MINISTRY OF WORKS, TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATION
Justification. Licences are important instruments for attainment of national goals and
for a controlled development of the industry.
Implications. A comprehensive licensing system for operation of network and ser
vices will add to the bureaucracy and workload of the regulator, but given the far
reaching implications of a total liberalisation and considering the absence of
supportive legislation for consumer protection, the justification for such a system is
strong.
The comprehensive licensing system should be of temporary nature and
could be withdrawn once the market has matured and shown signs of self
regulation. The licence requirement for publicly accessible
telecommunications systems, i e national and international fixed or
mobile networks and services, should remain in force as it is of national
interest to be able to control and guide the development of the national
telecommunications network.
The rapid development in the telecommunications industry implies that
licences should be limited in time and allow for timely adjustments as
conditions change.
9. TIME FRAME
A controlled liberalisation of the telecommunications industry implies
that control instruments need to be at hand before the liberalisation
process can commence.
All of these instruments are not available at present and thus need to be
developed. The main instruments which need to be in place are:
• a new telecommunications Act
• amendment of the Botswana Telecommunications Corporation Act
of 1980
• new and revised telecommunications regulations issued by the
Regulatory Authority
• systems and procedures for handling of type approvals
• systems and procedures for handling of licence applications
• licence conditions for various types of telecommunication
networks and services
• parameters for assessment of interconnection arrangement and for
prices and tariffs
•
systems and procedures for monitoring and supervision.
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TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY FOR BOTSWANA