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

Namibia has not joined any free trade agreement committing to open transfers of cross-border data flows.

Namibia does not have a data protection framework, leaving an important void in the country with regard to data governance and digital trade governance. A Data Protection Bill is currently in the consultation phase. This is set to support the Electronic Transactions Act, which does not cover many aspects of data in a digital economy.

Section 119 of the Communications Act stipulates that the Regulator "may prescribe a mandatory period for the retention of records which may not exceed eight years".

The Electronic Transactions Act establishes a safe harbour regime for intermediaries for copyright infringements. According to Chapter 6 of the Act, a service provider enjoys protection from any civil or criminal liabilities concerning third-party material presented in the form of data, to which they merely grant access through information system services for data transmission, routing, or storage within a system under their control. To qualify for this protection, the service provider must adhere to the following conditions: (a) they do not initiate the transmission; (b) they do not select the recipient; (c) they perform functions automatically and technically without data selection; and (d) they refrain from modifying the transmitted data.

The Electronic Transactions Act establishes a safe harbour regime for intermediaries beyond copyright infringements. According to Chapter 6 of the Act, a service provider enjoys protection from any civil or criminal liabilities concerning third-party material presented in the form of data, to which they merely grant access through information system services for data transmission, routing, or storage within a system under their control. To qualify for this protection, the service provider must adhere to the following conditions: (a) they do not initiate the transmission; (b) they do not select the recipient; (c) they perform functions automatically and technically without data selection; and (d) they refrain from modifying the transmitted data.

Section 17 of General Notice No. 180 requires telecommunications service providers to ensure that customers using a SIM card are registered as the cardholder. For customers who are natural persons, this includes obtaining their name, address, and identification document number. Furthermore, Section 18 stipulates that no SIM card may be distributed or activated unless the customer has been registered as the cardholder.

Namibia does not have a comprehensive framework in place that provides effective protection of trade secrets, but there are limited measures addressing some issues related to them. Section 195(c) of the Industrial Property Act of 2012 restricts the disclosure, acquisition or use in a manner contrary to honest commercial practices of secret information without the written consent of the person lawfully in control of that information.

It is reported that there is an obligation for passive infrastructure sharing in Namibia to deliver telecom services to end users. It is practised in both the mobile sector and fixed sectors based on commercial agreements.

Section 46 of the Communications Act restricts shareholding in the telecommunications sector to a maximum of 49% for foreigners or companies that are not owned and controlled by Namibian citizens.

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

There are three telecommunications providers in Namibia: Telecom Namibia Group, Mobile Telecommunications Namibia (MTC), and Paratus Telecommunications. Two of these, Telecom Namibia Group and Mobile Telecommunications Limited, are the incumbent telecommunications providers and are also fully state-owned. Furthermore, it is reported that among the mobile network operators, the mobile infrastructure is 97% owned by the state-owned Telecom Namibia and MTC. In addition, MTC's market share is close to 100% for both voice and SMS traffic.

According to Art. 6 of the Code of Best Practices on Preferences, the nature of procurements in Annexes 2, 3 and 4 of the Code is reserved exclusively for procurement from Namibian suppliers who have met the nationality requirements of Article 71.3 of the Public Procurement Act and the local content requirement determined in the Code. The annexes mentioned above contain several goods, such as Electrical Cables, Computer Consumables, Distribution Transformers, and Games and Gaming Products. Additionally, they encompass services like audiovisual services, marketing, advertising and branding services, research services, information and communication technology services, and professional services (including quantity surveying, architecture, and auditing).

It is reported that Namibia does not mandate accounting separation for operators with significant market power (SMP) in the telecom market. However, functional separation is required by law.

Sections 71-72 of the Procurement Act include provisions for granting preferential treatment to Namibian companies over foreign companies in public procurement. This preferential treatment generally applies to goods, works, and services.
According to Art. 8 of the Code of Best Practices on Preferences, the Board or public entity must give national preference to a bidder that (i) qualifies as a Namibian bidder in accordance with section 71.3 of the Act; (ii) demonstrates that the bidder complies with the local content; and (iii) complies with the Act.
Pursuant to Art. 9 of the Code, the maximum allowable cumulative margin of preference applicable to exclusive preferences for price evaluation purposes is 10%. The Board or the public entity, when evaluating bids for the exclusive preference, must apply the margins of preference specified in column 2 of Annex 6 of the Code to the eligible bidders for each qualification category. These preferences for price evaluation include
- 2% to local manufacturers,
- 1% to local MSMEs,
- 1% to local women-owned businesses,
- 2% to local youth-owned businesses,
- 2% to local businesses owned by previously disadvantaged people, 2% to local businesses owned by previously disadvantaged people, and 1% to services provided by Namibian nationals.
- 1% to services provided by Namibian nationals