International Telecommunication Union HIPSSA Project HIPSSA Project Support for Harmonization of the ICT Policies Support for Harmonization of the ICT Policies in Sub-Sahara Africa in Sub-Sahara Africa An overview of the main challenges faced by the stakeholders: coastal countries, landlocked countries, private operators, etc Isabelle Gross – Balancing Act
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International Telecommunication Union HIPSSA Project Support for Harmonization of the ICT Policies in Sub-Sahara Africa An overview of the main challenges.
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InternationalTelecommunicationUnion
HIPSSA ProjectHIPSSA Project
Support for Harmonization of the ICT Policies Support for Harmonization of the ICT Policies in Sub-Sahara Africa in Sub-Sahara Africa
An overview of the main challenges faced by the stakeholders: coastal countries, landlocked countries,
private operators, etc
Isabelle Gross – Balancing Act
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Table of contentsTable of contents
Introduction
Stakeholders at the regional and national level
Legal challenges: behind and ahead
The challenges of the application of the guidelines at the national level
The challenges for landlocked countries
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Introduction:
“I have little patience with scientists who take a board of wood, look for its thinnest part, and drill a great number of holes where drilling is easy.”
Albert Einstein
- not related to what we discuss today but what about “We have done a great job with this guidelines. So, let’s put in a drawer… …
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Who are the stakeholders at the regional level?
coastal countries with a landing station and access to international fibre capacity
landlocked countries without a landing station and access to international fibre capacity through a coastal country
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Who are the stakeholders at the national level? Ministry of ICT & regulator
National incumbent
Other telecoms operators (fixed and mobile)
Data services providers
Content and VAS service providers
Consumers (public and private)
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► Numerous stakeholders
► Various perspectives & interests
=Many challenges
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The legal challenges: behind and ahead
► The legal challenges behind:
- conductive regional legal framework to support the guidelines and its principles
* Supplementary Act A/SA/2/01/07 on access and interconnection of ICT sector networks and services
* Supplementary Act A/SA/1/01/07 on the harmonisation of the policies and regulatory framework of the ICT sector (Non-discrimination obligation (Article 3))
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The legal challenges: behind and ahead
► The legal challenges ahead:
- guidelines adopted as a regulation in Cote d’Ivoire in October 2011
- Regulations, enacted by the Council, “shall have general application’”. Their provisions shall be binding on the Community Institutions as well as in Member states where they are directly applicable.
- introduction of the guidelines in national law
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The challenges of the application of the guidelines at the national level
► Application of the guidelines or “business as usual”
- overcome the divergent economic interests of the various stakeholders (national incumbent versus ISPs and other telecoms operators)
- need for a detailed implementation programme (in particular the technical side in terms of physical access; co-location) with a timeline and deadlines
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The challenges of the application of the guidelines at the national level
► Application of the guidelines or “business as usual”
- need for a pricing control model
-strengthening of local expertise and capacity building
- monitoring and dispute resolution mechanism in order to be effective
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The challenges of the application of the guidelines at the national level
► Application of the guidelines or “business as usual”
Risks:
- 2 speed implementation process among ECOWAS countries
- knock back effect on landlocked countries
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The challenges for landlocked countries
► Guidelines doesn’t apply to landlocked countries
►Landlocked countries faced with high transit prices and little power of negotiations
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The challenges for landlocked countries
► Are there any other options or ways to extend the existing guidelines ?
► The notion of “virtual landing station” (the junction between two cross-border terrestrial cables)
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Thanks a lot for your Thanks a lot for your attentionattention
Union Internationale des Télécommunications International Telecommunication Union