MINISTRY OF WORKS, TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATION
of disputes in the market and rules for fair competition. Type approval
procedures for liberalised terminal equipment, management of the radio
frequency spectrum and licensing schemes for competing providers of
mobile or value added services are other examples. There is also a need to
regulate and oversee the interconnection arrangements between BTC and
newcomers in the market.
The extent of regulation will, of course, be dependent on the number and
variety of market actors, but it is obvious that development of the
regulatory capacity is vital for the success of the restructuring process.
Given the size of the telecommunications market and associated cost to
regulate it, and bearing in mind the short supply of experienced
professionals, the regulatory authority should be a small entity
contracting out as much as possible of the regulatory tasks and functions
to other public and private institutions, while keeping the ultimate
responsibility in accordance with proposed new legislation. Furthermore,
regulatory measures which are simple to implement and supervise and
which reduce the workload and political burden on the regulator should
be developed. Price cap models, standardised license conditions and
uniform reporting systems would facilitate the regulator's work.
The cost of regulating the industry should as much as possible be borne
by the industry itself by levying fees and charges for licensing of
operators and equipment that reflect the real cost of producing the
services. Considering the new regulatory functions to be carried out in a
liberalised market, it is expected that the cost of regulating the industry
will be somewhat higher than the present costs incurred by BTC to
perform the regulatory tasks. Work on administrative measures, including
detailed costing, for implementation of the new policy is in progress, but
it is presently assumed that the cost of regulating the industry will amount
to about one per cent of the turnover of the industry.
8.8 THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR RESTRUCTURING OF
THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY IS DEVELOPED.
Justification. Reforms in the telecommunications industry require a
legislative base along which structural changes can take place.
Implications. The far reaching structural reforms in the
telecommunications industry outlined in this paper require clear mandates
to be successful. A critical issue relating to the policy level of functions is
the relationship between the Ministry (MWTC) and the Regulatory
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TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY FOR BOTSWANA