Ugandan Government and regulator want to take control of local IXP – the latest in a disturbing pattern of regulatory interventions

12 July 2019

The Ugandan regulator has proposed a new licensing framework that would allow it to take control of the country’s Internet Exchange Point. Russell Southwood looks at this latest development and a growing pattern of seeking control over the sector through heavy-handed interventions from both Government and the regulator. Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) exist to exchange local traffic locally rather than it going out to places like Paris, London and New York before coming back to the other side of say, the capital city. There are many successful IXPs and they are run by industry stakeholders including MNOs, ISPs, government agencies…

Tanzanian Parliament passes a law that will compel international film-makers to have their raw footage vetted by Government…Say what?

3 July 2019

Tanzania’s Parliament passed a draft law last Thursday saying that international film-makers will have to submit the raw footage from any location shoot in the country to the Government. Former ZIFF Martin Mhando has sent an open letter (see below) to the Tanzania Film Board headed Disappointed. The newly passed amendment Bill to the Tanzania Written Laws (Miscellaneous Amendments (No.3) Act 2019) on foreign producers filming in Tanzania not only calls for vetting of raw footage but insists that Tanzania could then use the subsequent film in its promotional material. Failure to comply will leave the entity responsible for a…

Sub-Saharan Africa's Broadcasting Landscape

Balancing Act is pleased to announce the publication of Sub-Saharan Africa’s Broadcasting Landscape and Nine Key Markets. The report is a joint publication with one of the continent’s leading providers of mobile-based research and insights GeoPoll. All pre-publication purchases before the 16 July will receive a 20% discount on the full price with report costing you GBP1,000.