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Mission

Our mission is to promote the delivery of safe, reliable, secure and affordable communications services in Malawi through effective regulation, research and innovation

Vision

Communications services for a digitally transformed nation

Communications sector mourns the loss of MACRA’s Director of Telecommunications

by Lemekezani Chisambiro | February 16, 2026 | News | 0 Comments

The MACRA Board chairperson, Chancy Gondwe, has described the MACRA’s Director of Telecommunications late Edward Kauka as someone who helped to shape and improve the Telecommunications industry in the country. Gondwe was speaking during the funeral service of Kauka at...

task force on mobile fraud prevention call for collaboration

by Lemekezani Chisambiro | February 16, 2026 | News | 0 Comments

The Mobile Money Fraud Prevention Task Force has called on industry players to collaborate efforts to deal with mobile money fraud to safeguard recent gains. Chairperson of the Task Force, Khumbo Phiri, says working together is the only effective way to conquer the...

Street naming exercise underway in some district councils

by Lemekezani Chisambiro | February 16, 2026 | News | 0 Comments

The Authority has rolled out a street naming exercise in the four cities of Blantyre, Zomba,Lilongwe, and Mzuzu under the National Addressing System (NAS).Street naming exercise is undertaken after the streets have been digitized, whereby data isconverted into a...

House number plate installation to commence soon in selected areas

by Lemekezani Chisambiro | February 16, 2026 | News | 0 Comments

MACRA is set to install house number plates in 13 councils across the country, as part of theimplementation of the National Addressing System (NAS).According to the Acting Director of Postal Services Directorate, Mr. Burnet Namacha,Installation of number plates will...

Letter Writing Competition kick starts!

by Lemekezani Chisambiro | February 16, 2026 | News | 0 Comments

MACRA has started receiving entries for the 2026 International Letter Writing Competition,after the Authority, in collaboration with the Universal Postal Union (UPU), invited youngMalawian learners to participate in the competition.Under the theme “Write a letter to a...

Telecommunications Services Restored

by Lemekezani Chisambiro | February 16, 2026 | News | 0 Comments

Telecommunication services have been fully restored following damage to critical national infrastructure caused by heavy and persistent rainfall in the Southern and Central Regions. The service disruptions triggered the activation of the Emergency Telecommunications...

Data Privacy Week: Privacy by Design

by Lemekezani Chisambiro | February 16, 2026 | News | 0 Comments

MACRA, in its capacity as the designated Data Protection Authority (DPA) commemorated the Data Privacy Week. Among the activities to celebrate the week, was a big walk and a data protection conference. Speaking after a Big Walk which took place in Lilongwe, to mark...

Teachers equipped with skills on child online protection

by Lemekezani Chisambiro | February 16, 2026 | News | 0 Comments

the Malawi Computer Emergency Response Team (MwCERT) conducted a trainer of trainer’s workshop for teachers in the South-East Education Division. The training is part of the unit’s efforts in equipping various key stakeholders with the knowledge on how we can all...

Courtesy visits: a call for collaboration

by Lemekezani Chisambiro | February 16, 2026 | News | 0 Comments

We hosted various key stakeholders to courtesy visits. The tone of the visits was clear; collaboration is key in building the communications sector we envisage. From private sectors players like FDH bank to hosting media influencers discussing the digital economy...

The Minister of Information tours CAS project

by Lemekezani Chisambiro | February 16, 2026 | News | 0 Comments

The Minister of Information and Communications Technology, Dr. Shadric Namalomba, toured Mpotola/Nathendo Community Day Secondary School (CDSS) in Liwonde, Machinga, Nkope CDSS in Mangochi, and St. Peters CDSS in Balaka to inspect the construction of Smart Computer...

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Spectrum Department

[ays_poll id=3]Generally Spectrum Management aims at;

Providing access to basic communication services to all Malawians through the use of available technologies i.e. wireless.
Ensuring effective utilization with equitable access.
Accommodating future needs and requirements by careful planning
Harmonizing national and regional best practices with international trends
Enhancing socio-economic growth of Malawi through better spectrum pricing

MACRA is putting in place spectrum management policies that must are flexible and responsive to the needs of the market, recognizing that each class of spectrum user has different requirements. For example, promoting the use spectrum -efficient technologies, such as narrow band transmission, trunking between cells with high mutual traffic loads and digital signaling, can sometimes relieve crowding in the mobile radio frequencies thereby addressing the challenges in the way the radio frequency spectrum is managed.

Principles of Assignment

Depending on the type of service to be licensed, frequencies shall be assigned based on “first-come, first-served” basis so long as frequencies are available and that the licensing requirements are satisfied. When spectrum shortage is anticipated or when specific government goals are being pursued to foster competition in a particular business sub-sector or for other specific reasons, this approach may be dropped and selection procedures adopted to ensure that spectrum is efficiently and effectively utilized. In situations of spectrum shortages, preference will also be given to those providing greater public benefits, the spectrum utilization and overall efficiency irrespective of date of receipt of the applications concerned.
Other assignment types that can be followed include Spectrum Auction, Beauty Contest, Spectrum Trading e.t.c.

Spectrum Pricing
A full table of prices applicable to terrestrial spectrum services is made available.
All users of frequencies shall be required to pay a fee, including Government Agencies or departments except those that are exempt from paying the applicable fees. The fees paid upon registration shall be renewable annually at a rate to be specified under the licence conditions. The price charged for the spectrum assigned will among other factors be dependent on such factors as size, level of competition and classification of spectrum (prime / non-prime) as well as the administrative overhead costs associated with monitoring and management.

The price that is charged for the spectrum will as much as practically possible be proportional to the derivable benefits and level of usage within the band.

Exempt / Waiver categories
Any waiver in part or in full of spectrum fees will only apply under the appropriate legislation and any regulations made there under. Exempt categories, i.e. ISM band (2.4 GHz, 5.8 GHz) shall nevertheless be required to pay a registration fee determined by the Authority.

Spectrum Planning
MACRA on a regular basis will review utilization of the spectrum in response to present, emerging and future needs. The plans will be based on the technological and other needs of the country especially in the area of universality. Particular attention will be drawn to promoting and making available the spectrum for use in wireless technologies to be used in rural and under-served communities. This process shall facilitate opening of new bands and re-allocation of frequency spectrum to operators if found necessary to ensure effective and efficient use of the frequency spectrum.

MACRA shall take into consideration all relevant key stakeholders in the sector during any review process as well as international radiocommunication conferences i.e. The World Radio Conference (WRC) where major spectrum decisions are taken. In terms of planning, critical issues that are considered include;

ITU Table of Allocation (especially for Region 1).
Regional Frequency Allocation Plan (SADC region).
National Frequency Band Plan.
Technology Neutrality.
Universal Access / Service requirements.
Frequency re-farming options.
Government / Security operations.
Public Safety and Disaster Preparedness.
Coordination needs with neighbouring countries (Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia).

Spectrum Monitoring
MACRA continually monitors the usage of the spectrum through the Frequency Management & Monitoring (FMM) equipment that has remote monitoring stations distributed within the country. This is done to ensure;

Compliance to specified technical operating standards.
Resolving cases of harmful interference.
Eliminating illegal / unlicensed operations in the sector.
Protecting licensees within the framework of legal operation.

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