It is reported that Tanzania mandates functional and accounting separation for operators with significant market power (SMP) in the telecom market.

According to Art. 26 of the Electronic and Postal Communications Act 2010, as amended in 2017 by the Finance Act (2017), licensees holding Network Facilities and Network Service licenses are required to offer at least 25% of their shares to the public—both local and foreign—through an Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE). If a licensee fails to meet the prescribed 25% threshold of issued and paid-up share capital following the IPO, the Capital Markets and Securities Authority, in consultation with the Minister responsible for Capital Markets and considering market conditions, will issue directives to guide the licensee on how to achieve the 25% shareholding requirement. This requirement is also confirmed in Section 22(a) of the Licensing Regulations (2018).
Additionally, the application and initial licensing fees vary depending on the type of license and coverage area—International, National, or Regional. According to the first schedule of the Electronic and Postal Communications (Licensing) Regulations, the fees for Network Services are as follows: International coverage requires an application fee of USD 10,000, an initial license fee of USD 300,000, and a renewal license fee of USD 400,000; National coverage requires an application fee of USD 5,000, an initial license fee of USD 600,000, and a renewal license fee of USD 750,000; Regional coverage requires an application fee of USD 2,000, an initial license fee of USD 23,100, and a renewal license fee of USD 26,500.

Section 20 (b) of the Electronic and Postal Communications (Licensing) Regulations, 2018, establishes that an applicant for the individual license shall submit to the Authority a business plan together with other documents as provided for under the Licensing Regulations.

Tanzania has not appended the World Trade Organization (WTO) Telecom Reference Paper to its schedule of commitments.

It is reported that the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA), the executive authority for the supervision and administration of services in the telecommunications sector, is independent from the government in the decision-making process.

Section 22 (b) of the Licensing Regulations, 2018 stipulated that the majority shareholders (51%) of the Content Service Licensee should be Tanzanian citizens. The Content Licensee, under the regulations, is an entity authorised to provide radio or television broadcasting free to air or content services by subscription. According to Art. 27, a content services licence for subscription includes "Channel aggregation", that is the packaging of individual licensed or authorized channels into a specific basket of channels for distribution by a multiplex operator. The latter is a digital transmission channel which combines program material and other data in a digital form for transmission via a frequency channel.

Section 22 of the Electronic and Postal Communications (Licensing) Regulations stipulates that foreign investment in the telecommunications sector is restricted to a maximum of 75%.

Under the Patents (Registration) Act Cap 217 R.E 2002, foreigners may obtain the same protection as nationals of Tanzania. However, according to Art. 18 of the law, applicants not residing in Tanzania must appoint a patent attorney domiciled in the country to represent the applicant before the Patent Office. In addition, according to Art. 26, foreign parties may pay the required fees only through a patent agent domiciled in Tanzania.

Tanzania is a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

Tanzania’s copyright framework is established under the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act. The Act does not provide for an open-ended fair use or fair dealing standard. Rather, it sets out a closed list of narrowly defined exceptions, limiting lawful uses to specific, enumerated purposes that are subject to the principle of “fair practice”. This principle requires that any permitted use be compatible with fair practice and confined to what is justified by the relevant purpose. Sections 12 and 26 list the exceptions, which include utilisation for the purposes of education and utilisation by way of illustration in an original work of an author or authors, provided that the extent of such utilisation is compatible with fair practice, among others.

Tanzania is not a signatory of the 1996 World Trade Organization (WTO) Information Technology Agreement (ITA) nor the 2015 expansion (ITA II).

According to Art. 56.1 of the Public Procurement Act 2023, tenderers may participate in procurement proceedings regardless of nationality, unless the procuring entity restricts participation based on nationality as permitted under this Act, accompanying regulations, or other applicable laws. Art. 57 further stipulates that when a Tanzanian public body fully funds a procurement, contracts for works, goods, or services valued at or below TZS 1,500,000,000 (approx. USD 566,976) must be reserved exclusively for local individuals or firms.
Additionally, Section 6 of the Public Procurement Regulations 2013 (which remain in effect until new regulations are enacted under Art. 131 of the 2023 Act) prohibits procuring entities from denying prequalification to firms unless they lack legal capacity, financial capability, or sufficient experience to perform the contract. Nationality cannot be grounds for denial unless commercial relations with the firm’s country are explicitly restricted by Tanzanian laws or regulations. However, under Section 150.1, foreign firms may only participate in international competitive tenders. International competitive tendering is required when (i) payments are made partially or entirely in a foreign currency or (ii) broad international participation is sought, irrespective of the estimated value of the goods or works to be procured.

According to Art. 56.2 of the Public Procurement Act 2023, the procuring entity shall grant a margin of preference for the benefit of tenders for certain goods manufactured in Tanzania, for works by Tanzania contractors, or services provided by Tanzania consultants, when procuring goods, works, or services by means of international or national tendering or when evaluating and comparing tenders, provided that this is clearly stated in the tender documents.
Regarding goods, according to Art. 60 of the Public Procurement Act 2023 and Art. 37 of the Public Procurement Regulations 2013 (which remain in effect until the publication of new regulations as mandated by Art. 131 of the Public Procurement Act 2023), the margin of preference can go up to 15% for domestically manufactured or produced goods and related services in contracts awarded through international or national competitive tendering.
Regarding contracts for works, consultancy or non-consultancy services, the procuring entity shall grant a margin of preference of up to 10% to local firms or association between local and foreign firms, according to Section 34 of the Public Procurement Regulations 2013.

According to Art. 64 of the Public Procurement Act, purchasing body shall allocate a percentage of its annual procurement for special social groups in accordance with the procedures specified in the regulations. In making the regulations the Minister shall consult with the ministries responsible for special groups. For the purposes of this section, "special groups" include women, youth, the elderly and persons with special needs.