MINISTRY OF WORKS, TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATION
7. ROLES AND FUNCTION
Based on national goals and guided by the above principles, a new Structure for the
telecommunications industry in Botswana could be envisaged as follows:
i) Government assumes the over-all policy functions and establishes the legal
framework for the telecommunications industry.
ii) The Regulatory Authority implements the policy and issues regulations. It
further monitors sector performance and supervises compliance with rules,
regulations and other conditions imposed on actors in the industry.
iii) Competing operators provide telecommunication networks and services and
associated investments.
iv) Consumers are users of the services and will decide which products and
services will make up the industry.
Justification. The separation of responsibilities in the telecommunications sector
should be as clear as possible. Government should retain the responsibility for
establishing over-riding policies and the legal and organisational framework for the
sector. A specialised authority, as independent as possible within the government
structure, should act as supervisor, regulator and arbitrator for the sector. Operators
and service providers should perform their services in competition on as equal terms
as can be established, and users should have the largest possible freedom of choice
and an assurance of protection against exploitation through unfair or illegal practices
by operators, service providers and equipment suppliers.
Implications. This perception of the future telecommunications industry in
Botswana implies that the Government's role in the sector, as policy maker, market
supervisor and commercial operator, should be separated as much as possible from
each other. It furthermore means that any special benefits or subsidies to BTC must
be withdrawn with respect to operations which are carried out in competition with
other commercial operators. A comprehensive legal and regulatory framework must
be established to ensure the commercial operators in the market that competition will
be on equal terms and furthermore that the rules regulating the market will remain
predictable. Consumer protection and fair competition regulations will have to form
part of the legislative framework.
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TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY FOR BOTSWANA