Ministerial Order determining Radio Communications License Fees

Citation
Ministerial Order 1 of 2022
Date
23 May 2022
Language
English
Type
Legislation
Rwanda

Ministerial Order determining Radio Communications License Fees

Ministerial Order 1 of 2022

The Minister of Information, Communication, Technology and Innovation;Pursuant to the Constitution of the Republic of Rwanda of 2003 revised in 2015, especially in Articles 121, 122 and 176;Pursuant to Law n° 24/2016 of 18/06/2016 governing Information and Communication Technologies, especially in Article 20;Having reviewed Ministerial Decree n° 03/RURA/2005 of 14/07/2005 determining fees for radio communications licenses;After consideration and approval by the Cabinet, in its meeting of 19/02/2021;ORDERS:

Chapter One
General provisions

Article One – Purpose of this order

This Order determines payable fees by a holder of radio communications license in order to promote economic growth and effective management of frequency spectrum in Rwanda.

Article 2 – Definitions

In this Order, the following terms are defined as follows:1°mobile service: radio communication service between mobile and land stations or between mobile stations;2°mobile station: station in the mobile service intended to be used while in motion or during halts at unspecified points;3°fixed station: a station in a fixed service;4°occupied bandwidth: the width of a frequency band such that, below the lower and above the upper frequency limits, the mean powers emitted are each equal to a specified percentage β/2 of the total mean power of a given emission;Unless otherwise specified in an ITU-R Recommendation for the appropriate class of emission, the value of β/2 should be taken as 0.5%;5°Regulatory Authority: national organ in charge of regulation of certain public utilities.

Chapter II
License fees

Article 3 – Payable fees

A holder of a radio communication license pays the following fees:1°fee for evaluation of the application of a license;2°annual fee related to the use of radio frequency channel.

Article 4 – Licence and renewal application fees

Fees for evaluation of an application file for radio communication license are paid once.License renewal is free of charge. However, in the event of modification in the value of the license, the initial application fee is only paid for the new stations and new frequencies.If the assessment of the application of license renewal implies more fees than the initial application fee, the Regulatory Authority requests the applicant to pay additional fee.

Article 5 – Time to pay annual license fee

The annual license fee is paid not later than 20th December of each year. The Regulatory Authority sends invoices to a licensee before November 15th of each year.If the validity of a licence commences during the course of a year, the annual fee is calculated in proportion to the remaining months of the year. The minimum duration of a license is two (2) months.The annual fee, for applicants of a short time license, is calculated based on the duration of the license.

Article 6 – Recipient of fees

Fees provided by this Order are paid to the Regulatory Authority.

Article 7 – Exempted frequency bands

The following frequency bands are exempted from payment of the application and annual fees:1°frequency bands used by the Army in its dedicated frequency bands;2°frequency bands determined by the Regulatory Authority by means of special regulations.Frequency bands that the Regulatory Board decides to assign via public auction is exempted from application fees.

Article 8 – Radio communication license of less than one year

Granting of a radio communication license for a period of less than one year is subject to the prior payment of non refundable application fee. When the license is granted, the license fee is calculated on the basis of the license duration.The minimum fee payable is equivalent to two (2) months.

Article 9 – Causes of termination of a radio communication license validity

The validity of a radio communication license may be terminated upon one of the following reasons:1°the will of the license holder;2°upon decision by the Regulatory Board, in case of violation of conditions provided for in the license.

Article 10 – Reductions of fees and determining factors

The following factors constitute the basis for reduction of fees for radio communication licenses:1°eighty per cent (80%) reduction on fees listed in the Annex of this Order is granted to only radio communication systems exclusively used for the general interest services operating on the territory of the Republic of Rwanda;2°location and coverage factors referred to in tables of the Annex to this Order.

Article 11 – Low power and low range applications

Based on the national table of frequency allocations, regulations and guidelines into force, the Regulatory Authority determines frequency bands which are dedicated to low-power and low-range applications exempted from licences applications and payment of related fees.Applications referred to in Paragraph One of this Article include the use of low-power devices such as remote control, cordless phones, wireless local area computer networks and other devices used for home use such as heating or cooling houses as the Regulatory Authority may approve it.Equipment duly authorised in Rwanda operating in the specifically allocated frequency bands can be used for applications referred to in Paragraph One of this Article.

Chapter III
Final provisions

Article 12 – Repealing of order

Ministerial Decree n° 03/RURA/2005 of 14/07/2005 determining fees for radio communications licenses is repealed.

Article 13 – Commencement

This Order comes into force on the date of its publication in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Rwanda.

Annex

Schedule of radio communications fees

Note: The mention of a radio communications service in this Schedule does not guarantee that such service is available or authorised. Inquiries should be addressed to the Regulatory Authority.
Category 1: Mobile servicesLicence application feesAnnual license fee
1.1. Land mobile services (independent networks)
Base station or relay station for land mobile service
Commercial networks (paging, trunking, GSM, etc.): see category 6Low-range networks: see category 5
Per each base or relay station and per each assigned channelWhatever the number of mobile stationsFRW 100,000See Note 1See Note 2 and 3Per each assigned channel: Whatever the number of mobile stationsMobile private networks include non commercial trunking FRW 300,000 per channelFRW 100,000 per base or relay stationMobile stations only networks (without any base station or relay)FRW 300,000 per channelPrivate paging networksper base or relay station FRW 150,000
1.2. Aeronautical mobile services
Aeronautical stationfor air traffic control or for services to airlines or aero clubsLump sum for all communications channels:Per station: FRW 50,000Lump sum for all communications channels:Per station: FRW 200,000
Radionavigation or radar Radiodetection stationLump sum for all communications channels:Per station: FRW 50,000Lump sum for all communications channels:Per station: FRW 200,000
Aircraft stationregistered in RwandaLump sum for all communications channels:Per station: FRW 50,000Lump sum for all communications channels:Per station: FRW 200,000
Category 2: Fixed servicesLicence application feesAnnual license fee
Fixed stationsSee Note 4Per station, whatever the number of channels: FRW 50,000Additional fee for International coordination: FRW 75,000For MF — HF frequency bands (0.3 — 30 MHz):Transmitter output power < 1 kW: FRW 250,000Transmitter output power > 1 kW: FRW 350,000
Point-to-pointSee Note 9Per station, whatever the number of channels: FRW 50,000Additional fee for International coordination: FRW 75,000
Location factor
LF1 Urban = 1.0LF2 Semi Urban = 0.5LF3 Rural = 0.4LF4 Remote = 0.1
Formula:
FF = {(RF * Band Fee) +∑ (N * link Fee * Location Factor)}
BandBand feeLink fee
≤ 8 000 MHzFRW 250,000FRW 125,000
8000 MHz <Band≤15 000 MHzFRW 160,000FRW 60,000
15 000 MHz<Band≤18 000 MHzFRW 160,000FRW 60,000
Above 18 000 MHzFRW 120,000FRW 40,000
N: is the number of transmitters using the assigned frequency channelFF: Frequency feeRF: Radio Frequency
Studio to transmitter linkPer station, whatever the number of channels: FRW 50,000Additional fee for International coordination: FRW 75,000FF = {(RF * Spectrum Fee) + ∑ (N * Equipment Fee * Location Factor)}
Location factorEquipment feespectrum fee
urban =1FRW 150,000FRW 150,000
semi urban=0.5
Remote=0.4
Very remote=0.1
Category 3: BroadcastingLicence application feesAnnual license fee
Private sound broadcasting stationPer station, whatever the number of channels: FRW 50,000
LocationLocation factor
Kigali1
Provinces0.5
Power (ERP)Coverage factor
P ≤ 100 W1
100 < P<5003
500 W≤P≤ 10004
1000 <P<20006
2000 and above8
AM channel feeFRW 2,000,000
FM channel feeFRW 500,000
Formula: FF = (N * Location Factor*Coverage Factor* Channel fee)
Where:N: is the number of frequency channels
Television broadcasting servicesPer station, whatever the number of channels: FRW 100,000Formula: FF = ∑ (N * Location Factor*Channel fee)
N: is the number of frequency channels
Channel fee:FRW 5,000,000
LocationLocation factor
Kigali:1
Province:0.5
Category 4: Amateur serviceLicence application feesAnnual license fee
Fixed, mobile or relay stationPer station: FRW 10,000Per station: FRW 100,000
Category 5: Short range applicationsLicence application feesAnnual license fee
Low power devices *Exempted
Category 6: Commercial servicesLicence application feesAnnual license fee
PagingPer base station and per assigned channel: FRW 50,000Per base station: FRW 10,000Per assigned channel: FRW 250,000
Trunking networksPer base station and per assigned channel: FRW 50,000Per base station: FRW 10,000Per assigned channel: FRW 1,000,000
Mobile serviceSee Note 5, 6 and 9Per network: FRW 1,000,0005.1.Cellular
FF = (RF * Band Unit Fee) + ∑ (N * Transmitter Unit Fee *Location Factor)
Location factor
Urban1
semi urban0.5
remote0.4
very remote0.1
BandBand unit feetransmitter unit fee
Band 900FRW 9,020,369.00FRW 27,061
Band 1800FRW 9,020,369.00FRW 27,061
5.2.IMT services
FF = (RF * Band Unit Fee) +∑ (N * Transmitter Unit Fee *Location Factor)
BandBand unit feetransmitter unit fee
all bandsFRW 9,020,369.00FRW 27,061
N.B: Location factor same as for Cellular5.3TV white spaces(add table)
FF = ∑ (N * Band Unit Fee *Location Factor)
Band Unit fee:FRW 500,000
Location factor
Urban1
semi urban0.5
remote0.4
very remote0.1
Terrestrial fixed linksPer station, whatever the number of channels:FRW 50,000Same rate as Category 2
Satellite servicesDefined in the Satellites Regulations frequency

Notes

1.For planning purposes, the Regulatory Authority may limit either the emitted power or the antenna height, or both.2.If a network uses several channels, the amount due for a given base or relay station is the indicated amount multiplied by the number of channels transmitted by this station. For networks without fixed stations, the indicated amount is multiplied by the number of used channels.3.For duplex channels, the due amount for a given channel is the indicated amount multiplied by two (the number of centre frequencies in each channel).4.By definition, fixed service networks include only fixed stations.5.When frequency bands are segmented in channels, the occupied bandwidth is equal to the difference between the reference frequencies of two adjacent channels. Bandwidths are rounded to the upper number of units (1 unit = 1MHz”).6.The Low Power Devices specifications and category will be determined by the Regulatory Board.7.The number of assigned MHz is computed by adding the two bands (transmit mobile to fixed + transmit fixed to mobile). It is rounded to the upper tenth of MHz.8.The definition criteria for discountsa.Urban - Kigali metropolitan;b.Semi urban as defined by the Ministry in charge of infrastructure (Rwanda Urban Development Program i.e. Rusizi, Rubavu, Nyagatare, Musanze, Muhanga and Huye;c.Other settled areas in rural or remote location and along road networks connecting cities;d.Very remote areas such as national parks, forests of the national electric grid.9.Band unit fee for Cellular and IMT servicesThe band unit fee for cellular and IMT services must increase gradually over a 4 years period starting from the year of signature as follows:
YearBand unit fee for 2G/3G and IMT
1FRW 4,329,777
2FRW 6,765,277
3FRW 8,818,332
4FRW 9,020,369
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History of this document

23 May 2022 this version
Commenced
20 May 2022
Assented to