7
Regulatory environment
An enabling environment needs to be created for effective and efficient service
provisioning. Regulation shall ensure that the telecommunications requirements of
the rural population are met through specific market interventions. In particular, the
licensing of telecommunications service providers including provisions and
obligations shall guide the process of service provision. The provision of service in
the rural area shall be in line with the liberalisation of the telecommunications
industry.
7.1 Licensing Framework
In Botswana, telecommunication licenses are currently issued in terms of
service. Historically this has been distinguishable and easily separated as
data and voice (broken down into mobile, international, and fixed).
The provision of telecommunications services to the rural areas shall be
provided by licensed operators under a new and special license category to
be known as “Underserved Area Licence”. The identified technology solution
providing the most economical and cost effective solution from a financial and
implementation point of view shall be implemented. It is therefore
recommended that a service neutral licence shall be issued for rural areas.
This will prevent the situation whereby costly deployment solutions are being
forced due to licence conditions. To ensure efficiency, both economically and
socially, the localities shall be grouped together into Underserved Areas for
the purpose of awarding the licences.
The process leading to the award of the licence shall be as objective as
possible. An open tender process shall be used to select the best service
provider to provide service for each rural license area. The successful bidder
shall be awarded an Underserved Area Licence by the regulator. The new
category of licence shall be aligned to the proposed further liberalization
timelines. The modalities of the license shall be discussed between the
Ministry of Communications, Science and Technology (MCST) and the
regulator.
The format of the licences thus issued will, in addition to the standard terms
and conditions also include an annex which will comprise a mandatory rollout
plan stipulating the localities to be provided with telecommunication services
and the specified timeframes by which the services shall be provided. In
addition, the service providers shall be mandated to provide consumers with
access to a directory information service and emergency services such as the
police, ambulance, fire departments, etc.
Rural Telecommunications Strategy
26 October 2006
18