The Agency for Regulation of Technology and Communication (Autorite de Regulation des Technologies de Communications, ARTEC) has announced it ordered Telecom Malagasy (Telma) to suspend its 5G services and place all antennas under seal with effect from 20 July. The regulator said in a press statement that ‘Telma went ahead with a commercial launch of 5G despite being aware the temporary authorisation – which is valid for just a month – granted by the regulatory authority in no way authorises services to be marketed’. Noting that 5G services in Madagascar are still in the testing stage, ARTEC stressed that it was a condition of the authorisation that all tests were to be conducted within an enclosed building, ‘whereas the operator performed trials on more than ten outdoor sites without prior notification’. As previously reported by TeleGeography’s CommsUpdate, Telma switched on a commercial 5G network supplied by Ericsson in the capital Antananarivo and the city of Toamasina on 26 June.

Source: TeleGeography