Benin’s broadcasting regulator, the Haute Autorité de l’Audiovisuel et de la Communication (HAAC), has opened its second ordinary session of 2026, with the completion of a new radio frequency allocation process among the key items on its four-month agenda.
The session, which opened on 17 September, is expected to run until around mid-January, with HAAC also set to address the renewal of conventions for first-generation online media, extend authorisations to outlets approved in recent months, consider new media licences and continue monitoring professional conduct.
For the broadcasting sector, the radio frequency allocation process is likely to attract the most attention. The exercise follows a call for candidates launched by HAAC in May and is intended to complete the allocation of frequencies while extending radio coverage across the country.
Reports by La Nouvelle Tribune and Benin Web TV indicate that the process could also provide a pathway for radio stations currently operating outside the legal framework to obtain regulatory compliance, while bringing radio services to localities that remain without coverage. HAAC’s own communication describes the objective more broadly as completing the allocation process and improving territorial coverage.
The regulator has not yet disclosed the number of frequencies available, the number of applicants or the specific localities targeted.
HAAC President Edouard Cocou Loko used the opening session to signal a tougher regulatory approach, calling on the authority’s counsellors to combine field oversight with faster processing of regulatory matters.
Beyond frequency allocation, the session will also address the formalisation of online media, new authorisations and ongoing professional conduct monitoring.
For broadcasters awaiting licences or additional spectrum, the outcome of the session will be more significant than the opening agenda, particularly as HAAC moves towards finalising the latest phase of Benin’s radio frequency allocation.
