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MALAWI

• "Frequency Licenses FAQ" Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority: "Possession of a radio equipment without the approval of the Authority is an offence..." WLANs are not listed under either the "individual" or "general" licensing categories, nor are any other types of short-range device.
• But Isabel Neto's Wireless Networks for the Developing World: The Regulation and Use of Licence-Exempt Radio Bands in Africa says on page 176 that class licenses are automatically issued for WLANs of up to 4 watts - no voice allowed.
• "DIY Broadband in Malawi," by Mikey McKay, Hacktivate, 22 July 2005, who set up his own VSAT and mesh WiFi network in Lilongwe.
• "MalawiNet offers wireless internet" by Henry Chilobwe, Malawi Nation Online, 12 December 2004. See MalawiNet's Wireless Internet Access page.
• "Malawian ISP Skyband has implemented a Wi-Fi hotspot at its office in Blantyre and has offered use of it for free to all existing domestic and full internet, dial-up subscribers... This development is part of broader plans which include adding additional access points in Blantyre, Limbe and Lilongwe as well as deploying a Wi-MAX network in Blantyre..." ---BalancingAct News Update number 273 (20 September 2005).
• "Telecommunications Reform in Malawi" by George R. G. Clarke, Frew A. Gebreab and Henry R. Mgombelo, World Bank Development Research Group, April 2003 (Working Paper 3036, 64 pages): "Clarke, Gebreab, and Mgombelo discuss sector performance before reform, details of the reform, the political motivation for reform, and events in the five years following the reform..."
• "National ICT Profile: Malawi," AISA-Connect, 2000.

Africa - Regional Overview