Malawi’s space slot encroached—Macra

Malawi Communication Regulatory Authority (Macra) has said Israel and Luxembourg have encroached on the country’s slot of orbital space and the regulator is moving to reclaim it.

Speaking during a press conference in Lilongwe yesterday ahead of the Space Conference which the country is hosting today, Macra director general Daud Suleman said the encroachment has been happening for the past four years.

The International Telecommunications Union (ITU), a United Nations specialised agency for information and communications technologies, allocated Malawi two orbital spaces.

According to www.africanews.space, one slot is designated for broadcast satellite services while the other is for fixed satellite services.

Said Suleman: “The ITU has protocols and procedures that are followed for a country to register their concern so that ITU should come in and mediate.

“We are following those protocols. In as far as legal action is concerned that comes the very least of the recourse that we can take. So far, there has been good progress as far as Luxembourg is concerned. With Israel we are still engaging.”

He said the evidence is there because in the orbital slots there are live signals and also ITU recognises in its database that the signals are from the area that belongs to Malawi.

The director general further stated Malawi has offered the two countries an opportunity to rent the slots and agree a fee.

Commenting on the Space Conference starting today in Lilongwe, Suleman said it will help chart a path on how the country can utilise satellite technology.

He said over 400 delegates have confirmed their participation, including 50 foreign participants.

On his part, the ICT Association of Malawi president Bram Fudzulani hailed the conference as crucial in the country’s efforts to advance space technology.

“We cannot speak about Malawi 2063 and leave out the component of space development which has enormous benefits to the country,” he said.