Politicians blamed for decline in the Telecom Industry

Accra, Nov. 12, GNA - Participants at the on-going International Telecommunications Union (ITU) forum for Telecommunications Regulators in Africa on Wednesday blamed politicians for the decline in the industry.

They said technical, monetary and other regulatory issues were not the main problem facing the industry but the interference of politicians directing regulatory bodies in their operations.

The participants therefore, urged African governments to desist from interfering with Information Communication and Technology (ICT) transformation and allow experts and regulators to perform effectively and efficiently.

The forum, organized by ITU and the African Telecommunication Union (ATU), in conjunction with the National Communications Authority (NCA) of Ghana, was to prepare a Regional Action Plan for 2003 and 2004 to enhance regulatory activities in Africa.

It would provide a pivotal role in the preparation of the Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR), scheduled to take place in Geneva, Switzerland in December.

The Forum would also provide opportunity for African Regulators to deliberate on their inputs to the GSR, taking into account major challenges faced by regulators due to the transformation of the sector and technological development.

Speaking on the topic, "Overview of Interconnectivity principles and the best practices", Mr Jerome Bezzina Idate, an International Telecom Expert identified transparency, non-discrimination and fair tax regime as the bases for interconnectivity.

Mr Bizzina Idate said the holistic adoption of European Interconnectivity practices had created problems for African regulatory bodies, adding, "before we adopt any practices for interconnectivity, the individual countries must do cost analysis on the ground."

He said specific issues to be taken into account before adopting these regulations, include, analysis of the cost of interconnection, granting of licences, the universal service and the regulatory problem. Mr Idate identified the principles for calculation of interconnectivity cost, fixed and accessibility cost should be inculcated into the interconnectivity price.

He urged African Regulators to access all the available interconnectivity rates and consider the best necessary modality for all stakeholders to ensure industrial peace.

Mr Idate urged stakeholders to consider interconnectivity as a means and not an end to reduce the over-concentration on interconnectivity for income generation.

Mr Edgardo Sepulveda, Senior Telecommunications Economist, from Toronto, Canada, who spoke on "Interconnectivity Regulation and Universal Access", noted that with the introduction of mobile or long distance competition, Access Deficit (AD) had become an important regulatory issue.

He explained that AD was the result of unbalanced local tariffs, once competition had been introduced and stressed that large ADs were unsustainable.

Mr Sepulveda said AD should be recovered through supplementary interconnectivity charges or preferable through Universal Access and Universal System Funds to reduce high tariff rate on consumers. He also suggested the use of interconnection charges and consumer tariffs to recover AD over a period.

Major Joseph R. K. Tandoh (Rtd), Acting Director General of NCA emphasised the need for governments to be circumspect in adopting Communication Laws existing in other countries.

"There is the need to study vast array of laws from different experienced countries and tailor them to suit the prevailing political, cultural and socio-economic status of individual countries."

He also called for a workable action plan, to identify factors critical to success, ensure organizations that work towards common goals, provide valuable communication tools and measure performance against established standards.

Major Tandoh urged regulators to consider external factors that affect effective Strategic Communication Planning, that include political, economic, legal environment, competition, technological development, new entrants and public opinion.

Internal factors such as cost of strategic planning, organizational financial position, service and supply records, growth trends and training must also be considered.

The NCA Director General, called for adherence of basic principles of public utility regulations to be adopted to ensure flexibility and efficiency for developing countries Regulatory Regimes desirous of standing the test of time in this Millennium.