Art. 106 of Law No. 5/2010 provides that the Autoridade Reguladora Nacional (ARN, National Regulatory Authority) is responsible for determining the approval of equipment used in the provision of information and and communications services, to interconnect or operate telecommunications systems, and terminal equipment. The ARN's approval determinations may be conferred under the terms of this law, or in certificates granted by the ARN or by competent organisations authorised by the ARN. Terminal equipment intended to be connected to a network open to the public must be approved by the ARN. In any case, approval is always required in the case of radio installations, whether or not they are intended to be connected to a public network.
As the standards and technical regulations approved at the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) level, as well as the community accreditation system, apply in Guinea-Bissau, the conformity of imported goods with technical regulations can be certified by an accredited laboratory, with a certificate of conformity mark as proof. The Scheme for the Harmonization of Accreditation, Certification, Standardization and Metrology Activities within WAEMU is based on the principle of mutual recognition among Member States at three levels: recognition of technical regulations, national standards and specifications, recognition of conformity assessment procedures and of their results. Support for achieving consistency of national regimes is provided by three technical structures, one of which is the West African Accreditation System (SOAC). The purpose of introducing the SOAC was to give Member States a single organization for accrediting conformity assessment bodies (laboratories, inspection bodies and certification bodies). The SOAC signed a Mutual Recognition Agreement with the African Accreditation Cooperation (AFRAC) and the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) in May 2022.

Art. 9 of Decree-Law No. 8/2011 provides that import and export activities are subject to the prior licensing regime, whose requirements are specified in Art. 5. In addition, Art. 10 states that import and export operations are subject to a simple written declaration by operators to the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, which will forward the information to the customs service.

Art. 9 of Decree-Law No. 8/2011 provides that import and export activities are subject to the prior licensing regime, whose requirements are specified in Art. 5. In addition, Art. 10 states that import and export operations are subject to a simple written declaration by operators to the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, which will forward the information to the customs service.

The indicator "6.2.4 - Government Internet shut down in practice" of the V-Dem Dataset, which measures whether the government has the technical capacity to actively make internet service cease, thus interrupting domestic access to the internet or whether the government has decided to do so, has a score of 3 in Guinea-Bissau. This corresponds to "Rarely but there have been a few occasions throughout the year when the government shut down domestic access to Internet."

A basic legal framework on intermediary liability beyond copyright infringement is absent in Guinea-Bissau's law and jurisprudence.

According to Arts. 3 and 5 of Decree No. 22/2013, anyone wishing to subscribe to a mobile cellular telecommunications services (including the acquisition of SIM cards) is obliged to identify themselves by registering their names and national identification numbers before the telecommunications operators.

A basic legal framework on intermediary liability for copyright infringement is absent in Guinea-Bissau's law and jurisprudence.

Guinea-Bissau does not have a comprehensive regime in place for personal data, but it has implemented some limited sectoral regulations. Under Art. 8(d) of the Interconnection Regulations (Decree No. 13/2010 of 27 May) applicable in the telecom sector, the interconnection must ensure the protection of data, including the protection of personal data and the confidentiality of transmitted or archived information.

Guinea-Bissau has not joined any agreement with binding commitments to open transfers of data across borders.

The telecom regulating body of Guinea-Bissau (Autoridade Reguladora Nacional - ARN) is independent in the exercise of its functions according to Art. 7 of Law No. 5/2010.

Guinea-Bissau does not mandate functional separation for operators with significant market power (SMP) in the telecom market. However, there is an obligation of accounting separation under Arts. 70.c and 74.c of Law No. 5/2010 of May 27th - Basic Information and Communications and Technologies Law (Lei Nº 5/2010 of 27 de Maio - Lei de Base das Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação).

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

According to Art. 1 of Decree No. 21/2013, there is an obligation for passive infrastructure sharing in the Guinea-Bissau to deliver telecom services to end users.

Some activities are reportedly not open to domestic or foreign private investment in Guinea-Bissau, including fixed telephone services. This is despite the fact that no restrictions are found in the current legislation. In fact, Art. 6 of the Investment Code (Law No. 3/2011) states that in accordance with this Code and other laws, foreign and domestic investors enjoy equal treatment before the State and all its institutions. In addition, the Basic Law on Information and Communications Technology (Law No. 5/2010) does not contain any restrictions on market access for foreign suppliers. Yet, for fixed telephony, the state-owned operator Guiné Telecom is the only provider of these services. In 1989, the government created Guiné Telecom. At the time, Portugal Telecom (PT) took a stake in the company, but in 2010 it withdrew its participation in the country's monopoly. In 2013, the government declared Guiné Telecom bankrupt and the company was effectively shut down, but in September 2021 it was announced that it would resume operations in the country. In that month, Guiné Telecom was granted a new concession, Single Individual Licence No. GNB01SFT2021, to operate as a network and infrastructure operator and provider of fixed telecommunications services throughout Guinea-Bissau. In 2023, it was reported that Guinea-Bissau was looking to sell shares in Guiné Telecom.

The government owns shares in certain telecom companies. In particular, Guiné Telecom (Companhia de Telecomunicações da Guiné-Bissau) is a state-owned company and has a monopoly on the fixed-line network. Moreover, Guinetel, which operates in the mobile telecom sector, is a subsidiary of the Guiné Telecom. It is reported that the government launched a proposal for the privatisation of the state-owned telecom companies, which is still ongoing.