UCC revokes MultiChoice, Yo licenses

The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) has revoked licenses it granted to South African pay TV provider MultiChoice Uganda and VoIP (voice over Internet protocol) provider Yo Uganda.

MultiChoice Uganda, a subsidiary of MultiChoice Africa, received a PSP (public service provider) license for voice and data five years ago, while Yo Uganda had been granted a PSP license for capacity resale. Both companies failed to roll out service as the licenses stipulated.

Neither company was immediately available for comment.

"At 18 months, an operator should be ready to commence operations, and if it doesn't happen, we revoke that license unless you have valid reasons for not fulfilling the license requirements," explained UCC Executive Director Patrick Masambu.

Meanwhile, Africa Fibrenet Limited has applied for a PIP (public infrastructure provider) license to roll out fiber optics to cover the entire country.

The UCC is seeking comments from the public on Africa Fibrenet's application. The regulator will grant a license to the applicant at the end of a two-week period if it has not received public comments to the contrary.