Somalia to start taxing its mobile phone networks

[Coeus]

Information, Posts and Telecommunications Minister Abdulkareem Jama ­has stated that the Somalia government is planning to start regulating its ultra-free market mobile phone networks and applying taxes to the phone companies to boost growth and investment.

According to Jama, the government has drafted rules for managing mobile-phone frequencies, phone numbers and interconnection agreements. The Finance Ministry is formulating details of the taxes, although a timeline for the passing of the necessary laws is still unclear.

The country’s mobile phone networks have been cited in various reports of an example of laissez faire business where mobile networks were set up by entrepreneurs without any government intervention or regulation. Their regulatory-light approach is about to be shaken up.