RPIP, resale/VAS) still rests on the Tier-3 guide; the definitive 'Description of Telecom Licenses and Authorizations' document - now located, linked from the captured UCC page - remains uncaptured. Upgrade path: fetch that document. | r10 upgrade: official UCC licence-class descriptions PDF (T1, captured 2026-09-22) enumerates the principal categories.

Infrastructure companies building data-centre assets for use by licensed operators fall within UCC's licensing regime and must apply for the matching licence class.

Statutory anchor improved: s.22 verbatim via the regulator's own page ('a person shall not ... construct, maintain or operate telecommunications apparatus without a licence'); UCC mandate explicitly covers data communication and infrastructure. The 'matching licence class' mapping for data-centre assets remains Tier-3-interpreted pending the Description document. Upgrade path: fetch that document; also check Raxio's regulatory disclosures.

UCC licence applications require Ugandan legal personality, a physical business address, a Tax Identification Number with tax clearance, and demonstrated financial and technical capacity (business/technical plans, audited financials or capitalisation proof).

Single Tier-3 guide referencing the official UCC requirements document; instrument capture-pending.

RURA Regulation No 013/R/EC-ICT/RURA/2021 of 25/02/2021 governs licensing in Rwanda's electronic communications sector and came into force on the day of its publication in the Official Gazette.

Full official PDF captured (59pp): 'Article 48: Commencement - This regulation comes into force on the day of its publication in the official gazette'; signed Kigali 25/02/2021 (Dr Ignace Gatare, Chairperson of the Regulatory Board).

The Regulation issues licences in three categories - network infrastructure, network services, and application services (Art. 9) - through three types: individual licences (issued by auction to a National Telecommunication Operator), standard licences, and general authorisations (Art. 6-8).

Verbatim from captured text: 'The Regulatory Authority issues the licenses to operators who provide the following services: 1. Network infrastructure; 2. Network services; and 3. Application services.'

Data centres are an explicitly named licence class in Rwanda: under Annex One Category 3 (Application Service Providers), a data centre not holding an ISP or NTO licence pays USD 100 application / USD 2,000 licence fee on a standard 5-year licence (facility Tiers One and Two), or USD 1,000 / USD 10,000 on a standard 15-year licence (facility Tiers Three and Four and plus).

The claim Uganda's dataset could not yet verify at Tier 1 (cf. UG-LC-C3, on publication hold). Rwanda's regulator names data centres in the fee schedule with tier-differentiated pricing. Operator-material: ADC Kigali KGL1 and any future Rwanda records fall here. Fee amounts as printed in the captured PDF; re-verify against current RURA schedule before advising on costs.

Network Infrastructure Provider licensees must own, operate or provide any form of active or passive physical infrastructure used for carrying or providing services, applications and content (Art. 10).

Verbatim captured. Context for colocation/interconnection analysis: passive infrastructure (ducts, dark fibre) sits inside the licensed scope.

The Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority Act of 2003 established TCRA as the converged independent regulator for the postal, broadcast and communications sectors, with a convergence licensing framework and responsibility for licensing operators.

Bowmans analysis (T2) + TCRA's own live register (T1, two distinct publishers). Convergence-licensing model: one regulator, category-based licences.

The Electronic and Postal Communications Act of 2010 (EPOCA) provides the comprehensive regulatory regime for electronic communications service providers and postal communications service providers in Tanzania.

Statute text now captured: CIPIT full-text reproduction (T2, incl. Arrangement of Sections and Part II(a) Licensing headings) alongside Bowmans EA data-infrastructure analysis (T2) - two independent publishers covering the comprehensive-regime structure. Editorial review (delegated, 2026-09-22): verified. Official-mirror capture (oagmis/tanzlii) would re-tier the statute source to T1.

TCRA maintains a public, searchable register of licensed providers and certificates, organised by sector (Broadcasting / Postal & Courier / Telecommunications & Internet / Other / Security), with each entry carrying a licence categorisation and a typed licence number (e.g. class licence TCRA/CSRBFACL/01/2026, issued 2026-09-10).

T1 register captured (T1 source suffices under the validator rule). No data-centre-named licence category was found in the framework descriptions captured - unlike Rwanda's RURA Annex One Cat. 3. Recorded as an explicit gap below, NOT claimed as a definitive negative; TCRA register CSV download is the upgrade path.

The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) is the converged regulator for Kenya's communications sector, licensing operators under published licensing procedures, with licensees carrying secondary number-assignment obligations to end users.

CA's own licensing-procedures page (T1) + Bowmans EA data-infrastructure analysis (T2) - two distinct publishers. Class-level enumeration (NFP/ASP tiers, any DC-specific class) is a structured gap pending the CA instrument.

Kenya's Unified Licensing Framework contains no data-centre-specific licence category: co-location data centres are licensed under the Network Facilities Provider - Tier 2 category of the Revised Telecommunications Market Structure (gazetted 6 March 2026).

r13 registration (editor instruction 'Work on the data set', 2026-09-24; humanGate delegation conditional on verification, r11/r12 precedent). Verified under 'two independent corroborating sources': CDH law-firm alert (T2) - 'the ULF Annex III licence table names Network Facilities Provider - Tier 2 as the category under which data centres are licensed'; Techafricanews (T3) - 'instead of regulating co-location data centres under the existing Network Facilities Provider-Tier 2 licence category'; w.media (T3) - 'As it stands, these operators are licensed under the Network Facilities Provider-Tier 2 (NFP-T2) category'. Single-source detail (CDH T2, upgrade path = capture the Annex III instrument): NFP-Tier 1 holders may rely on that nationwide infrastructure licence to operate a commercial data centre without an additional licence. r14 T1 upgrade (2026-09-24): primary instrument text now held and read in full (ca-dc-licensing-framework-2026, captured via Context.dev after the ca.go.ke JS challenge was diagnosed as route-specific). Standing humanGate delegation applies (r11-r13 precedent). Consultation document para 7 confirms verbatim: 'Under the current telecommunications market structure, co-location data centre operators are licensed under the Network Facilities Provider (NFP) - Tier 2 (NFP-T2) licence category.' DISCREPANCY FLAG (open, not reconciled): instrument para 6 dates the current market structure 'revised in April 2026' while the held T2 (CDH alert) says gazetted 6 March 2026 - possible gazette/revision date vs effective-date mismatch; Kenya Law gazette route open to resolve. Statement gazette date retained from T2 until the gazette text is captured.

On 8 September 2026 the Communications Authority of Kenya published a public notice opening a 30-day comment window on a proposal to introduce a standalone data centre licence category for co-location data centre operators, replacing the Network Facilities Provider - Tier 2 treatment.

r13 registration (same delegation). Verified under 'two independent corroborating sources' (T2 + two T3s). CA notice rationale quoted via w.media: 'provide regulatory clarity, enhance visibility over data centre operations, support investment in digital infrastructure, and align Kenya's framework with proportionate approaches adopted in comparable jurisdictions'. Coverage per the notice: 'entities that provide colocation data centre services, including the attendant supporting services'. Basis per CDH: co-location operators provide hosting, power, cooling and storage infrastructure rather than telecommunications services. Single-source detail (w.media): implementation planned for the 2027/2028 financial year. Upgrade path: capture the CA public notice itself (ca.go.ke open-consultations JS-blocked 2026-09-24). Proposal-stage claim: may change or lapse during/after consultation. r14 T1 upgrade (2026-09-24): primary instrument text now held and read in full (ca-dc-licensing-framework-2026, captured via Context.dev after the ca.go.ke JS challenge was diagnosed as route-specific). Standing humanGate delegation applies (r11-r13 precedent). Instrument executive summary confirms verbatim: 'This consultation document proposes a standalone licence category for co-location data centre operators rather than placing co-location data centres under the Network Facilities Provider -Tier 2 licence category.' Scope confirmed: entities providing co-location data centre services 'including the attendant supporting services'. Rationale confirmed: regulatory visibility over critical digital infrastructure while avoiding over-application of NFP licensing requirements; competitive edge and investment attraction (paras 12-13). The regulator's own Open Consultations page (captured same day) carries the notice with submission channels and links the instrument.

The CA's proposed standalone data centre licence carries a proposed fee schedule: KSh 5,000 application fee, KSh 100,000 initial fee, and an annual operating fee of KSh 80,000 or 0.4 percent of gross annual turnover, whichever is higher.

r13 registration (editor instruction 'Work on the data set', 2026-09-24). r14 upgrade (2026-09-24): primary instrument text now held and read in full (ca-dc-licensing-framework-2026, captured via Context.dev after the ca.go.ke JS challenge was diagnosed as route-specific). Standing humanGate delegation applies (r11-r13 precedent). Instrument para 16 confirms the schedule verbatim: 'Application fees - KShs.5,000; Initial fees - KShs.100,000; Annual Operating License fees - KShs. 80,000 or 0.4 per cent of the Annual Gross turnover, whichever is higher'; w.media T3 figures confirmed exact. Instrument additionally specifies licence term of 15 years (para 16(d)) and USF contribution at 0.5 percent of Annual Gross Revenue per section 84J(3) KICA Cap 411A (para 18) - held in note, not added to the statement scope. PROPOSAL-STAGE CAVEAT RETAINED: these are proposed fees tabled for consultation and may change before the framework is finalised (roadmap targets FY2026/2027 finalisation).

The CA's proposal permits entities that already hold Network Facilities Provider (NFP) or Application Service Provider (ASP) licences to establish and operate data centres without obtaining the proposed standalone data centre licence.

r14 registration (2026-09-24, standing humanGate delegation, T1 read in full). Verified on the primary instrument alone per the status vocabulary ('primary or two independent corroborating sources'): para 17 verbatim - 'Entities that have Network Facility Provider (NFP) or Application Service Provider (ASP) licences shall be permitted to establish and operate data centres without the need for a data centre licence.' Scope note: the exemption is part of the consultation proposal, not yet enacted; it materially narrows who the standalone licence would bind (incumbent NFP/ASP holders establishing their own facilities).

The CA's proposed roadmap targets finalisation of the data centre licensing framework and a consequential revision of the telecommunications market structure in FY2026/2027, with implementation of the licensing framework in FY2027/2028.

r14 registration (2026-09-24, standing humanGate delegation, T1 read in full). Verified on the primary instrument: para 19 + Table 1 rows 1-5 (framework FY2026/2027; public consultation FY2026/2027; finalisation FY2026/2027; consequential revision of the telecommunications market structure FY2026/2027; implementation FY2027/2028). Confirms the FY2027/2028 implementation timing previously held on w.media alone (T3, KE-LC-C4 note). The 'consequential revision' row corroborates that the market-structure change stripping NFP-T2 of data centres follows framework finalisation, not the consultation itself.