How much do telcos pay in fines for services disruptions?

MTN Rwanda was on Thursday, July 31, fined tens of millions of francs by the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA) following recent service disruptions. The decision to sanction MTN followed a summons by RURA to the telecom company executives to explain what caused service disruptions reported between July 27 and 28. The disruptions affected voice calls, SMS, USSD (used to access mobile money services), and interconnectivity between service providers. On Thursday, the regulator also summoned KT Rwanda Networks (KTRN), a 4G LTE infrastructure provider, to explain service disruptions that affected fibre optic connectivity in parts of Southern and Western Provinces. ALSO READ: MTN Rwanda to pay tens of millions of francs in fines RURA's decisions to summon telcos and to impose sanctions on them are based on the 2016 ICT law. The ICT law determines various penalties, including licence revocations and fines, for various violations. Licence suspension, cancellation and revocation The regulatory authority may suspend, cancel or revoke a licence when a licensed operator fails to meet essential obligations. This includes situations where licence-related fees are not paid or when the operator has repeatedly and seriously violated provisions of the ICT law or related regulations. A licence may also be withdrawn if the operator becomes financially incapable of running its services and does not address the issue within three months of being notified. Failure to comply with directives requiring corrective action, losing effective control of the licence or transferring ownership without prior authorisation also constitute grounds for withdrawal. If the licence was obtained through fraud or intentional misrepresentation during the application process, the regulator reserves the right to cancel it. In the most serious cases, such as when a licensee is found to be engaged in or supporting acts amounting to treason, the licence may be revoked immediately without delay. Fines between Rwf200,000 and Rwf1,000,000 This category of fines covers operational lapses and basic compliance failures. It includes the import or use of non-compliant ICT equipment and the unauthorised transfer of service permits. Failure to register for installation or maintenance services also falls under this category, with an additional daily fine of Rwf50,000 applied until proper registration is completed. ALSO READ: Regulator summons MTN over service disruptions Other violations include obstructing inspections by the regulator across various sectors, digital, broadcasting, and postal, as well as providing false or incomplete information when applying for licences, or failing to provide accurate service-related information when requested. Fines between Rwf500,000 and Rwf5 million More serious breaches fall into this mid-range category. These include offering broadcasting, postal, or information society services without proper licensing and transferring such licences without the regulator’s written consent. Failing to act on enforcement notices issued by RURA and breaching unspecified licence conditions also attract penalties within this range. Operators who refuse to disclose information on leased lines or disrupt radio spectrum communications, whether intentionally or through negligence, also fall into this category. ALSO READ: RURA summons KTRN over internet service disruptions Additionally, the law penalises digital actors who send unsolicited commercial messages or fail to display consumer information on websites offering electronic goods or services. Daily fines between Rwf500,000 and Rwf5 million For continuing violations, the law allows the imposition of daily administrative fines. This includes persistent non-compliance with enforcement notices in the broadcasting and postal sectors. Operators using a radio communication licence after expiry may also face daily fines if they continue operating after a prohibition notice. Information society services that ignore compliance notices are similarly penalised on a daily basis. Daily fines between Rwf2 million and Rwf10 million Article 270 of the ICT law determines daily fines in this range when a licensee restricts users’ access to services and fails to comply with a regulatory notice requiring the restriction to be lifted. Fines between Rwf5,000,000 and Rwf10,000,000 Certain offences by dominant operators fall into this penalty bracket. These include failing to provide a required reference interconnection offer, with an additional daily fine for each day of non-compliance. Selling or using unapproved electronic certification tools is also punished under this category. Fines between Rwf5,000,000 and Rwf15,000,000 A number of offences relating to tariff control and regulatory directives fall within this range. For instance, failure by a dominant operator to comply with tariff controls or failure to comply with an enforcement notice from the regulator can result in fines within this range. This was recently illustrated in the case of MTN Rwanda, which was fined Rwf30 million by RURA after two-day network disruptions. Under Article 269, the law sets daily fines for such failures, with MTN paying Rwf15 million per day of non-compliance. Non-compliance can also lead to additional licence conditions, suspension or revocation. Fines between Rwf5,000,000 and Rwf50,000,000 This penalty range covers serious licensing and ownership-related violations. Operating an electronic communications network without a licence, transferring or assigning a licence without proper approval, and failing to notify the regulator of a change in ownership all attract penalties in this category. In some cases, the law allows the regulator to suspend or revoke the operator’s licence, particularly if the violation is not corrected within a specified time frame. Fines between Rwf5,000,000 and Rwf45,000,000 Article 267 covers the case of operators who continue to run ICT services on expired licences. The fine can reach Rwf45 million. Additional daily penalties ranging from Rwf200,000 to Rwf3 million may apply if the operator continues operating after being warned. Similar penalties are set for using radio spectrum unlawfully, with daily fines and the possibility of having networks technically disabled by the regulator.

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How much do telcos pay in fines for services disruptions?