It was on October 2018, the government of Ethiopia announced its decision to proceed with the privatization and the liberalization of the Ethiopian Telecommunications Sector.
The objectives of liberalizing the telecom sector are for enhancing the role of the sector in socio-economic activities to enable the country to grow rapidly; expanding ICT coverage in all parts of the country; providing competitive ICT services in terms of cost and quality; and creating a conducive environment for the private sector to use ICT.
Recently, the Ethiopian Communications Authority (ECA) wishes to clarify some issues with respect to the liberalization and privatization processes underway in Ethiopia.
As to the Authority, liberalization of the telecommunications sector essentially entails introducing competition in the sector by allowing new telecom business operators to invest in Ethiopia within government-defined policies, laws, and regulations. Privatization, on the other hand, is the process of partially privatizing the incumbent telecom operator which is managed by Ministry of Finance, Ethio Telecom, and the Ethiopian Public Enterprises Holdings Agency.
Established by the Communications Service Proclamation No. 1148/2019, the Authority has the mandate to grant licenses to new operators, in line with global industry standards, manage spectrum, monitor Quality of Service, as well as consumer protection.
Currently the Authority is finalizing its responses and recommendations on the numerous questions and suggestions that have been raised by stakeholders with regards to the planned regulatory framework during the public consultation period. The Authority will also provide a timeline for the issuance of two new telecom operators shortly.
Regarding the opening of the telecommunications market, the Director General Engineer Balcha Reba said in a statement on its website that the process will transform the lives of our people and will benefit end-users and attract innovative and competitive players of Telecommunications sector.
“Our impact in Ethiopia is to transparently and efficiently regulate the communications sector and ensure fair competitive practices by all communications service providers to promote accessibility and protect the interests of consumers while maintaining high-quality communications services at affordable prices.”
On Monday, the Ethiopian Communications Authority stated that it has drafted several directives for Stakeholder Consultation that will facilitate issuance of telecommunications service licenses
pursuant to the new Telecommunications Regulatory Framework.
In this case, the Authority will hold a fourteen-day Stakeholder Consultation on the directives. The directives are: Telecommunications Licensing Directive, Consumers Rights and Protection Directive, and Dispute Resolution Directive. Additional directives will be forthcoming in the next few days, and these will include, but not limited to, directives on Quality of Service (QoS), Numbering, Interconnection, Infrastructure Sharing and Collocation, Telecommunications Rights of Way, and Universal Access obligation framework.
“We will review all submissions we receive and will consider the comments in adopting the Directives. This Stakeholder Consultation will start on April 28, 2020 and will run until May 11, 2020.”
According to the Authority, the objective of this draft Telecommunications Licensing Directive is to provide a licensing framework that will allow for an effective and efficient licensing process as well as procedures in the Telecommunications sector for the operation of Telecommunications systems, infrastructures, and Telecommunications Services in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.
Regarding the license requirement, the directive stated that no person shall operate a Telecommunications Service or Network without obtaining a License from the
Authority, consistent with this Directive. It also stated that no person shall use the Radio Frequency Spectrum without obtaining a License from the Authority, consistent with the Proclamation and the Directive.
Moreover, the Authority may grant an individual license using methods such as auction, beauty contest, hybrid of beauty
contest and auction; or, any other method that the Authority may deem appropriate.
As in the directive, “Mobile Network Operator License” is issued by the Authority for the operation of a Cellular Mobile Network to provide any Telecommunications Service including voice, text, data, and video using any generation of wireless technologies anywhere within Ethiopia, and to send and receive Telecommunications to and from outside Ethiopia.
In addition, the “Telecommunications Infrastructure Provider License” can be issued by the Authority for the provision of Fiber Optics (Dark Fiber) Infrastructure, Mobile Tower Infrastructure, and/or Data Center Infrastructure.
This may show Ethiopia moved closer to liberalizing the telecommunications services and infrastructures by publishing the final draft of directives that mention spectrum permits will be valid for 15 years.
In sum, the need to sell part of the state-controlled, Ethio Telecom, is to help liberalize the economy and attract more foreign capital. Vodacom Group Ltd., MTN Group Ltd., Orange SA and Helios Towers have expressed interest in investing in Ethiopia’s telecommunication services and infrastructures. No doubt that liberalizing the telecom services is also crucial to provide an effective and efficient operation of telecommunications services and infrastructures with affordable prices.
The Ethiopian Herald May 2/2020
BY ZELALEM GIRMA
