Telecommunications Sector Performance Reviews 2009/2010
South African Telecommunication Sector Performance Review 12
Towards Evidence-based ICT Policy and Regulation - Vol 2 Paper 6 - 2010
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| The South African telecoms sector has been in flux over the last decade from a policy and regulatory perspective. Sub-optimal outcomes after the first phase of reform saw the partial privatisation of the incumbent and the entry of a third mobile operator. In the second phase another national fixed-line operator entered the market and the market was further liberalised through the enactment of the Electronic Communications Act in 2005. This was hailed as legislation that unshackled the market constraints and enabled the optimisation of a converged environment. But the anticipated opening up of the market has been hampered by a number of legal and regulatory bottlenecks. Download the paper
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Namibian Telecommunication Sector Performance Review Towards Evidence-based ICT Policy and Regulation - Vol 2 Paper 7 - 2010
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| Since the last ICT sector performance review of 2006, much has happened in Namibia for the better. The country now has three mobile operators, a single ministry in charge of policy for the sector, new policies, a new Act, and it should soon have a new strong and more independent regulator. Many challenges remain however. Telecom Namibia will need to change course and focus on profitability or face the risk of becoming another indebted state-owned enterprise (SOE) with dwindling significance for Namibia's telecommunication sector.
Media coverage:
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Other Publications
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Regulatory Intervention or Disruptive Competition? Lessons from East Africa on the End of International Mobile Roaming Charges Towards Evidence-based ICT Policy and Regulation - Volume Two Policy Paper 1 - 2010
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While policy makers and regulators elsewhere in Africa emulate European “best practice” regulation - despite the difficulties mature and resourced regulators in the European Union face in instituting legally binding maximum tariffs for roaming - in East Africa operators have strategically dropped roaming charges in their competitive struggle for customers. Although this has been hailed as the result of market competition and indeed it is, an underlying necessary condition was the creation of an enabling policy and regulatory environment. This allowed operators to integrate historically separate national networks into cross-border operations, undermining roaming markets in the region and ending roaming charges in East Africa forever. In this policy paper, Alison Gillwald and Muriuki Muriethi examine the dramatic impact of disruptive competition on the termination of roaming charges in East Africa.
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Mobile termination benchmarking: the case of Namibia Towards Evidence-based ICT Policy and Regulation - Volume Two Policy Paper 3 - 2010
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In paper 1 of the public policy series on Evidence-Based Policy ICT Policy and Regulation Christoph Stork focuses on Mobile Termination Benchmarking: The Case of Namibia. The paper challenges some of the conventional wisdom of call termination rate theory and examines the application of some of these findings to a case study on Namibia where benchmarking was used by the regulator determine the cost of an efficient operator and to reduce terminates rates by nearly half immediately and to a quarter within 18 months. The paper demonstrates how lower termination rates led to greater competition in the sector, lower end user prices, more subscribers, higher investment and increased profitability for the incumbent mobile operator.
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Gender Assessment of ICT Access and Usage in Africa Volume One 2010 Policy Paper 5
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This analysis explores the inequities of access and usage by viewing them through a gender lens. Of the limited demand-side data on Africa that exists, very little is disaggregated on gender lines. This study provides a descriptive statistical overview of access to ICTs by women and men and their usage of them. This is supported by focus groups that were undertaken in five of the 17 countries surveyed in East, Central, South and West Africa.
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Dr Alison Gillwald joins GSB in quest to develop ICT in Africa
Friday, 30 July 2010 13:54
 | Alison Gillwald has been appointed as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Cape Town - Graduate School of Business. Gillwald's role will be aligned primarily with the work of the Management Programme in Infrastructure Reform and Regulation (MIR) programme at the Graduate School of Business, and it will focus on building ICT research, policy and regulatory capacity in Africa. Her work will help further develop the GSB as a leading business school in research and teaching on emergent economies. |
CPRafrica on Chakula - Association for Progressive Communications (APC)
Thursday, 08 July 2010 12:32
| The latest issue of CHAKULA (Issue No. 19, July 2010), the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) newsletter features CPRafrica and e-interviews with the main speakers of the conference. Research ICT Africa director Alison Gillwald comments on the need for competitive research for policy influence and the e-interview with Christoph Stork, senior research at Research ICT Africa, is about mobile termination benchmarking. The issue carried e-interviews also with Rohan Samarajiva, Lirneasia CEO, Muriuki Mureithi, independent ICT consultant, and Indra de Lanerolle, adjunct Lecturer at the University of Witwatersrand. Read the newsletter. |
Gillwald comments the draft regulations on interconnection in South Africa
Monday, 28 June 2010 08:18
| Alison Gillwald comments on the process of public participation on the draft regulations about the call termination rates in South Africa.
Read the article in Brainstorm Magazine.. |
Amy Mahan Scholarship Award 2010 for the Advancement of ICT Policy and Regulatory Research in Africa
Tuesday, 04 May 2010 09:39
 | Congratulations to the recipients of the Amy Mahan PhD Scholarship for the Advancement of ICT Policy and Regulatory Research in Africa. The award is issued in celebration of the life of Amy Mahan and in recognition of the passionate commitment to the improvement of the lives of those most marginalised in society that she demonstrated through her research, collaboration and mentorship. Read more |
CPRafrica: Looking back at a decade of communications reform: Looking forward to 2020
Friday, 16 April 2010 14:30
Dates
- Young Scholars Tutorials: Sunday 18th April 2010 - Monday 19th April 2010
- CPR Africa Registration and Welcoming Dinner: 19th April 2010
- Registration: From 15h00 and Dinner: 19h00
- CPR Africa Conference: 20th April 2010 - 21st April 2010
Executive training. Connectivity and Convergence: Alternative Regulatory Strategies
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| 12th April – 16th April 2010 UCT GSB Breakwater Campus, V&A Waterfront, Cape Town, South Africa.
Programme summary:
Successfully offered for the first time through the UCT GSB Management in Infrastructure Reform and Regulation Programme in association with LIRNE.net in 2009, this new programme is designed to enhance the strategic thinking of a select group of senior decision-makers in telecom and related sectors in developing countries and emerging economies. The aim of the programme is to address the many challenges posed by the current stage of telecom and ICT reform to governments, regulatory agencies, operators and other stakeholders. The certainties of yesterday are no more: traditional approaches to the licensing of networks and services is being challenged by converging technologies services and innovative business models; individual assignments of frequencies are being questioned in the light of new standards such as Wi-Fi and WiMax; the distinctions between wired and wireless are being blurred; classic price regulation is becoming less central to the missions of regulatory agencies; new pro-poor business strategies are challenging conventional universal service models; and all industry players are being challenged to address content issues at various levels. Read more Downloads: |
CALL FOR PAPERS CPRsouth5: Convergence: Infrastructure, services, policies
Tuesday, 06 April 2010 09:32
Erina4Africa Workshop
Tuesday, 06 April 2010 10:12
Notice on The Southern African Journal of Information and Communication
Thursday, 18 March 2010 14:06
The Editor and most of the editorial board of the Southern African Journal of Information and Communication have resigned following the threat of legal action against the editor by the University of the Witwatersrand LINK Centre. This website therefore serves only as a repository of past editions brought out under a creative commons licence, over the last decade.
There is no editorial continuity between these, Department of Education accredited issues, and an issue published without reference to the Editor or Editorial Board of over a decade, on the LINK website as issue 10 of this journal, under the assumed editorship of Lucienne Abrahams and with Charley Lewis as Review Editor.
Call for sponsorship - Hole-in-the-Wall-Education Limited
Hole-in-the-Wall-Education Limited (HiWEL) recently has been working on a concept called “Activity Based e-learning” and had submitted a proposal of presentation to e-Learning Africa-2010, which has been accepted by the jury. In order to participate to e-Learning Africa 2010 (eLA 2010), HiWEL, together with eLA 2010 launched a call for sponsorship. Read more
LIRNEasia dissemination event and tutorials, Singapore, 21-22 June 2010
Monday, 15 March 2010 10:33
Call for applications for Young Scholar awards. Fifteen Young Scholars from the Asia-Pacific region will be selected to participate in tutorials and a research dissemination event scheduled to be held before the 2010 International Communication Association (ICA) conference in Singapore These events will be taught and conducted by recognized scholars and practitioners at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Kent Ridge Campus. The selected Young Scholars will also attend the conference and have their travel and accommodation expenses covered. This is an exceptional opportunity to learn about conducting policy-relevant research and to participate in a leading international scholarly conference. Read more
The SA Supreme Court of Appeal upholds the Competition Commission
Thursday, 25 February 2010 12:17
The SA Competition Commission appealed to the Supreme Court against a decision of the High Court of Pretoria to review and set aside its decision to refer complaints of anti-competitive conduct by Telekom to the Competition Tribunal. The SA Supreme Court upheld the appeal, held that the Commission had the jurisdiction to refer the complaint of anti-competitive conduct and the competent Tribunal to adjudicate on it.
African countries database on ICT indicators
Saturday, 13 February 2010 08:39
The African countries database on ICT indicators is on-line: http://www.researchictafrica-data.net/.
To access the database, log in using "Guest Account" and choose "RIA_country_database".
IEEE/ACM International Conference on ICTD - Call for papers and call for sessions
Wednesday, 03 February 2010 14:39
The IEEE/ACM, on the occasion of the IEEE/ACM International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development, has launched a call for papers and a call for sessions. For further information about the calls and the submission procedure, please consult the following documents:
Christoph Stork wins best paper at CPRSouth
Wednesday, 16 December 2009 00:00
Christoph Stork, Researcher at Research ICT Africa has won the best paper award at CPRSouth held in Negombo, Sri Lanka.
Read the paper here, and see the other papers here.
Spectrum Auctions: Lessons Learned from Around the World
Wednesday, 21 October 2009 14:05
Karen Wrege of KB Enterprises delivered a presentation on Spectrum Auctions: Lessons Learned From Around the World, at a South Africa Connect public seminar on the 21st of October 2009. Read more
Presentation: Spectrum Auctions: Lessons Learned From Around the World - Karen Wrege
View more presentations from Research ICT Africa.
Presentation at the Public Hearing on Termination Rates hosted by the Portfolio Committee on Communication
Thursday, 15 October 2009 11:33
On the 14th of October 2009, Dr. Christoph Stork together with Dr. Alison Gillwald of Research ICT Africa gave the following presentation at the Public Hearing on Termination Rates hosted by the Portfolio Committee on Communication of the South African Parliament. The presentation may be downloaded here.
End of Roaming Charges: Lessons from East Africa
Tuesday, 13 October 2009 07:46
End of Roaming Charges: Lessons from East Africa
Presentation by Alison Gillwald and Muriuki Mureithi.
e-Parliaments: Concepts, Policy and the Reality. 12 October 2009, Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, Cape Town.
Alison Gillwald's Presentation at iWeek
Monday, 07 September 2009 09:28
Alison Gillwald's presentation delivered at iWeek on the 2nd of September 2009, entitled 'Good intentions, poor outcomes: SA telecom reform in review' can be accessed here.
South African interconnection rates: coverage update
Tuesday, 04 August 2009 08:53
High interconnection rates charged by mobile operators have received quite a bit of coverage in the South African media recently, many have also referenced the Namibian Interconnection Benchmarking Study:
- Richard Van Rensburg, 'Cut These Costs! - Cellphone call charges: Patricia De Lille Wants Authorities to Investigate', You 06.08.09
- Lower call rates won't be easy to achieve, My Broadband, 03.08.09
- Patricia De Lille, 'Calling for action to stop sky-high cellphone costs' The Sunday Times 02.08.09
- Loyd Gedye, 'Call it crazy', The Mail & Guardian 31.07.09
- Icasa agrees to look into high cellphone rates, The Mail and Guardian 31.07.09
- Lesley Stones, 'Namibia cuts phone fees before SA', Business Day 28.07.09
- John Holdsworth, How to reduce telecom costs, My Broadband 23.07.09
- Sapa, 'De Lille urges probe into cellphone costs', The Star 23.07.09
- Michael Hamlyn, Competition chief 'shares De Lille's concerns', The Mail & Guardian 23.07.09
- 'We are not anti-competitive, say cellular operators', My Broadband 23.07.09
Dr. Christoph Stork's presentation on Interconnection can be accessed here, and the Namibian interconnection study can be accessed here.
Namibia leads Africa in push towards cost-based termination rates
Tuesday, 14 July 2009 09:35
The Namibian Communications Commission (NCC) has introduced a standard charge structure which has decreased interconnection charges by up to 43%. The NCC ruled on the termination rates in terms of MTC and Cell One's licenses, which requires cost-based termination rates for interconnection. Interconnection charges for all mobile calls are now 60c (Namibian). Read more
Alison Gillwald's presentation at the Mail & Guardian / Neotel breakfast
Friday, 10 July 2009 00:00
This year’s State of the Nation address was the fifth in which the President, like his predecessor, rightfully lamented the high cost of communications in the country. As South Africa slides slowly down international ICT indices, this is to be welcomed but why, if this issue is so important have we unable to do anything about it?
In the past pricing colloquia have been held, threats have been made and moral suasion has been used on telecommunications companies but little has changed. The fact is prices remain high because they are not recognised as the direct, if unintended outcomes of policy choices over the last decade and half.
The high prices across services within the telecommunications sector are not the result of CEOs with horns and forked tails plotting away in gilded boardrooms of the operators – or not only – they are rather a direct outcome of the policy – the market structure, public and private ownership and public control or regulation – the so called institutional arrangements within the sector.
These are not vague and inconclusive linkages that are difficult to prove or explain. Globally and locally the benefits for all segments of society of effectively regulated competitive telecommunication markets is irrefutable.
If we wish to optimise the potential of this sector to contribute to the economic turnaround of this country, to the improved quality of education and health, the better delivery of public services and the creation of decent jobs, now is the time for evidence-based policy.
The protection of incumbents through limitations on market entry in the absence of effective regulation have resulted often in a reduced or delayed range of services, generally at very high prices, preventing South Africa from achieving the kind of cost competitiveness to make it globally competitive. It is clear from the 15 –Year Review that the problem of low penetration rates of services other than mobile and high charges for communications services across the board, but now particularly acute with regard to the Internet, may well have been overcome by different policy decisions. These have been identified as a greater commitment to both to opening up the market and the establishment of effective regulatory agencies conducive to attracting the long-term sunk investments required for infrastructure development and the range of services required for effective citizenry and economic participation in a modern economy.
PhD Summer School - The Political Economy of Information and Communication Technology
Wednesday, 27 May 2009 14:36
PhD Summer School - Political Economy of Information and Communication Technologies
Topic of 2009: Next Generation Mobile Media
Organized by center for Communication, Media and Information technologies (CMI)
Aalborg University Copenhagen, Denmark
Time: 23-28 August 2009
Location: Skagen, Denmark
Information and registration (deadline 1 June 2009)
http://phdsummerschool.nordict.aau.dk
The topic of the 2009 PhD summer school is Next Generation Mobile Media – the development of new converged text, audio, and video media on mobile and wireless platforms. The summer school is concerned with the new and upcoming mobile and wireless technology platforms and service architectures as well as the content and communications delivered and facilitated. Technology developments as well as the market and policy aspects of Next Generation Mobile Media are discussed. This includes user requirements, business models, market developments, and the regulatory framework for network development and content delivery. Emphasis is on the newest and upcoming developments in the field including social networking on mobile and wireless platforms.
Lecturers:
William H. Melody, Professor, CMI, Aalborg University
Martin Fransman, Professor, JETS, University of Edinburgh
Jean Paul Simon, JPS Public Policy Consulting
Ramjee Prasad, Professor, CTIF/AAU
Knud Erik Skouby, Professor, CMI
Anders Henten, Associate Professor, CMI
Reza Tadayoni, Associate Professor, CMI
Govt, regulation irrelevant in telecoms
Thursday, 16 April 2009 13:34
by Paul Vecchiatto [ Cape Town | ITWeb, 15 April 2009 ], originally appearing here.
The path to the creation of an information society is through the rollout of mobile broadband, and SA should acknowledge that government and regulatory intervention is all but irrelevant, says Rohan Samarajiva, a visiting Sri Lankan academic.
Speaking at a public lecture at the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business last night, Samarajiva said research into the developing telecommunications markets of South East Asia holds a number of important lessons for SA.
“The poorest people know how to get the best value for their telecommunications costs. It almost doesn't matter what plans, regulations and incentives governments and large companies place, the poorest will find the least-cost option.”Samarajiva served as director-general of the Sri Lankan Department of Communications from 1998 to 1999, and is chairman and CEO of regional ICT policy and research organisation LIRNEasia.net. He is delivering lectures for the Connectivity and Convergence Course: Alternative Regulatory Strategies, being conducted by economic development organisation The Edge Institute.
LIRNEasia.net tracks trends and usage of telecommunications within the Indo-Gangetic Plain, which holds the world's largest concentration of poorest people. The six countries that are researched are Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Philippines and Thailand.
Samarajiva noted the proliferation of cellular phones has helped improve the lives of literally millions of poor people. This is despite the attempts by governments of those countries to at first restrain the growth of mobile networks and then to try and make money out of them, he explained.
“Licensing grants are often based on corruption rather than on what is needed. It is ironic that corruption has actually freed up the markets and brought the services to the people who need them.”
SA could do well to learn from the lessons of South East Asia, and there are a number of regulatory issues that it could apply, Samarajiva pointed out.These include allowing for as many players in the market as possible; finding more flexible and creative ways in which to allocate spectrum; having a light market hand, but dealing with competition issues firmly; and generally staying out of the running of the industry.
SA runs the “Alitalia” model of telecommunications as opposed to the “Ryan Air” model that is now prevalent in South East Asia, he noted.
He was referring to an expensive regulatory process that leads to difficult market conditions and prices that stay high and are unlikely to be sustainable in the long-run, as opposed to a no-frills model that allows prices to fall, but quality of service could be spotty.
“You must be very proud of yourselves as a country because your total cost of ownership for a mobile phone is one of the highest in the world at $18 (R190) per month. In Bangladesh, considered one of the worst run countries in the world, this is about $1 per month.”
by Paul Vecchiatto [ Cape Town | ITWeb, 15 April 2009 ], originally appearing here.
RIA presentation at EuroCPR
Tuesday, 31 March 2009 00:00
Alison Gillwald, Director of Research ICT Africa delivered the following presentation, entitled, Towards Evidence-based Policy in Africa: ICT Access and Usage in 17 African countries at the EuroCPR conference in Seville on the 31st of March 2009. The presentation can be accessed here.
Research ICT Africa! Meeting in Dakar a great success!
Saturday, 03 June 2006 18:58
The 2006 RIA! Annual meeting that took place at the Novotel in Dakar, Senegal from 26 May to 2 June 2006 was a great success. The RIA! membership grew to include West and North Africa. The RIA!-NetTel@Africa discusions were also fruitful as both parties realised the importance of sharing information as a way of keeping the partnership strong. Here is a link to the PANOS review of the workshop written in French.
National Broadband Strategy Forum
Wednesday, 25 March 2009 00:00
RIA recently took part in the National Broadband Strategy forum at the Sunnyside Hotel in Parktown on the 24th of March 2008. Visit South Africa Connect for a full report on the conference proceedings. Thanks to African Commons for blogging and thanks to the organisers and partners: The Shuttleworth Foundation, the Association for Progressive Communications and Sangonet.
