Clear Mobitel Ltd, a United Kingdom based technology and telecommunications company, has been granted statutory rights under the Electronic Communications Code by Ofcom, the UK’s communications regulator, in a decision that formally recognises the company as a national network and infrastructure provider.
The direction was issued under section 106 of the Communications Act 2003 and signed by Ben Harries, Ofcom’s Policy Director for Infrastructure and Connectivity. It applies the Code to Clear Mobitel throughout the United Kingdom, covering both the company’s provision of an electronic communications network and its capacity to make infrastructure available for use by other operators. The decision followed a public consultation in which no objections were raised, and it took effect immediately upon publication.
The Electronic Communications Code is the statutory framework governing telecommunications infrastructure across Britain, conferring on qualifying operators defined rights to install, operate and maintain network apparatus, together with associated access and upgrade rights. It is the same regulatory status held by the country’s most established infrastructure providers, including BT’s Openreach and Virgin Media O2, and its award to Clear Mobitel places the company within that category for the first time.
Built around 5G core networks, eSIM connectivity and artificial intelligence and machine learning platforms, Clear Mobitel has in recent years positioned itself around the connectivity needs of communities with strong ties to the African continent. Through its mobile virtual network operator business, the company last year launched eSIM products aimed specifically at the African diaspora in the United Kingdom, offering customers digital connectivity designed to keep them closely linked to family, business and community networks across Africa. That offering has formed part of a wider strategy the company has described as looking toward new markets, with particular interest in Africa’s growing demand for resilient digital infrastructure, data capacity and financial technology platforms.
Company executives have characterised the newly confirmed UK regulatory status as more than a domestic milestone, describing it as a marker of operational and technical credibility that strengthens their hand as they pursue partnerships and opportunities on the continent. Harpal Mann, Chief Executive of Clear Mobitel, said the decision reflected the strength of the systems and standards the company has built in the UK, and that it gave Clear Mobitel a firmer platform from which to deepen its work with the African diaspora and pursue opportunities across the continent. For African governments and investors assessing prospective telecoms and infrastructure partners, an independently verified regulatory pedigree of this kind is often treated as a meaningful signal, distinct from commercial ambition alone.
The development is a reminder of how closely intertwined the interests of the African diaspora in Britain have become with the continent’s own digital transformation, as companies built to serve that diaspora increasingly position themselves as bridges for investment, technology transfer and connectivity between the United Kingdom and African markets.
