Telecommunications and Post Regulatory Authority
The Telecommunications and Post Regulatory Authority is the government body responsible for regulating the telecommunications and postal sectors in Sudan. The Authority originated in September 1996 under the name National Telecommunications Corporation, with the aim of providing an effective regulatory framework that ensures fair competition and protects subscribers' interests, and it exercises its regulatory tasks with comprehensive powers and competences. In 2018, the new Telecommunications and Post Regulation Act was approved as a replacement for the Telecommunications Act of 2001, and under it the Corporation's name changed to its current name: the Telecommunications and Post Regulatory Authority.
The Authority's headquarters is located in the city of Khartoum, and it may establish branches in Sudan's states, and it is subject to the supervision of the minister responsible for the telecommunications sector in carrying out its duties in accordance with the state's general policies and plans. Its competence covers all forms of telecommunications: wired and cellular and via satellites and cables, in addition to postal services, as it sets the policies, regulations and systems governing these services and monitors their implementation.
Among the initiatives linked to the Authority is the establishment of the Computer Emergency Response Team in Sudan, "Sudan CERT", in January 2010 at its initiative, when it was known as the National Telecommunications Corporation. The Authority also regulates the number portability service, which allows a subscriber to keep his phone number when moving from one service provider to another, thereby enhancing freedom of choice and competition among operators. Its official website displays other projects, including the "Ibsar" project to support access by persons with disabilities to information and communications technologies and guarantee their rights therein, and a regional centre for the Internet of Things and Internet Protocol version six, designed to replace version four, which currently directs most internet traffic. Thus the Authority combines regulation of the telecommunications and postal markets, protection of subscribers' rights, and support for the development of digital services in the country.
(Sources: Official website of the Telecommunications and Post Regulatory Authority tpra.gov.sd, Wikipedia — "National Telecommunications Corporation (Sudan)" and "Telecommunications and Post Regulatory Authority", International Telecommunication Union itu.int)
— Editorial Team
