The Regulatory Authority of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania (ARE) has formally issued Decision No. 1100/2025, establishing a comprehensive framework for the free use of low power, short range radio equipment in the country.

The decision is issued under Article 28 of Law No. 2013-025 as amended in 2022. It identifies which radio devices may operate without prior authorisation and sets strict technical and operational limits to protect spectrum resources.

Mandatory conditions for licence-free deployment

Under the new framework, certain internal networks and low power short range devices may be deployed without a licence provided they meet the prescribed regulatory conditions. These are transmitters, with or without receivers, designed to support short range communication with a very low risk of interference.

The specific conditions are:

1. compliance with the emission limits set out in Annex 1 of the decision;

2. avoidance of harmful interference with licensed communication systems;

3. no use of amplification systems capable of operating on public land;

4. no connection to wireless local area networks owned by different legal entities.

Where interference is reported, users must stop operating the equipment immediately at the request of ARE.

New responsibilities for importers and distributors

The decision also imposes obligations on businesses placing such equipment on the Mauritanian market. Importers, distributors and retailers must:

1. ensure the equipment meets the requirements of Decision No. 42/2021/AR/CNR on equipment approval;

2. clearly inform customers of the conditions of permitted use set out in the new framework.

These measures are intended to protect consumers and national spectrum resources by ensuring that only compliant equipment circulates on the market.

Enforcement and regulatory flexibility

ARE may carry out compliance checks on any short range device, and non-compliant equipment may be seized, dismantled or removed at the user's expense. In addition, the regulator may change the operating conditions of equipment at any time without compensation where technical limits are breached, licensed networks suffer interference, national security requires it or frequency planning is updated.

Decision No. 1100/2025 remains in force until superseded by future national or international regulation, including updated resolutions of the World Radiocommunication Conference.