Foreword
The publication of this Report – an entire nation or region, satellites are
“Open and Closed Skies: Satellite Ac- a valuable tool for establishing links
cess in Africa” – takes place during a throughout the Continent. Even now,
period of momentous change on the Africans who formerly were counted
African Continent. Privatisation, strate- among the “have nots”, are being pro-
gic liberalisation, and the establishment vided with satellite-based communica-
of separate regulatory authorities are in- tions, either via stand-alone services or
creasingly apparent. Further, national in combination with complementar y
Administrations and regional inter-gov- technologies such as GSM, Wi-Fi and
ernmental groups of regulators have fibre.
begun moving toward harmonised tel- This Report examines how satellite-
ecommunication regulations and poli- based systems are being successfully
cies. This is in order to facilitate ex- provided throughout Africa and analy-
panded access to voice, data and video ses key contributing factors, including
ser vices, to help bridge the “Digital regulation and policy, bandwidth and
Divide”. systems availability, end-user considera-
Accompanying these trends are nu- tions, and more. Conversely, the Report
merous technological improvements highlights what challenges remain to
that are being applied by the private be addressed before the full potential
sector to telecommunication systems. of satellite-based solutions can be real-
Some of these enhancements have re- ised in A frica. As such, the Report
sulted in lower-cost digital solutions, ser ves as a practical guideline for all
and this has begun to have a favourable stakeholders with an interest in expand-
impact on the extent to which services ing African’s access to Information and
can be made available to end users, in- Communication Technologies. !
cluding those living in both Develop-
ing and Least Developed Countries –
as well as remote areas. Hamadoun Touré
Satellite-based communications are Director
notable in this regard. Because of their Telecommunication Development Bureau
inherent ability to provide coverage of International Telecommunication Union
Published by
DS Air Limited
1 Langhurstwood Road
Horsham
West Sussex
RH12 4QD
United Kingdom
email: info@dsair.fsnet.co.uk
Tel: +44 1403 273973
Contact:
w w w.idrc.ca
Contact: Contact:
Claire Sibthorpe, Programme Manager Heloise Emdon
Catalysing Access to ICTs in Africa Senior Programme Officer
Atos KPMG Consulting, Block F Administratrice de programmes principal
Gillooley’s View Office Park Southern A frica Satellite office
1 Osborne Road, Bedfordview c/o Development Bank of Southern Africa
South Africa PO Box 1234, Halfway House 1685
Tel: + 27 11 607 8296 Gauteng, South Africa
Email info@catia.ws Tel: +27 11 313 3086
Fax: +27 11 313 3086/3796
Research led by
Contact:
David Hartshorn, Secretary General, GVF, 2 Victoria Square, Victoria Street, St Albans,
Hertfordshire AL1 3TF, United Kingdom. Tel: +44 1727 884 739
E-mail: david.hartshorn@gvf.org
Table of Contents
Foreword
1
Map
2
Acknowledgements
3
8. Conclusions 72
Glossary 74
An Ethiopian cyber club - it’s never too early to start getting online! (Copyright: Mike Jensen)
Section 1
Open and Closed Skies
1. Satellite Communications: Bridging Africa’s Last – and First – Mile
Satellite Communications:
Bridging Africa’s Last – and First – Mile
1.1 PROJECT OV ERV IEW A ND SUMM A RY regulations that more effectively facilitate their being mainly used for post and telecommuni-
It is now widely recognised that access to in- use. Many national policies in A frica still re- cation organisations (PTOs), multinationals and
formation and knowledge through affordable strict the delivery of services through private large corporate branch offices. But now, with
communications represents a significant op- satellite systems. Although restructuring of the terminal prices below $2,000, and subscrip-
portunity for social and economic develop- telecommunication sector is now gaining mo- tion fees of $100/month, there are new oppor-
ment, for regional cooperation and integration, mentum in the region, most countries in A f- tunities for ubiquitous deployment of low-cost
and for increasing the participation of people rica continue to be protective of their mo- satellite services to small businesses and con-
in the emerging global information society. nopoly national telecom operators. However, sumers. This means there is an important need
Addressing deficiencies in access to low-cost the use of satellite can actually be a comple- to facilitate access to these solutions by imple-
communication services is therefore now re- ment to emerging national and regional back- menting “Open Skies” policies, adopting blan-
garded as an urgent imperative for improving bones2. ket licensing and other regulatory reforms.
the quality of life in A frican communities, es- Currently there are few A frican regional To eliminate time-consuming bottlenecks
pecially in remote and rural areas where the policies on satellite services and limited regu- in the submission of multiple license applica-
bulk of the population still resides. lator y harmonisation. Although a few coun-
But A frica is fragmented into many small tries, such as Mozambique, Nigeria and Bot-
national markets, and limited economies of swana, have liberalised their satellite markets
scale have combined with low-income levels to some extent, even in these cases, there is 1 “VSAT” is an acronym for Very Small Aper-
to reduce the ability of telecommunication often either a restriction on the number of ture Terminals; the term is used to describe
operators to provide services. Compounded by operators or on international traffic, or there a family of satellite-based one- and two-way
lack of competition in the sector, this has re- are burdensome licensing fees on the equip- systems and applications, where the ter-
sulted in low levels of investment in infrastruc- ment. minal equipment includes an antenna with
ture. As a result, even where access is avail- Many restrictions on private use of domes- a diameter of typically 90 centimetres –
able, costs often remain extremely high, espe- tic and international VSAT solutions unneces- 2.4 meters.
cially outside urban areas. Although there are sarily thwart access to communications, and 2 For point-to-point communications, terres-
a growing number of initiatives to expand ter- national telecommunication regulators need to trial infrastructure is generally less costly
restrial infrastructure, these are usually con- establish a harmonised licensing procedure for than satellite, but for point-to-multi-point
fined to the major cities and along trunk routes. satellite service providers, as has begun to oc- applications – including distance educa-
As a result, the cost of bandwidth for Internet cur in South, Central and North America, as tion, tele-health and rural communications
and other services is generally 10-100 times well as in Eastern and Western Europe. – satellite communications have been
higher than in North America or Europe. High equipment license fees may have proven to be more cost effective by, among
Fortunately, satellite technology presents an seemed appropriate when satellite terminal others, the African VSAT industry. For case
immediate solution to this bottleneck, even in equipment cost upwards of $20,000, and band- studies refer to http://w w w.gvf.org
the vast terrain of rural A frica. The IDRC Pan- width cost thousands of dollars per month, 3 See http://w w w.catia.ws
Africa Satellite Survey that provides the basis
for this Report confirms that systems using the
new high-power satellites over A frica make it
possible to obtain bandwidth any where in the
A busy Internet cafe in Accra, Ghana (Copyright: Mike Jensen)
tions, and to ensure that economies of scale services; regions, with analysis of how VSAT technol-
across the region are achieved, regulators can * Eliminating other barriers to rapid ogy is being used to improve standards of
make use of the Internet to collaborate in the deployment of the technology, such as health, education and business.
creation of an A frican One-Stop-Shop (OSS) for import duties; and To provide complementary material for the
license applications and information dissemi- * Creating a one-stop-shop (OSS) for satellite analysis, a pan-A frican survey of satellite regu-
nation. ser vice providers as a single point of lations in A frica was carried out with the col-
By building on existing experience in com- contact to provide infor mation about laboration of GVF6, and case studies of VSAT-
mon license arrangements in Europe and the l icensi ng requi rements across the based Internet use in Algeria, Nigeria and Tan-
Americas, and by adopting new standards in Conti nent and to provide for the zania were commissioned by IDRC from the
web-based software, it is now possible for each submission of license applications with a University of Witwatersrand Link Centre7 in
country to have an online satellite-licensing single electronic application form. South A frica. By sur veying current uses of
system, managed by its own national regula- VSAT technology and investigating policy is-
tor, while information dissemination and li- While national policy makers and regula- sues, the IDRC project aims to develop strate-
cense applications are consolidated at sub-re- tors are the direct beneficiaries of the project, gies for potential application of VSAT technol-
gional and continent-wide levels. In effect, the ultimate beneficiaries will be the general ogy to development issues facing A frica. The
every country’s regulator located within a par- population of A frica who will have much im- Pan-Africa Satellite Survey set out to:
ticular satellite footprint could be set up to proved access to a variety of services provided
receive a copy of a service provider’s license via the Internet, especially in rural areas, which a) Investigate the actual and potential appli-
application. have little immediate prospect of obtaining cation of VSAT technology for social and
The costs of establishing an online license access without the use of satellite. It is ex- economic development, particularly to
application system can be minimised when pected that by creating better strategies for health, education and business in A frica;
shared by many regulators, and these systems VSAT deployment, the project will benefit lo-
can easily be expanded to facilitate any other cal businesses and satellite operators that sup-
sort of online licensing process managed by ply the ser vices, and consequently national
the national regulators. governments that will see improved rural con- 4 CATIA also includes eight other inter-re-
The British Government’s Department for nectivity, increased investment and a stronger lated projects for A frica. These are:
International Development (DfID) has estab- tax base. Overall, the achievement of a more · Robust A frican Internet backbone with
lished a three-year programme called “Catalys- consistent and transparent regulatory environ- exchange points at the core and strong
ing Access to ICTs in Africa” (CATIA3) that aims ment will also help to reinforce the goals of A frican ISP associations;
to help expand access to ICTs through satel- the African Telecommunications Union (ATU) · Well-informed, lively and inclusive policy
lite and other key technologies4. Managed by and the New Partnership for A frican Develop- debates;
ATOS KPMG, this project is working through ment (NEPA D). · Positive policy environments for the radio
the regional African regulatory associations5 IDRC is collaborating with DfID in support broadcasting sector;
to assist Administrations in their efforts to of the CATIA programme. As part of this ef- · An A frican-led network of institutions,
improve access to low-cost VSAT-based Internet fort, the IDRC’s Acacia programme has com- strengthening the expertise needed to es-
ser vices. The key objectives of this pro- missioned the production of this Report, tablish ICT-related policy;
gramme, which includes a strong capacity- which provides A frican policy makers and · Increased capacity for developing coun-
building component for ICT policy makers and regulators with background information on the tries to participate in international ICT
regulators, are to facilitate: regulatory frameworks, end-user applications, decision making;
cost structures and technical issues pertaining · Development of low-cost computers and
* Minimised satellite regulatory fees; to satellite communications in A frica, and open-source software tailored to A frican
* Implementation of blanket- and class- which demonstrates the technology’s poten- markets;
licensing; tial to address A frican social and economic · Stronger network of community radio, FM
* Improved type-approval alternatives; needs. In addition, the Report explores effec- and public-service radio stations; and
* Enabling the private use of satellite tive regulation throughout A frica and other · An Open Knowledge Network, catalysing
the creation and exchange of local content.
5 In April 2004 an MOU between CATIA and
the Telecommunications Regulators Asso-
ciation of Southern A frica (TR ASA) was
Away from home telephone connectivity facilitates “keeping in touch”.
b) Analyse licensing, policy and regulatory is- * Global organisations, including the ITU stakeholders and will also serve as an informa-
sues relevant to VSATs in particular and to and in particular the ITU-D Study Question tion resource at follow-up VSAT workshops and
wireless technology in general. This in- 17-1: “Satellite regulation in developing meetings during which policy, regulatory and
cludes taxation of VSAT equipment; countries”; application issues and opportunities will be
c) Investigate available bandwidth at global, * Regional inter-governmental organisations, discussed. Sub-regional A frican regulator y
regional and local levels, patterns of use such as the Telecommunications Regula- groups such as EARPTO, TR ASA and WATR A
of the bandwidth and ownership of VSAT tors Association of Souther n A fr ica are being provided with the data pertaining to
technology in A frica; (TR ASA); the West African Telecommuni- their respective regions in order to enhance
d) Explore technical and human resources for cations Regulators Association (WATR A); transparency and facilitate harmonisation of
deploying services around VSAT technol- and the East A frica Regulatory Post and VSAT policies, regulatory conditions and li-
ogy in Africa; and Telecommunication Organisation cense application processes.
e) Examine commercial aspects of VSAT tech- (EARPTO);
nology including costs to institutions and * Non-governmental organisations (NGOs), 1.2 THE GENER AL CONTEXT: PROMOTING
users. such as the A frican Virtual University ACCESS TO INFORMATION AND
(AV U), Increasing Bandwidth for A frican COMMUNICATIONS IN AFRICA
The IDRC project began in early 2003 with University Development (IBAUD), NEPAD, For the past two decades, most developed
development of survey instruments such as and NetHope; countries have witnessed significant changes
interview schedules, data-collection strategies, * Consultants, such as Access Partnership, that can be traced to the use of Information
and a survey form comprising 53 questions. COMSYS, DeTeCon, DTT Consulting, and Communication Technologies (ICTs).
In September 2003, the questionnaire was sent Euroconsult and Northern Sky Research; These multi-dimensional changes (technical,
to every A frican Administration using corre- and financial and economic, cultural, social, and
spondents and local researchers where neces- * Legal experts, such as Squire, Sanders & geo-political) have been observed in almost all
sary to increase response rates and help ob- Dempsey and Coudert Brothers.
tain accurate details of actual cost structure,
regulation and licensing of VSATs in A frican This resulted in a substantial body of VSAT
countries, that would otherwise be difficult to regulatory information being obtained from 9 w w w.internets.com
obtain. Information on current satellite regu- 66% of the countries in Africa and, despite data- 10 See http://w w w.idrc.ca/acacia and http:/
latory approaches was also procured from: collection difficulties in some nations, partial /w w w.gvf.org
information on the 34% remaining Administra- 11 These satellites are characterised by high
tions. In addition, during 2003, three VSAT Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP -
regulatory workshops were led by the GVF in typically > 48 dBW) with adequate G/T’s (
A second motivating factor is the sheer scale Lesotho, Nigeria, and Kenya with approxi- > 6 dB/K).
of the development challenge posed by the mately 90 A frican regulator y officials from 12 The markups on equipment and installa-
MDGs and exemplified by the several hundred TR ASA, WATR A and EA RPTO, respectively. tion after cost increases imposed by ship-
million people within Africa in extreme These events - as well as follow-up CATIA Work- ping, duties and clearance payments means
poverty. Given the challenge and the limited shops held for TR ASA in March/April 2004 and that by the time the equipment is installed,
resources available for investment in ICTs for for WATR A in May 2004 - provided an oppor- up to $3,000 can be added to the end-us-
development, private approaches that can be tunity for open-forum discussion with repre- er’s FOB cost. So bulk shipments and
sustainable and self-supporting, or even sentatives of most A frican Administrations. streamlined clearance procedures, along
profitable, have an obvious strategic value. By Meanwhile, the GVF is assisting with host- with elimination of duties for ICT equip-
allowing anyone to set up their own satellite- ing a VSAT regulator y database 8 where re- ment, are important in maintaining the
based Internet communications and sponses to the IDRC Pan-Africa Satellite Sur- advantages of low cost for the service.
information platform, the possibilities for vey are housed. This report and the survey re- 13 COMSYS is a U.K.-based consultancy spe-
development are exponentially increased. sults in the online database are made freely cialising in satellite communications. See
avai lable to public- and pr ivate-sector also w w w.comsys.co.uk
$4,000
$2,000
aspects of life: economics, education, commu-
nications, leisure, and travel. Furthermore, the $0
changes observed in these countries have led 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02
to what is now referred to as the Knowledge
Society. * Note: According to COMSYS, in the time elapsed since this Chart was originally pro-
ICTs have made it possible to find fast ac- duced, VSAT terminal prices have continued to decline, with Ku-band, C-band and
cess to, and distribution of, information as well DVB-RCS terminals now available for US$1,200, $1,700 and $2,000, respectively.
as new ways of doing business in real time at a
lower cost. However, a considerable gap ex-
ists between developing countries, notably small urban centers, is particularly troubling growing domestic digital divide in many coun-
African countries, and developed ones in terms because, as is well-established, the productiv- tries and the extent to which the informal
of the contribution of ICTs to the creation of ity of poor households must increase if they economy, in which most poor people earn
wealth. are to rise out of poverty. Yet increased pro- their livelihoods, is only loosely coupled to the
The gap has tended to widen between de- ductivity is difficult without timely access to formal economy. Thus if ICTs are to play a role
veloped countries, the technology suppliers, information, the ability to network and learn in poverty alleviation or in achieving most of
and the receiving developing countries. At the from others, or the ability to interact with the other MDGs, there must be a focus on
same time, the gap between the elites and the markets, governments, and other resources. projects or enterprises that directly serve poor
grassroots communities within these develop- For instance, farmers need timely price in- communities. This provides strong motivation
ing countries is also expanding in terms of their formation for their crops, access to knowledge for using satellite technologies because they
access to ICTs. If measures are not taken to about new seeds or fertilizers, and access to level the playing field by allowing even the
make ICTs both affordable and easy to use, expanded markets for their produce. Micro- most remote community access to communi-
access to them will be insignificant in devel- enterprise and small businesses need regular cations and information as an enabling tool
oping countries. access to their suppliers as well as to micro- with a multiplier effect that can cut costs and
There is now growing interest worldwide finance institutions. Frontline healthcare pro- improve the quality of basic infrastructure and
in the possibility of using ICTs to help catalyse viders need timely access to diagnostic infor- services.
development and achieve the Millennium De- mation, pharmaceuticals and supplies, and A second motivating factor is the sheer scale
velopment Goals (MDGs), both globally and medical back-up, while health ministries need of the development challenge posed by the
within Africa. The recent World Summit on real-time disease surveillance. Students and MDGs and exemplified by the several hundred
the Information Society (WSIS) underscored teachers need access to updated curricula as million people within A frica in extreme pov-
the increased importance attached to ICTs. well as the wealth of information on the erty. Given the challenge and the limited re-
NEPAD is proposing a prominent role for the Internet. Community groups and other civil sources available for investment in ICTs for
use of ICTs and has recently launched its e- society organisations need access to informa- development, private approaches that can be
Schools initiative, which aims to ensure all tion and the ability to network with and sup- sustainable and self-supporting, or even prof-
schools in Africa are connected to the Internet, port each other. Increased access to the itable, have an obvious strategic value. By al-
many of them via satellite. The A frican Virtual Internet can help with all of these needs in lowing anyone to set up their own satellite-
University (AV U) is aiming to link its 24 cam- ways that can increase productivity and accel- based Internet communications and informa-
puses across the Continent in the same way, erate development. tion platform, the possibilities for development
and plans are being made to support connec- The contrast between the amenities and are exponentially increased.
tivity for 100 higher-education institutions modern lifestyles available in urban cores and The scalability of satellite systems are evi-
across A frica. Section 2.2.1 cites a number of the very limited services and lifestyle choices dent and are inherent in the technology, thus,
other international ICT initiatives in A frica that in many rural communities ref lects both a satellite projects can readily be expanded to
also aim to rely on satellite communications. significant size, increasing the development
At present however, for the vast majority
of the population in A frica, ICTs play little role Until recently, the PTOs have been the main
in their daily lives and have delivered few tan- users of VSAT technologies in Africa,
gible benefits, especially for impoverished ru- deploying VSAT networks to extend their 14 GVF Satellite Regulator y Sur vey, http://
ral and urban communities. The obstacles to national telephone infrastructure and Internet w w w.gvf.org
ICT implementation include a lack of afford- access. However, liberalisation has opened up 15 Most of the companies currently provid-
able access, limited local content and useful avenues for new licensed service providers ing satellite communications systems and
services, a critical shortage of human capacity both in the voice traffic market and Internet services in A frica are members of GVF,
to make effective use of ICTs, ill-prepared in- business. VSATs have also been deployed to through which direct online access to each
stitutions, and a shortage of public and private provide Internet services in countries such as company’s web-site is available at
investment. the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, w w w.gvf.org
The lack of affordable access to phone and Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, 16 See “Spanning the Digital Divide” at
Internet connectivity for the sparsely-scattered Uganda and Zambia. w w w.bridges.org (Retrieved on 1st No-
majority in A frica, who are not close to even vember 2003).
While there is a trend in the region to open or the only entity that may own, operate and In Administrations that have yet to optimise
up the telecommunication sector to competi- maintain VSATs. their satellite regulatory regimes, an opportu-
tion - and this is beginning to make it easier to While there is currently insufficient satel- nity cost continues to be exacted that is often
use satellite-based services in some countries - lite regulatory harmonisation in Africa, never- paid in the form of missed opportunities in
there is still little coherence in VSAT regula- theless, what may best be characterised as a raising standards of health, education and
tory processes across the Continent. Compe- sea-change has been underway in recent years trade. For example, a dozen non-governmen-
tition within the sector has been introduced on the A frican continent in the way that dig- tal relief organisations - including groups such
in a wide variety of forms, from maintaining ital satellite-based communications are being as Save the Children, CARE, World Vision, CRS
full monopolies in fixed infrastructure, to open regulated so that they can be provided not only and Plan - have joined together to form a non-
competition with no unnecessary regulatory to the “haves” but also to the “have nots”. profit telecom co-operative called NetHope21.
impediments to new market entrants. Most Just seven years ago, not a single Adminis- The company recently approached the Ethio-
countries in A frica are somewhere between, tration in the region had liberalised its satel- pian Administration for approvals to begin us-
but no two are the same. lite communications market and, in the few ing satellite-based communications for relief
This poses a significant challenge: Fifty-four cases where such services were being made purposes, but the regulatory restrictions were
countries and territories comprising a landmass available, they were prohibitively expensive to so severe that NetHope was prevented from
larger than North America or Western Europe all but the most financially well-endowed en- providing services. In the end, the resources
cannot achieve the economies of scale cur- terprises. were deployed instead in Tanzania and Uganda.
rently being realised in unified markets such Today, more than 34 African countries have Another example: The A frican Virtual Uni-
as the U.S.A., Canada and the European Union. begun to liberalise the provision of satellite versity (AV U) is a non-profit, A frican organisa-
The business case for satellite depends on communications18, and the region now enjoys tion that has begun strengthening access to
economies of scale, but in A frica this is frus- one of the highest rates of growth in the provi- university education throughout the Continent
trated by the lack of harmonisation and con- sion of such services in the world19. By no co- by providing satellite-based interactive dis-
tinued government protection of the incum- incidence, key public-policy objectives are tance learning throughout Sub-Saharan A frica.
bent monopolies. being achieved in these countries through in- But, because they plan to offer services in more
Where a market is open to full competition, creased access to tele-health, distance learning, than 20 nations, they face significant regula-
end-users are allowed to transmit and receive disaster recovery, business communications for tory hurdles in obtaining the necessary licenses
data, voice and video signals, not only domes- small- to medium enterprises, and more20. from so many Administrations.
tically via a connection to the PSTN, but also As a result, Administrations currently have To help solve the problem, the World Bank
internationally. Such a regulatory model for a valuable opportunity to adapt satellite regu- provided the AVU with funding which, in turn,
VSAT has been adopted by countries in Asia, lation so that national interests can be ad- was paid to a consultant to obtain the regula-
Europe and the Americas, however none of the vanced - not only for urban areas, but also for tory information and assess the feasibility of
A frican countries has come this far. In many A frica’s rural regions where the ITU estimates receiving regulatory approvals to provide the
African jurisdictions, the incumbent is still the there is US$3.2 billion worth of annual telecom- educational services. The result was a mara-
only entity that may install and service VSATs munication revenue potential (see Chart 2). thon research effort and the formulation of a
Photo courtesy of Hughes Network Systems
199-page report22 that concluded the follow- A commercial / legal presence is usually rent evolution of satellite operators, service
ing: required as a precondition for licence issuance. providers, and applications - as well as their
This can be an obstacle to the effective roll- corresponding regulator y treatment - high-
* Regulatory information on some countries out of VSAT services, especially in the initial lights the importance of ensuring transparent
could not be obtained (e.g. Rwanda); phases, because it increases overhead costs to and non-discriminatory market access condi-
* In other countries, information was ob- the private VSAT operators and service cost to tions.
tained, but getting approvals might take the end-users. Fortunately global regulatory initiatives are
years (e.g. Angola); Aside from the various restrictions and fees providing governments with an opportunity to
* Regulatory fees are sometimes established in the countries that permit it, the licence ap- adopt enabling policies for expanded use of
through negotiation (e.g. A lgeria and plication process for the installation and op- VSATs; these include the World Trade Organi-
Congo); and eration of VSAT services can last from several zation (WTO) General Agreement on Trade in
* In some countries, local monopolies would months up to two years. Providers comment Services (“GATS”), along with its Fourth Pro-
likely prevent the AV U from providing the that rules are often not transparent, are inac- tocol on Basic Telecommunications Services28,
service at all (e.g. Ethiopia and South Af- cessible to the general public, and are often the ITU Global Mobile Personal Communica-
rica). difficult to interpret. tions by Satellite Memorandum of Understand-
The licensing fees to be paid (including ing (GMPCS-MOU)29, and the United Nations
The World Bank/AV U report’s findings are additional taxes, annual operator fees, landing (UN) Tampere Convention on the provision of
echoed by satellite regulator y sur veys con- rights, etc.) and the many different licences communications for disaster recover y 30. (A
ducted recently by the International Telecom- that have to be obtained - depending on the more detailed examination of each is provided
munication Union (ITU)23 and the GVF, both kind of service to be provided, along with ad- in Section 3.3 of this Report.)
of which found that policies for low-cost “con- ditional end-user earth station terminal li- In A frica, these are increasingly being ap-
sumer grade” satellite services for Internet ac- cences - can be as complicated as the licens- plied as part of an overall policy and govern-
cess remain unclear in many nations. Govern- ing of public telecommunications networks ance package within the framework of NEPAD,
ment policies are in many cases not keeping (e.g. a new fixed or mobile network). while CATIA is focused on helping to estab-
up with technological developments, and some Furthermore, the problem for companies lish a regional consensus on policy reform and
countries are still protecting their monopoly offering satellite services is that, with some creating a one-stop-shop (OSS) for information
national telecom operators at the expense of obvious exceptions, it is not a viable economic on - and licensing of - satellite services. !
affordable and universally accessible services. proposition to serve just one or two countries.
Even in countries where private satellite This usually entails seeking authorisations from (See also Section 4.3 of this Report.)
services are allowed, the license fees are often a multitude of regulators and satisf ying sets of
prohibitively high for consumer and enterprise- license requirements and conditions that vary
class VSAT terminals24 , particularly when com- considerably. With the high cost of obtaining
pared to the rates customers in developed all the disparate information necessary and of
countries pay for the same services. Lofty li- going through all of the authorisation applica-
cense fees are a major obstacle to Internet de- tion procedures, the introduction of services
velopment in A frica, where up to 35% of ex- can be delayed by many months if not years.
penditures consist of one-time and recurring This also creates increased levels of risk, which
VSAT licensing charges. Licensing fees in A f- result in a disincentive to potential service
rica range between $5,000 and $15,000 per providers to enter the market if there is a pros-
year per terminal on average for a 128-Kbps pect that sufficient licences will not be granted
link25 . Although there is significant progress in sufficient time, or at all.
in reducing both licensing and monthly fees While many governments have begun to
(e.g. Mozambique), the high potential for mass recognise the benefits of VSAT-based services
deployment of terminal equipment costing and adopt regulatory approaches to facilitate
$1,000 and Internet bandwidth at $100/month their deployment, reaching a regional consen-
or less will only be realised if license fees are sus for policy approaches that would facilitate
substantially reduced. widespread access to such solutions is still a
In some countries that have adopted a more challenge. In the satellite area, frequency use,
liberalised regulatory framework, private VSAT network operations, service provision and the
networks are allowed to function under the use of radio terminals are the main elements
authority of the incumbent operators, while that have been the target of a number of regu-
the latter still retain a formal monopoly. The latory measures (e.g. licensing conditions and
bilateral arrangement may require a “landing procedures), normally meant to help the de-
right fee” or tariff to be paid to the incumbent velopment of satellite telecommunications and
operator, even if the incumbent does not par- to facilitate market access to satellite provid-
ticipate in the service chain. ers, but which may also act as market barri-
One of the other more common restrictions ers27.
is denial of voice transmission, or where ter- These are not the only challenges. From
minals cannot be connected to the public among the aforementioned technological inno-
switched telecommunications net work vations have arisen systems and services - most
(PSTN), while another restriction may be a notably IP-based satellite communications - that
limitation only to domestic use, not allowing require a rethink of traditional regulatory ap-
international connections. Operators may also proaches. Domestic vs. international, telecom-
have no choice but to route their private net- munications vs. broadcasting, voice vs. data...
work transmission through the national hub all such distinctions have now been superseded
of the incumbent operator, regardless of the by the advance of IP-based satellite, which ef-
financial or the technical disadvantages. For fectively renders all services into one form:
Internet customers, this translates into exorbi- data. At the same time, the industry’s competi-
tantly high costs associated with leasing facili- tive structure has also changed at the level of
ties from the PTO. (ISPs typically collect less national and international markets: Many PTOs
than 20% of the revenue from Internet serv- have been partially privatised, as have inter-
ices26.) governmental satellite operators. This concur-
Section 2
Open and Closed Skies
2. Satellite Communications: The Tool
Satellite Communications:
The Tool
2.1 APPLICATIONS FOR SATELLITE SERVICES fax, data and video have “converged” via VSAT “trunk”) long-haul traffic between telephone
International telecom services are facilitating systems to provide users with the f lexibility to exchanges, along thin routes where terrestrial
the creation of a global economy, where satel- tailor networks for specific ICT requirements. microwave relays or landlines are unavailable.
lite-based systems are used extensively in the By interconnecting base-stations even conver- Even when such infrastructure exists, they
developed nations to reduce costs, increase gence between mobile and so-called fixed line often need satellites as back-up capacity. Sat-
efficiency, and improve productivity31. In Af- services has been achieved using VSAT-based ellite links may also be used to avoid transit
rica businesses are also turning to satellite- systems and services. charges and long transmission delays on routes
based solutions, which, being distance inde- where terrestrial networks do not allow direct
pendent, make it possible to link the provid- 2.2 THE DEMAND FOR SATELLITE connections, or are controlled by competitors.
ers of raw materials to agents, to shippers, to COMMUNICATIONS IN AFRICA Satellites are also used in rural areas to pro-
importers, to retailers and, finally, to consum- Demand for these solutions arises from two vide telephone service directly to remote sub-
ers in widely-separated geographic areas. As primary user categories. The first is the corpo- scribers via satellite systems.
retail demand changes, each participant in the rate and government user, which includes Telephone carriers have long-term needs,
supply chain is able to immediately communi- banks, retail companies, oil interests, ISPs, and anchored in capital-intensive infrastructure
cate the adjustments in the supply that are many other types of small, medium and large and public service obligations to millions of
needed. public and private enterprises. The second are subscribers, but their traffic also tends to grow
Indeed, the benefits of satellite-based com- A frica’s individual consumers, entrepreneurs, and may f luctuate more or less predictably, due
munications are being realised in every sector farmers and traders, most of whom obtain ac- to shifts in economic conditions or in their
of activity, both private and public. From cess to VSAT-based communications through subscriber base. Telephone carriers are thus
Internet service providers (ISPs), banks, and cyber cafés and community telecentres. The expected to sign leases for satellite capacity
stock exchanges to schools, hospitals, and ru- following sub-sections provide an in-depth typically for five years, with provisions for an-
ral telecentres, satellite ser vices are being analysis of both user categories. nual adjustments.
seized upon to elevate economic, educational, Customers in this sector may have stringent
and health standards32. In turn, higher eco- 2.2.1 AFRICAN ENTERPRISE: SMALL, requirements for satellite coverage, since their
nomic and social standards are attracting for- MEDIUM AND LARGE
eign investment, creating employment oppor- Enterprises that have connectivity require-
tunities, leading to increased exports, and ments in areas where terrestrial technologies
yielding stronger hard-currency earnings. cannot provide affordable services are prime
With the advent of higher functionality and candidates for the use of VSAT technologies. 31 See http://w w w.gvf.org, “Strengthening
lower costs, satellite services can now support However, traditionally the largest use of VSATs Access to Communications”, Policy &
a broader range of domestic and international has been in developed countries with good Regulatory Guidelines for Satellite Serv-
communications objectives than ever before terrestrial infrastructure. Enterprises have still ices, 30 May 2003, GVF Regulatory Work-
(see sidebar). The global satellite industry sup- found that satellite-based networks provide a ing Group, pg. 4.
ports these services today with - according to more cost-effective point-to-multi-point solu- 32 IDRC Pan-A frica Satellite Survey.
recent independent research - more than one tion than f ibre-optic cables, wh ich are 33 COMSYS.
million VSATs33 and approximately 650,000 optimised for point-to-point applications. 34 GVF.
mobile satellite terminals34 around the world. Among these enterprises are the large multi- 35 MTBF relates to the average time that
The advantage to end users of such satel- nationals, including American Express, BASF, elapses between a system failure and, as
lite-based solutions is that vendors can provide BP, General Motors, Goodyear, L’Air Liquide, such, serves to describe product reliabil-
an inexpensive, single communications plat- Peugeot, Statoil, TotalFinaElf, Visa, Wal Mart ity.
form serving an entire nation or, indeed, the and many more. 36 Satellite market research for this section
region. Meanwhile, global demand for this In A frica, VSATs initially were affordable was provided by Euroconsult, a France-
level of connectivity has enabled satellite com- only to the large PTOs, which used them to based consultancy specialising in satellite
munications to rise from being a niche tech- provide links in areas where no other infra- communications and the space industry,
nology to one that is capable of providing the structure opportunities existed. But as VSAT http://w w w.euroconsult-ec.com
full spectrum of services, from home-use to prices have declined, enterprise end-user pro- 37 Satellite market research for this section
the mainstream telecommunications service files in A frica have become both more numer- was provided by Euroconsult, a France-
platforms used by many of the world’s largest ous and more diverse, as have the types of ap- based consultancy specialising in satellite
corporations and governments. plications served. communications and the space industry,
VSAT is not the only tool; it is one of sev- The VSAT enterprise user list is extensive http://w w w.euroconsult-ec.com1 Com-
eral tools, each of which plays to its respec- but can be grouped according to the types of ments by Conny Kullman, chief executive
tive strengths - fibre and wireless for point-to- ICT services required. Satellites are basically officer, Intelsat Ltd., in a conference call
point services, mobile for voice and narrow- used by three major enterprise categories in with analysts on 14 Mar. 2003.
band data, satellite for point-to-multipoint nar- A frica’s telecommunications sector36: 38 Comments by Dan Goldberg, chief execu-
row and broadband solutions. While there is tive officer, New Skies Satellites N.V., in a
no one technology able to effectively ser ve 1. Telephone carriers, including fixed and conference call with analysts on 11 Feb.
every application in the African context, voice, mobile operators, use satellites to move (or 2003.
SATELLITE-BASED MOBILE AND WI-FI of its VSAT network.46 known as Voice over the Internet Protocol
Another means by which carriers are address- Finally, the strong success of VSAT-based (VoIP). This technology, which can help in-
ing rural demand is through the use of VSATs mobile backhaul has sparked increased inter- crease the capacity of telephone networks by
to provide backhaul links between remote est in the use of satellite systems to support a compressing and routing calls, for typically
mobile base stations and the PSTN42. Terres- new technology that has important relevance 50% of the cost of traditional switched serv-
trial mobile systems have had little need for in the African context: Wireless Fidelity (Wi- ices, also came in 2001-02 to be seen as offer-
satellites as long as they remained the expen- Fi). As with the need for remote mobile base ing “carrier-grade” reliability.
sive attributes of industrialised countries and stations to establish backhaul links to the PSTN, A growing number of governments have
were used primarily for local calls. However, Wi-Fi sites have begun to be paired with VSAT recognised that VoIP, rather than being a by-
mobile tariffs have become more competitive, systems for similar purposes. (See Diagram 1 pass mechanism, can help achieve develop-
and in developing countries mobile networks and Chart 3.) Satellite-based mobile and Wi-Fi ment goals, and this has helped to encourage
have frequently been rol led out and have already begun to make an important con- deregulation. VoIP has now been legalised to
deregulated faster than fixed networks. Accord- tribution to bridging the digital divide in A f- some extent even in some of the world’s most
ing to the ITU, mobile lines outnumbered fixed rica, as well as in other regions. tightly regulated markets, such as China, India
lines for the first time worldwide during 2002, and South A frica. In South Africa, for exam-
and already did so in 97 countries by the end 2. Internet ser vice providers (ISPs) lease ple, new licensees are permitted to deliver
of 2001.43 international satellite capacity to connect their VoIP from low-density areas, but these had yet
Since mobile networks are the only choice servers to upstream Internet connectivity. In a to be implemented as of July 2004. In other
users have in many of these areas, they can growing number of cases where the regulatory countries, VoIP is not clearly addressed by regu-
generate large amounts of the long-distance or environment is more conducive, ISPs also use lation, which may prohibit new providers of
international traffic that satellites are well satellite systems to provide Internet access to circuit-switched but not of packet-switched
suited to carry. Satellites are in many cases the their subscribers in places where the latter do voice services because the latter had not been
preferred trunking solution of mobile carriers not have access to adequate landlines47, either invented or was not taken seriously when the
since the latter may have difficulties in using directly, or via local POPs with wireless links law was written.49
terrestrial trunk routes, either because these to customers. The ITU estimates that international VoIP
have been neglected along with other fixed A frican ISPs’ adoption of satellite-based
networks, or remain controlled by incumbent services has been swift. According to research
carriers. by DTT Consulting, in 1998 A frica accounted
In particular, mobile telephone trunking for less than 10% of the world market for ISP
appears to have become one of the major driv- links - the fourth lowest region in the world. 39 These countries were A lgeria, Bahrain,
ers of transponder demand in A frica where, in Two years later, no less than 47% of A frican Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and
early 2003, at least 10 transponders were re- ISPs were linked via satellite. Only Latin Syria in the Middle East, and Benin, the
ported to be in use for that purpose. Major America - with 66% - was higher. Central A frican Republic, Chad, Ethiopia,
A frican mobile operators known to rely heav- Because their traffic tends to grow more the Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Madagascar,
ily on satellite trunking include: rapidly but to be less predictable over the long Mali, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South
term, ISPs rarely commit to transponder leases A frica and Swaziland in A frica [C. Hsu,
* The MTN Group, one of the region’s larg- in excess of 1-3 years but may increase their 2001 Section 43.82 Circuit Status Data,
est, which this year was using a f ull volume every 6-12 months48. Given the intense op.cit.].
PanAmSat transponder and capacity on a competition in their markets, ISPs tend to bar- 40 Sixteenth Annual Report 2001-02, Videsh
New Skies Satellites platform for its opera- gain for low prices even more than telephone Sanchar Nigam Ltd., New Delhi, 2002,
tions in Nigeria; carriers, and may expect preferential volume p.28.
* Celtel (formerly MSI Cellular), which owns discounts, delayed payment plans and a free 41 IDRC & CATIA. Open and Closed Skies:
GSM networks in 14 countries, acquired trial period for technical testing. ISPs tend to Satellite Access in Africa. See
satellite uplink operator LinkAfrica in 2002 have smaller but more diverse and rapidly w w w.idrc.ca/acacia or w w w.gvf.org
and was at the time leasing a full Intelsat evolving networks than telephone networks, 42 Euroconsult.
transponder; and may require more technical support by 43 World Telecommunication Development
* Vodacom, which uses Intelsat backbones satellite operators. Finally, ISPs providing di- Report, International Telecommunication
to connect its cellular networks in Congo, rect Internet access via satellite place a pre- Union, Geneva, Mar. 2002, p.13.
South A frica and 18 other countries; mium on transponder power, like television 44 Sean Moroney and Paul Hamilton, “Satel-
* Telecel International, a unit of Egypt’s broadcasters, since the size of their antennas lite and VSAT: Innovative Uses for Rural Te-
Orascom Telecom, which reported that it and subscriber capacity depend directly on lephony and Internet Development”, ITU
controls 40% of the sub-Saharan cellular that parameter. Expert Workshop on Improving IP Connec-
market and has set up M-Link Teleport S.A. Since most telephone carriers also provide tivity in Less Developed Countries, Ge-
in Belgium.44 Internet access, they tend to be the principal neva, 11-12 Apr. 2002; “MTN Nigeria Uses
users of satellite capacity in this market; also, GS Telecom Satellite Network for Inter City
Satellite backbones also form an important ISPs in some countries are not allowed to pro- Communications”, presentation by C.
part of two large contracts which Vodacom cure international capacity on their own. Kullman, op.cit., 24 Feb. 2003; press re-
Congo and Nigerian mobile operator Globacom lease, GS Telecom Ltd., Lagos, 11 Sept.
signed with Alcatel in 2002-03 for network VOICE OVER IP VIA SATELLITE 2001; “A Few Words”, M-Link Teleport S.A.
expansion.45 A smaller operator in Madagas- A closely-related trend is the growing accept- [http://w w w.m-l i nk.be/words.htm];
car, Madacom, recently doubled the capacity ance of satellite-based Internet telephony, also Adrian Wood, Presentation to Analysts,
MTN Nigeria Ltd., Lagos, 5 Dec. 2001, p.7.
45 “Alcatel signs a 145 million euro global
Since most telephone carriers also provide Internet frame agreement with Vodacom” and
“Alcatel deploys 675 million Euros telecom
access, they tend to be the principal users of satellite turnkey network with Globacom in Ni-
geria”, press releases, Alcatel, Paris, 4 Apr.
capacity in this market; also, ISPs in some countries are 2002 and 17 Feb. 2003.
46 “GS Telecom Upgrades Network for Mada-
not allowed to procure international gascar Mobile Phone Operator”, press re-
capacity on their own. lease, GS Telecom A fr ica Ltd.,
Antananarivo, 25 Jan. 2003.
The fact that the distribution of the cyber- Factor Dar es Salaam Mtwara
café consumers was highly skewed in favour
of scholars and those involved in full-time Length of trip to cyber café from home or school or work (shortest)
employment may be related to the financial 28.9 minutes 11 minutes
capability and/or appreciation of the different
technologies used to support services used Number of days per month that cyber café is used
by these consumers. 12.5 days 14.4
The Survey showed that individuals highly
value the speed of Internet links - and are will- Change in usage during previous six-months
ing to pay more for them. Respondents were 27% increase 28% decrease 33% increase 13% decreas
asked whether they would pay more money to
go to a cyber café which is no further than Average monthly expenditure at a cyber café
that most frequently patronised but having a US$ 10.30 US$15.28
faster Internet connection. In Lagos, 80%, Al-
giers, 79%, Dar es Salaam, 74%, and Mtwara Increase in expenditure during previous six-months
21% of consumers reported that they would 23% increase 16% decrease 35% increase 13% decrease
pay more money for speedier access. Speed
was said to be essential, as it saved money and Knowledge of operating system
reduced frustration. Among those surveyed, a 22% yes 7% yes
minority of cyber-café consumers in Lagos,
Algiers, and Dar es Salaam used the cyber café Additional amount willing to pay for better service
closest to their home or school/work. The re- 20.8% 13%
mainder travelled an additional 15 minutes in
Lagos, 18 minutes in Algiers and 17 minutes Potential monthly expenditure for better service
in Dar es Salaam to use a different cyber café. US$ 12.43 US$17.40
The reasons given included access to faster
connections and superior hardware.
Finally, respondents were asked whether
they were interested in knowing the opera- Table 3: Dar es Salaam vs. Mtwara, Tanzania Cyber-café Consumers
tional system used by their cyber café. Most
had no idea how the cyber cafés they patron- Dar es Salaam Mtwara
ised were connected to the network (in Lagos
- 69%, Algiers - 70% and Dar es Salaam - 93% Gender composition 64% male 36% female 55% male 45% female
did not k now). However, based on focus
groups and in-depth interviews with cyber-café Average age 28.7 yrs 29 years
consumers that relied upon VSAT-based serv-
ices, once a cyber café implements satellite Education Level - completed 32.3% 19.5% 51% 43%
technology, regular consumers find out quickly secondary tertiary secondary tertiary
and tend to form a positive opinion regarding
the connection speed and quality of service. Vocation - employed 23% 60% 36% 43%
One of the questions in the cyber-café sur- students employed students employed
vey aimed to identify obstacles preventing con-
sumer utilization of the Internet. In Nigeria 55% Personal mobile
of respondents cited a lack of time as the ma- telephone, ownership 58%
jor constraint, which ties in with the high lev-
els of frequency compared to Algiers and Dar Personal mobile telephone,
es Salaam. In essence, this establishes a cap on monthly expenditure US$ 20.19 US $ 17.54
the amount of cyber-café usage that we can
expect from an existing user, as the market Household fixed
matures. While it is unlikely that all potential telephone, ownership 34%
consumers utilise cyber cafés in Nigeria, it is
likely that there is still a potential market that Fixed telephone, monthly
could be tapped into should prices and quality expenditure US$ 26.45
move towards both better affordability and
accessibility. Future research also needs to look Personal computer
at the age entry and exit levels of consumers home ownership 22% 36%
in Nigeria, for this study showed a late adoles-
cent entry level and early post-middle age exit Internet connection
level. Targeting consumers on either side of this at home 14% 11%
spectrum may well result in an increased con-
sumer market. Use of computer at
The greatest frequency of weekly visits in school /work 27% 32%
Algiers is two days (24.9% of respondents).
This would seem to ref lect increased costs (lo- Internet connection at
cal telephone call prices recently were in- school /work 23% 36%
creased 355%), as well as decreasing use of the
Internet in comparison to networked games. Average time spent on Internet at home and
The question is how this is going to change school / work 19.8 hrs 5.1 hrs
given the deregulation of VoIP. Indications are
Section 3
Open and Closed Skies
3. African VSAT Regulation Today
3. AFRICAN VSAT REGULATION TODAY reform being related mainly to new and ancil- transmissions through the national hub of the
A growing number of African Administrations lary services. The incumbent operator was al- incumbent operator, regardless of the finan-
have begun to implement policies and regula- lowed to undertake internal reforms at its own cial or even the technical disadvantages this
tions that seek to open telecommunication pace, with the boundaries of its monopoly care- may have for private VSAT network operators.
markets to varying degrees of competition. fully redrawn before it was fully exposed to In some cases, obtaining a VSAT licence may
These policies are being applied to telecom- market forces. The last area opened to compe- require a bilateral arrangement with the incum-
munication structures that, on one level, have tition was the main telephony market. bent operator with a “landing-rights fee” or
traditionally been remarkably uniform66 . With- To date only three A frican countries have tariff to be paid to the operator, even if the
out exception, the sector of each African coun- officially introduced competition in their fixed- incumbent does not participate in the service
try has been organised on the principle of na- line markets – Ghana and Uganda licensed sec- chain. In other monopoly jurisdictions, the
tional operating entities having responsibility ond network operators some years ago, and in incumbent is the only entity that may install
for providing telephone service. In some cases, Senegal open competition was introduced in and service VSATs or the only entity that may
international links were - and in some coun- July 2004. South A frica officially instituted a own, operate and maintain satellite earth sta-
tries still are - the responsibility of a separate duopoly in fixed line services in 2003, but tions.
entity. Government ownership of operating delays in licensing the Second Network Op- A commercial/legal presence is typically
entities has been the norm. erator have meant that competition is not ex- required in A frica as a pre-condition for licence
This strategy has steadily evolved over the pected until late 2004. Tanzania is expected issuance. This can be an obstacle to the effec-
last decade, and in many A frican countries to- to introduce competition in February 2005. tive roll-out of VSAT services in the countries
day, standard practice is widely perceived to Meanwhile, most Administrations in the concerned, because it increases overhead costs
include the following elements: A mericas and Europe have fully liberalised
their VSAT markets, where end-users are also
* Separation of regulations from ownership permitted to transmit and receive data, voice
and operations under a new legal frame- and video signals in order to connect facilities
work; in the local market, as well as throughout the 66 DeTeCon International “Study on Low Cost
* Separation of posts from telecommunica- world. The situation in Africa is different. VSAT Technologies and Licensing Re-
tions; A frican countries have generally tended to gimes” for the World Bank and A frican
* Privatisation of incumbent operators; follow Continental European rather than U.K. Virtual University.
* Statutor y monopoly in public switched or U.S. precedents and have restricted the con- 67 IDRC Pan-A frica Satellite Regulatory Sur-
fixed telephone services; nection of private networks or closed user vey.
* Joint ventures by the incumbent in other groups to the PSTN. This regulatory dynamic 68 See http://w w w.gvf.org, “Strengthening
ser vices (e.g. mobile and satellite ser v- has major implications for VSAT regulation in Access to Communications”, Policy &
ices); most A frican countries, where satellite-based Regulatory Guidelines for Satellite Serv-
* Open competition for equipment supply networks are increasingly a feature of telecom- ices, 30 May 2003, GVF Regulatory Work-
and value-added services. munications markets but are not permitted to ing Group, pg. 23.
connect to the PSTN67 . In countries where such 69 The Nigeria, A lgeria and Tanzania case
International experience indicates that el- a connection would theoretically be permissi- studies were commissioned by IDRC from
ements of the reform process may be combined ble, additional licence or ‘by-pass’ fees have to the University of Witwatersrand Link Cen-
in a variety of ways. For example, the United be paid, although in practice such a conces- tre in South A frica. The Link Centre is an
Kingdom and United States initiated market sion is very difficult to obtain. independent research centre hosted at the
entr y and privatisation of their incumbent In some African countries that have adopted University of Witwatersrand in Johannes-
operators at a relatively early stage, thereby a liberalised regulator y framework, private burg. http://w w w.link.ac.za
intensifying pressures on British Telecom (BT) VSAT networks are allowed to function under 70 Keynote Address By Ernest Nkukwe “Con-
and AT&T, respectively, to become more com- the authority of the incumbent operator, while tributions Of Government To The Devel-
mercial and efficient. New regulatory arrange- the latter still retain a formal monopoly. There opment Of Information And Communica-
ments were put in place to facilitate and rein- is also usually a limitation on the provision of tions Technology In Nigeria. June 2003.
force these policies. voice services. 71 BMI-Techk nowledge Communication
In France and in Germany, as in most other Another common restriction in A frica in- Technologies Handbook, 2002.
European countries, the strategies concen- volves limiting private VSAT networks only to 72 Africa ICT Policy Processes (unpublished)
trated on commercialisation of the telephony domestic use. - VSAT network operators may compiled by br idges.org and Mil ler,
business, with liberalisation and regulatory be required to route their private network Esselaar and Associates. October 2003.
B - Satellite terminal $3,846 /5 years +2.5% Includes category A above 73 National Telecommunications Pol icy
equipment of net turnover plus: Installation of w w w . n c c . g o v . n g /
(N500K) INMARSAT and other GMPCS telecommunications_policy.htm. Retrieved
Terminal Equipment on the 2nd of November 2003.
74 Speech by Engineer Johnson. http://
ISP License $3,846 /5 years +2.5% w w w. n c c . g o v. n g / S p e e c h % 2 0
of net turnover (N500K) by%20Engr.%20J.%20Asinugo.htm
75 NCC, April 2004.
Satellite network license $65,000 /10 years Domestic Only 76 GVF Satellite Regulatory Survey.
77 Christopher Ajayi. 21st Century Technolo-
C 1 – Network and $7,692 /5 years +2.5% Includes categories (A&B) gies. Interview.
switching equipment of net turnover above plus: Installation of 78 NCC, April 2004.
(N1000K) VSAT networks and switching 79 From a presentation given by Engr Olawale
equipment up to 600 lines Ige, Commissioner, NCC, during Satcom
A frica 2004 on 17 February in Johannes-
C2 - Network switching $15,384 /5 years +2.5% Includes categories (A&B, C1) burg, South A frica.
equipment of net turnover above plus: Installation of 80 Ibid.
(N2000K) VSAT networks and switching 81 Ibid.
equipment above 600 lines 82 Ibid.
83 Ibid.
and
* Streamline processes and procedures to
attract foreign and domestic investors.71
increase in June 2003. Local calls were in- to continue to operate under their ISP licences.
Table 5: Algeria Key License Fees creased by 355% based on AT’s argument that The Ministry believes that licensing VSAT
the existing tariff structure was not covering in this manner will:
Description Duration Amount its costs. The impact on Internet users, the in-
dustr y and the economy generally has been * Generate revenue (note that ARPT is not
Fee per VSAT Not 3,000 DA deleterious and is still evident. funded by government); and
installation applicable (US$43) In addition, a stable regulatory environment * Increase Internet connectivity in Algeria.
has been lacking with, for example, VSAT li-
VSAT Usage 1 year 20,000 DA cences being issued, then withdrawn, then re- Incumbent ISPs are concerned about the
fee (annual fee) ($286) issued both to VSAT users and suppliers. This anticipated changes to the regulatory regime.
pattern is indicative of a lack of regulatory ex- Currently, the selling of bandwidth requires
perience, as is the imposition of a “sky tax” of an ISP licence, which is not difficult to obtain.
$5,000 per month per ISP for the use of satel- A user may purchase bandwidth from any com-
phased liberalisation process, beginning with lite bandwidth. While this tax was subse- pany. There is no distinction between local and
the GSM sector and followed by VSAT, GMPCS, quently withdrawn, the fact that it was imple- foreign service providers.
rural and international telephony, and fixed- mented shows a lack of consultation with the However, once the VSAT operator licences
line networks. private sector and yet a desire to correct the are issued, preference will be given to one of
Satellite services’ cost insensitivity to dis- error once its implications became clear. the two licensed operators.
tance was the most important factor in the Other challenges are yet to be faced. The In effect, ARPT is on a steep learning curve.
Administration’s decision to liberalise VSAT planned VSAT-operator licences are to be Greater consultation internationally and inter-
immediately following GSM. The southern awarded to the highest bidders. The Ministry nally, plus development of human capital will
parts of Algeria are dry with few inhabitants is budgeting for approximately US$2 million be vital to its success. The Administration re-
so, in many cases, it would not be economi- for the two licences that are to be issued. The ported that it is committed to a rapid liberali-
cally viable to provide services other than those intent of the proposed licensing regime is to sation process, but human-resource and other
based on VSAT systems. The northern parts of require local VSAT networks to rely upon lo- issues are expected by the local ICT commu-
the country, while more densely populated, are cal hubs. The Ministry, based on a report com- nity to pose challenges in meeting the 2004
mountainous and fixed-wireless and fibre-op- missioned in 2000, argues that VSAT networks target.
tic networks would be difficult to install and with hubs located outside of Algeria would
maintain in some areas. VSAT, in the opinion limit the number of VSAT terminals within the CURRENT REGULATORY APPROACHES
of both the Ministry and the regulator, Autorité country, and the demand for VSAT is so great - Direct to Home (DTH) networks used for
de la Poste et des Télécommunications (ARPT) estimated by the Ministr y to be more than broadcasting are widespread in A lgeria. There
is thus a primary means of providing access to 10,000 earth stations - that the creation of a are no licence or registration (authorisation)
communications in both regions. local hub is the only way of cost-effectively requirements for DTH systems or receive-only
ARPT was formed in May 2000 to manage satisf ying local demand. However with the VSAT systems. Two-way VSAT systems require
the liberalisation and deregulation process and presence of European satellite footprints in authorisation, because the military was con-
to ensure that government policy decisions are Algeria, the greater economies of scale achiev- cerned that the systems could be used for “ter-
enforced. It reports to Parliament annually. It able by operators there could make competi- rorist” purposes, particularly in the south of
is funded through operators’ contributions and tive provisioning of basic Internet ser vices Algeria. The result is that many cyber cafés use
does not receive any government funding. from within Algerian hubs a difficult task. receive-only VSAT for the downlink and dial-
ARPT does not report to other organisations Nevertheless, once the VSAT-operator li- up for the backhaul.
and is not legally obliged to consult or inform cences have been granted, users will be en- There are currently two license categories:
any other organisation prior to making deci- couraged by A RPT to purchase bandwidth
sions. ARPT is the regulator for both the Alge- from the licence holders. ARPT argues that * Private network; and
rian Post Office and the telecoms sector. users will migrate to either of the two licence * Public network.
As a relatively young organisation, ARPT has holders because the pricing will be better than
a shortage of skilled staff, many of whome any other operator (specifically, those using ARPT has not issued any public-network
came from the incumbent, Algeria Telecom international satellite service providers). ARPT licences. To understand why – and to appreci-
(AT). This has created a tendency for ARPT to will enforce this by monitoring bandwidth ate the distinction between public and p r i -
rely on data supplied by AT in making rulings. prices. ISPs that re-sell bandwidth provided by vate licences - one must also understand ARPT’s
A recent example of this was the local call-price international satellite providers will be allowed definition of a VSAT network, which requires
a public licence if it fulfils two conditions:
First, if the hub is located in Algeria; and sec-
Table 6: Tanzania Key License Fees ond, if bandwidth is being resold using the
local hub. According to this definition, there
Type of Number of Application Initial Licence Annual Fee are currently two VSAT operators: AT and Tele
Licence Operators Fee (US$) Fee (Royalty) Diffusion of Algeria (TDA). AT is the incum-
bent and, while it operates a VSAT network, it
Public data 10 $1,000 $100,000 3% of annual gross does not need to have been granted a VSAT
communication turnover or licence. TDA is primarily a broadcaster, though
service $30,000 whichever it also sells bandwidth to ISPs (basically, it is a
is higher carrier of carriers).
Since both are government owned and the
Private data 6 $500 $5,000 $500 existing legislation is under review, ARPT has
communication decided not to issue VSAT-operator licences to
service these two organisations. Instead, when the new
licensing requirements are announced in 2004,
Internet 23 $75 $1,000 $5,000 TDA will have to apply for one of the two VSAT-
Protocol Service operator licences being offered. It is assumed
(Commercial) that the two operator licences being consid-
ered are in addition to AT.
VSAT Terminal ? $0 $1000 Currently in terms of private-network li-
cences, any company may use VSAT. ARPT does
is meant to provide mechanisms to decrease 2. Availability, quality and standards of serv- There is full competition in each of these
the divide between urban and rural ICT access, ice; categories. The barriers to entry are primarily
but has yet to be implemented. Lack of elec- 3. Cost of services; financial (namely, start-up capital and licence
tricity in rural areas has been an ongoing prob- 4. Efficiency of production and distribution fees) rather than regulatory. The licence fees
lem, however, and operators have suspended of services; and for the categories relevant to VSAT and the
payments to the Fund until it becomes opera- 5. Other matters relevant to the Authority.91 existing number of operators are shown in the
tional. It is understood that a study on the is- Table 6.
sue of the implementation of the RTDF will be TCR A is also expected to develop the ca- A VSAT station is defined by the TCR A as
completed this year. pacity to monitor the size and growth of the any satellite system that is capable of receiv-
ICT sector in Tanzania. ing and transmitting data or, in other words,
REGULATORY FR A MEWORK Since the regulatory authority is in transi- that has a transceiver.
The Tanzanian Communications Regulator y tion, no new decisions have been made. Among
Authority Act of 2003 combined the Tanzanian decisions that are currently awaiting the newly IMPLEMENTING “LIGHT TOUCH”
Communications Commission and the Tanza- constituted Board are: REGULATION
nian Broadcasting Commission into one body A recurring theme in the Tanzanian ICT sector
- the TCR A. It is expected that the Board of * Legal action against the TTCL for failing is the lack of government involvement. In cer-
Directors will be appointed this year. While to meet its infrastructure roll-out targets tain areas, a lack of government coordination
the telecommunications and broadcasting (the fine is currently US$46 million and a has facilitated competition, such as the ISP
agencies have been assimilated, the corre- schedule of payment was expected to be sector, but other areas - such as public data
sponding functions within government con- sub· submitted by the TTCL to TCR A in the operators – have not been viewed by the pri-
tinue to exist. The TCR A reports to two Ad- first quarter of 2004); vate sector as successful. One of the unstated
ministration officials, the Minister of Commu- * Granting of new licences such as Public themes of Tanzanian ICT policy is that a com-
nications and the Minister for Broadcasting. Data Operator licences; petitive market will promote more efficient
The Act divides the functions of the TCR A * Implementation strategy for the RTDF; and ser vices and reduce the burden on govern-
into three broad categories: Licensing, moni- * Reduction of the royalty fee paid by Pub- ment. This has meant that the data communi-
toring, and dispute resolution. TCR A’s raison lic Data Operators from 3% to 1.5% as stipu- cation sector has been opened to any organi-
d’être is licensing. This is not purely an inde- lated in the Act. sation that can afford the licence fees.
pendent function; any licence relating to uni- The belief in competition has informed the
versal access or with a time period of more LICENSING approach of the TCR A to the ICT sector. The
than five years must be approved by the Minis- There are currently five basic categories of tel- regulatory body does not play any role in the
ter of Communications or the relevant sector ecommunications operators of which three are active creation of “a conducive framework for
minister90 . relevant to this report: investments in capacity building92 ”. Rather, the
The Act further states that the regulator is TCR A is required to monitor the levels of in-
responsible for monitoring: * Public data communication operators; vestment in the sector, the availability, quality
* Private data communication operators; and and standards of service, the cost of services
1. Levels of investment; * Internet service providers. and the efficiency of production and distribu-
tion of services. Several developments in these
areas are addressed below.
Table 7: License Fee Cost Comparison for Nigeria, Algeria and Tanzania
LEVELS OF IN VESTMENT
Nigeria License Fee Cost/5years Several interviews were conducted with pub-
lic and private data operators. The majority of
1 ISP License $ 3,846.00 $3,846.00 these companies use VSAT as the only avail-
able alternative to fixed-line technology. The
1 Satellite Network License $65,000.00 $65,000.00 oft-repeated complaint about TTCL is that the
leased-line service is too expensive, service
1 Network Switching Equipment $7,692.00 $7,692.00 levels are poor and the waiting period for con-
nection is too long. Thus, VSAT-based services
1 2.5% Turnover (0.025x240000)x5 $30,000.00 have a large role to play within the Tanzanian
ICT economy.
Total $106,538.00 Of the 10 public data operators, only seven
are operational. Of those, only one (Satcom
Algeria Networks A frica) has built a local hub at a cost
of approximately US$2.5 million. This is de-
100 VSAT Admin Fee $43.00 $4,300.00 spite the fact that operators are obliged to build
local hubs as part of their licence conditions.
100 Annual user fee $286.00 $28,600.00 The other public data operators interviewed
stated that they were not willing to build a lo-
Total $32,900.00 cal hub, because the investment environment
is too risky. The perceived risk relates to the
Tanzania fact that there is no limit to the number of data
operators that can be licensed. Thus, there is
1 Public data network 100,000 $100,000.00 a perceived danger that the market could be-
come over-traded (something that existing data
1 3% Turnover 0.03x240000)x5 $36,000.00 operators argue is already the case). Adding to
the uncertain environment, the royalty fees (3%
1 ISP License $1,000.00 $26,000.00 of revenues) helps to encourage operators to
maintain a high-margin business with low sales
100 VSAT licenses $1,000.00 $100,000.00 growth focused on the corporate market. Vari-
ous multinational companies and NGOs have
Total $262,000.00 agreements with suppliers in their countries
of origin, bypassing local operators.
tory framework, which has created a percep- cence fees. Operators do not perceive Tanza- consumers are beginning to turn towards ap-
tion of high risk for investors. The erratic nia to have an environment that will provide plications that require less bandwidth. A sig-
policy environment, however, ref lects the de- them with a return on their investment and nificant portion of consumers in Algiers - 31.1%
sire by government to create an enabling frame- this also explains their reluctance to invest in compared with 16.5% and 12.5% in Lagos and
work. If the Administration strengthens dia- a local hub. Added to licensing fees are cus- Tanzania, respectively - reported that their us-
logue with the private sector before finalising toms duties, which are often so high as to pre- age had decreased over the last six months. In
its planned strategic liberalisation of the VSAT vent cost-effective access to VSAT equipment. Tanzania, a common complaint is the high
sector, a regulatory framework could be im- The case studies also revealed that access price of bandwidth; 54.9% of consumers re-
plemented that will promote development. to satellite-based ser vices is generally being ported that their usage patterns had remained
By contrast, Nigeria has seen dramatic hindered by lack of knowledge. Broadly, the the same. The conclusion to be drawn is that
growth in ICT investment since 2001, coincid- information requirements suggested by each the consumer and user market is stagnating
ing with liberalisation and deregulation of the of the country case studies can be summarised without investment in local infrastructure as
sector. The regulatory framework is already as follows: market entry cost remains high and the econo-
open, relatively consultative and enabling and mies of scale are not achieved.
commercial users consider the Nigerian Com- * A lgeria: Support is needed relating to Nevertheless, the consumer surveys under-
munications Commission (NCC) to have trans- technical considerations (e.g. local VSAT taken in all three capital cities are striking be-
formed from a highly bureaucratic organisa- hubs), economic factors (e.g. satellite cause of the similarity in usage trends and, al-
tion to one run efficiently along business lines. bandwidth costs), and effective regulatory though the findings are limited, they indicate
The result is increasing demand although there approaches (case studies of countries that a similarity in demand that is driven by the
is a danger that VSAT will be bypassed in this have liberalised the VSAT sector); need for affordable, fast connectivity. Accord-
growth curve. Obstacles to VSAT growth in * Nigeria: Dissemination of VSAT technical ingly, the case studies above demonstrate that
Nigeria include a lack of local technical skills literature and marketing of Ku-band VSAT VSATs are seen by all three Administrations as
and the perception that Ku-band VSATs suffer services are needed to promote the tech- strategically vital in enabling them to achieve
inordinately from rain attenuation. Both obsta- nology’s ability to serve as a cost-effective public-policy objectives and each is moving to
cles can be easily surmounted with informa- alternative to C-band systems for some facilitate their use through liberalisation and
tion dissemination. applications; and improved regulatory approaches.
Tanzania also has a progressive approach * Tanzania: Dialogue amongst the regula- Finally, these three Administrations stand
to liberalisation and deregulation, but the ex- tor, ministries and other government of- in stark contrast to African countries where
tent to which the regulator has used licensing fices needs to be strengthened with the aim duopolies and monopolies are still in place.
to generate revenues has limited local invest- of developing the local ICT sector. As was revealed by the IDRC Pan-Africa Satel-
ment, and consequently, development of the lite Survey – and as is shown in Section 4.2 of
sector. Further, it is claimed that the large The three case studies also highlight differ- this Report - when an Administration is focused
number of players ensures a highly competi- ent sets of challenges, each of which are re- on protecting state investments in a monopoly
tive environment but one where few parties f lected by the Cyber-café Consumer Survey or duopoly, the inherent potential of market
are prepared to risk increased investment be- (see above). Usage is increasing dramatically forces to more rapidly increase access and de-
cause of the perception that there will be low in Nigeria with consumers requiring more crease cost of service is greatly inhibited… or
returns. bandwidth-intensive applications. Of the ICT prevented outright.
The current approach to licensing in Tan- consumers surveyed in Lagos, 47.1% said they This point is underscored further by the
zania incentivises operators (such as the pub- had increased their usage of cyber cafés, com- accompanying case study on Somaliland and
lic data operators) to focus on high-margin pared to 40.5% in Algiers and 32.7% in Tanza- by the regulatory experiences identified in the
corporate-enterprise business to pay their li- nia. In Algeria, usage is increasing steadily but following sections. !
Section 4
Open and Closed Skies
4. Challenges and Solutions: Satellite Regulatory Guidelines for Africa
readiness for possible strong competition ices, but does not have a legislated monopoly.
when other competitors enter the market.
Table 8: Competition in African The terminal equipment market is now fully
The success of this strategy varies from VSAT License Regimes. liberalised and ISPs are allowed to use VSATs
country to country and is also controver- Source: ITU Trends in to obtain international bandwidth independ-
sial.” Telecommunication Reform 2003, ently of MTL and to use wireless data links to
2. Fear of the unknown – Myths regard- IDRC and GVF Satellite Regulatory ser vice customers. Multi-banch companies
ing satellite communications: “Due to Surveys such as Lever Brothers, Shoprite, and Oilcom
a lack of comprehension by policy-makers have also begun to use VSAT to service their
particularly regarding satellite communi- internal data communications needs, including
cation trends and their impact, most of African VSAT Licensing Regimes online connections directly to South A frica.
them opted to stay out of these technologi- In Malawi, a VSAT license costs US$5,000/
cal advancement[s] for fear that their mar- Group 1: Full Competition site initially and $2,500 per year subsequently.
kets will be dominated by ‘outsiders’. This Botswana Mauritius About 20 licenses have been issued. Accord-
situation has led to incoherent and unsta- Burkina Faso Mozambique ing to the Malawi Communications Regulatory
ble policies and regulatory regimes.” Burundi Nigeria Authority (M ACR A), the uniform licensing
3. Lack of appreciation of the additional Cameroon Swaziland regime may in future be reviewed with “a
benefits of deregulation: “Most policy- Gabon Togo downward adjustment [of fees] likely to take
makers don’t spend time to study the ad- Guinea-Bissau Tunisia into account the emergence of low-cost Ku-
ditional significant benefits brought about Lesotho Zambia band two-way VSAT-based Internet services
through deregulation. These range from Madagascar aimed at small businesses and residential us-
improved investment to job creation, like ers.”
in the case of call-centres.”102 Group 2: Partial Competition By contrast, South Africa is – with regard
Algeria Morocco to its VSAT sector - one of the least liberalised
Indeed, as this Report was being drafted, Cape Verde Niger nations in sub-Saharan A frica. At the moment
increased pressure was being applied by the Ivory Coast Senegal Telkom SA (through a PSTS licence) and
Kenyan Internet sector for the Administration Egypt Sudan Sentech (a state-owned member of South A fri-
not to implement “restricted licensing” of Ghana Seychelles ca’s satellite duopoly through a Multimedia
VSATs. In an open letter to the Kenyan govern- Guinea Sierra Leone Service licence) are the only providers allowed
ment, TESPOK, an association representing Liberia Tanzania to provide VSAT services within South A frica.
local Internet interests, drew public attention Malawi Uganda The incumbent, Telkom SA, holds a monopoly
to the Administration’s intention to begin is- Mali Zimbabwe for international VSAT services105 . An interna-
suing a limited number of licenses on a com- Mauritania tional telecommunication service licence and
petitive-tendering basis for two “protected seg- multimedia service licence can only be issued
ments”: International Internet/data gateways, Group 3: Duopoly upon an invitation from the Minister. Further,
and VSAT hubs. South Africa agreements need to be made with licensed
Among the arguments made by TESPOK for operators to obtain VSAT network facilities and
full liberalisation of Kenya’s VSAT sector are Group 4: Monopoly services. Two private network operators serv-
the following: Angola Gambia ing Closed User Groups are active in the South
Benin Kenya A frican market, the power utility company
* Cost: Competitive tendering inevitably Chad Namibia Eskom and the railway company Transtel who
leads to high prices, which are passed on Ethiopia will shortly be jointly issued with the Second
to the consumer in the form of higher Network Operators (SNO) license and are ex-
prices. This is not just a cost to the con- Group 5: Not Available pected to leverage these resources to compete
sumer, but also a cost to the economy. Central African with Telkom SA.
TESPOK has calculated that the direct cost Republic Eritrea The South African government’s regulatory
to Kenya’s economy over the next five Comoros Libya
years, if this policy is implemented, will Congo Rwanda
be i n excess of KSh 16 bill ion Congo S.Tomé
(US$220million). (See also the case stud- (Dem. Rep.) and Principe
ies in Section 3.1.) Djibouti Somalia 103 TESPOK called upon the general public to
* Precedent: In Tanzania, anyone can apply Equatorial Guinea St. Helena demonstrate support for a fully liberalised
to install a VSAT and be granted a license market by sendi ng an emai l to
after paying a fee of US$5,000 per annum. ISPsNeedVSAT@LiberalizeVSAT.Co.Ke or
The same applies in Uganda except that visiting w w w.LiberalizeVSAT.Co.Ke
the fee there is only $4,000 per annum. In third party intermediary – these so-called 104 Derived from a presentation given by a rep-
its open letter, TESPOK asked: “Why does ‘Internet Backbone Licensees’- between resentative of Malawi’s regulatory agency,
the government claim with one hand that their Kenyan ISP network and these Ex- M ACR A, during an ITU Roundtable on
they wish to stimulate economic recovery changes around the world? It goes with- Least Developed Countries held in Arusha,
and with the other introduce policies that out saying that the route is longer and the Tanzania, on 3-4 April 2003.
will make Kenya regionally uncompeti- costs will be higher.” 105 DeTeCon International.
tive?” 106 In comments made during a presentation
* Technical: It is wrong to have a “middle TESPOK concludes by requesting the gov- at Satcom A frica 2004, Johannesburg,
man between the Kenyan ISP and the rest ernment to reconsider its plan and permit any Mandla Langa, Chairperson of ICASA,
of the world.” Tespok argues that Internet qualified operator or ser vice provider who stated: “The Authority is aware that most
exchange points are the building blocks applies for a license to operate satellite serv- jurisdictions have liberalised, or are in the
of the global Internet. There are many ex- ices to, upon payment of the relevant fee, be course of liberalising VSATs. In so doing
changes in the world, but ISPs’ analysis of granted a license103 . these jurisdictions determine technical
Kenyan traffic patterns confirms that the Malawi’s experience104 reinforces the ITU’s specifications that must be complied with,
most important ones for Kenya are the conclusion that “market opening works”. Sepa- but the trend seems to be towards the ex-
Internet exchanges in London and New rated from the Post Office in 1997, Malawi emption of VSATs from licensing. We hope
York. Asks TESPOK: “Why should a Ken- Telecommunication Limited (MTL) is the sole that the VSAT issue can be addressed in
yan ISP be forced by regulation to use a operator of fixed line telecommunication serv- the context of the Convergence Bill.”
have its full effect, there must be systems and quirements have been employed effectively by plemented today are not completely open,
processes in place to allow regulators to gain Administrations, both in A frica and elsewhere they all involve permitting increased di-
valuable information, consult all stakeholders, in the world. These licensing rules tend to rect access to orbital resources, regardless
render their decisions, and justif y them based focus either on: A) The “space segment” of a of the satellite operators’ country of ori-
on the public interest and the facts provided satellite network; or B) The terrestrial or “Earth gin. 'Open Skies' policies require satellite
to them. Evidence of transparency and unbi- segment” of the network. In both situations, operators to compete for customers inter-
ased decision-making will also help to inocu- care is increasingly being taken to ensure that ested in obtaining C-band (4-6 GHz), Ku-
late regulators from accusations of arbitrary, licensing requirements do not become barri- band (10-20 GHz) and Ka-band (20-30 GHz)
closed-door decisions for reasons of personal ers to free trade, but instead are used sparingly satellite bandwidth. It has been observed
gain or to benefit a certain company or indi- in order to accomplish legitimate regulatory that this competition results in more op-
vidual. requirements. tions for local customers with a significant
To facilitate this process, CATIA has begun The duration of most licences is often a boost i n qual it y and lower pr ices.
co-ordinating with regional inter-governmen- matter of negotiation, but in the broadest terms
tal groups throughout A frica, such as TR ASA can be set at five or 10 years with relatively Meanwhile, as space segment providers
and WATR A in West A frica, to establish an little effort. For those countries where the li- move into the business of providing full
online One-Stop-Shop VSAT license-application cence being used is held by a national ser vice end-to-end solutions in A frica, they are
framework that also includes public access to provider, this point is defined by the duration faced with the work of obtaining end-user
the VSAT regulatory requirements applied by of the commercial agreement with the foreign licences for the customers for whom they
each A frican Administration (see also Section network operator. are providing the network. There is no
4). All A frican governments have been invited prohibition in any A frican Administration
to participate in the programme. A) Space Segment against the space segment provider obtain-
In attempting to place licensing requirements ing an end-user licence, though it may not
4.5 STREA MLINING LICENSING on the space segment portion of a satellite always be the most efficient route to take.
The ITU has called attention to the impact of network, Administrations have focused on two As a rule of thumb, applications made in
the licensing process on the larger regulatory areas – requiring authorisations for domestic the name of the customer, though handled
environment and the market as a whole, not- landing rights and requiring authorisations for by the space segment operator, have
ing, “The licensing process can be one of the the use of specific frequency segments. Both proven to be effective in the A frican con-
most important regulatory processes related trends are discussed below. text. They expose the operator to less long-
to reform of the telecommunication sector. term risk by linking a customer’s ground
Licensing policy and its implementation deter- 1. Landing Rights - The Case for 'Open segment licence with other rights and ob-
mine the structure of markets, the number and Skies' Policies. In the past, governments ligations of the network.
types of operators, the degree of competition have developed policies to protect their
among them, the revenues earned by govern- countries’ satellite systems 114 . These 2. Spectrum Management and Licensing.
ments in opening markets, and, ultimately, the “Closed Skies” policies required ser vice The spectrum used via a satellite was his-
efficiency of the supply of the services to the providers to use only locally-owned satel- torically distributed between the incum-
market.”111 lite capacity when providing VSAT serv- bent, military and related public service
Despite significant liberalisation gains made ices. A lso, originally satellite operators providers (police and emergency services).
in recent years by A frican Administrations, such as Intelsat, Eutelsat and Inmarsat were As countries began implementing 'Open
VSATs are still among the most heavily-regu- inter-governmental organisations and Skies' policies, licensing of spectrum be-
lated technologies in the region, a fact that is owned by the PTOs around the world. came an issue nationally. In particular, in-
most apparent in the realm of licensing. In Consequently, in the beginning space seg- terference had to be minimised in the best
combination with the sheer number of Admin- ment could only be bought via the incum- interests of society116 .
istrations, A frica has become one of the most bent PTO.
difficult regions in which to roll out a VSAT Today, the ITU coordination process serves
network112 . But in the long run, governments are real- to avoid technical problems such as inter-
A frican Administrations typically regulate ising that tremendous demand for Internet, ference among global operators. Exclusive
the ability of a ground segment operator to data, voice, video and other services is best or primary bands are often allocated for
connect with a space network. This implies addressed by policies that permit open and Fixed Satellite Services (FSS) and Mobile
that there is no requirement to demonstrate direct access to all satellite resources as- Satellite Services (MSS) and spectrum sub-
that a space network has “landing rights” in suming that they have been properly co-
the country113. However, Administrations’ regu- ordinated through the ITU115 . The “foot-
lation of the ground segment can include print” of a satellite – the region of the Earth
charges by bandwidth, frequency band, served by a satellite - does not match na-
number of sites, size of antennas, and in one tional borders, making it necessary to regu-
case in North Africa, the distance between the late this matter through international. 121 Directive 2002/20/EC of the European Par-
national operator’s international gateway and liament and of the Council of 7 March 2002
the VSAT (obviating the principal advantage This approach is being implemented on the authorisation of electronic commu-
of satellite connectivity). Fees and application worldwide. The ITU Satellite Regulatory nications networks and services (Authori-
processes are addressed in more detail below. Survey indicated that 34 of 54 responding sation Directive).
Moreover, the type of licences granted by Administrations allow space segment op- 122 CEPT WGR A Meeting, Vilnius, Lithuania,
A frican Adm i nistr ations is largely erators to provide services directly to end- February 2004.
unharmonised. Very few countries regularly users; of the A frican Administrations, 123 Presentations given by the Danish, Hungar-
grant operator licences; although there are about half of the survey respondents con- ian and Norwegian Administrations during
exceptions, Zambia has, for example, and in firmed that they permit direct links with the CEPT WGR A Meeting, Vilnius, Lithua-
some cases so has Mozambique. But in most end users. When it comes to satellite net- nia, February 2004.
cases, the VSAT provider is obliged to apply work service providers being allowed to 124 IDRC Pan-A frica Satellite Survey.
only for a licence for a Closed User Group. transmit and receive signals to and from 125 See http://w w w.itu.int, ITU Question 17-
These may then be further restricted by a pro- foreign satellites, 46 of the 54 responding 1: “Satellite regulation in developing
hibition against the provision of voice services, Administrations said they allow such trans- countries”.
though this barrier has been eroding steadily, missions. 126 Ibid.
if informally, during the past five years. 127 Ibid.
Nonetheless, several types of licensing re- While the 'Open Skies' policies being im- 128 Ibid.
GMPCS Terminals - Blanket/Class Licensing With this regulation, VSATs are configured
based upon technical criteria - involving
power level, frequency, etc. - that elimi-
80%
Yes
70%
No
60%
% of Countries
VSAT Licensing Case Study: Chart 10: African Commercial/Legal Presence Required?
Netherlands 133
Source: IDRC Pan-Africa Satellite Survey.
in Angola, Cameroon, Gabon, and Sao Tomé helps to promote the independence of the regu-
and Principe (and formerly Nigeria) are all latory agency, by freeing the agency from de-
* Mauritius’ telecommunication sector has unusually high compared with most of the rest pendence on the government’s general budg-
been liberalised since the promulgation of A frica. With the exception of the slightly etary process.
of the Telecommunications Act; opaque pricing schemes of Kenya, Eastern and In addition to publicising rules regarding
* The Information and Communication Southern A frican Administrations charge the satellite licensing, it has been demonstrated
Technology Authority is the IT and least onerous fees. that clearly defining fee structures for the pub-
telecom sector regulator that licenses The ITU Satellite Regulator y Sur vey re- lic without discrimination promotes invest-
operators; vealed that in some countries, licensing the ment129 . Companies assess expected costs be-
* Licensing in Mauritius is both technology ground segment is stated as being exempted fore market entry, so clarity and availability of
and service neutral; from payment of license fees. It is submitted this is critical. This is so especially because the
* Operators can apply to provide physical
infrastructure, network services or
applications; ISPs are the most prolific suppliers of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services, and it is precisely
* Those who apply for network services the restricted opportunities to offer new VoIP services that are so clearly indicated by the respondents
can establish or lease physical to the ITU-D Question 17/1 Survey. Of the Administrations that indicated they did effect service-
infrastructure; specific regulation for satellite-based services (17 of a total of 58 respondents), a significant proportion
* Those who apply can automatically declared that it was VoIP against which there were the most stringent restrictions, or outright
qualify for a network and physical prohibition. In some cases the national Administration was open in stating that this prohibition was
infrastructure license. in favour of retaining the national telcos’ voice telephony monopoly.
work in other areas, given the regional/global enable more cost-effective access to satellite it has begun to apply self-declaration of con-
character of the provision of satellite services, services. The IDRC Pan-A frica Satellite Survey formity by manufacturers. This approach,
reliance on auction-based allocation mecha- shows that most A frican Administrations are which shifts responsibility for type-approval
nisms can be fraught with considerable diffi- content to recognise the type-approval marks testing and certification from the Administra-
culties. At a minimum, it can subject a global that apply elsewhere in A frica (such as ICASA tion to the manufacturer, is also in line with
or regional satellite operator to considerable in South A frica143), as well as in Europe, the global trends: Overall, 42 of 56 nations that
uncertainty and vulnerability in its ability to United States, Japan, Korea or China. Where responded to the ITU Satellite Regulatory Sur-
provide service. type approval matters are raised in A frica, it is vey question on type approvals allowed self-
Even in those instances where Administra- often for anomalous reasons, to do less with declaration.
tions seek to employ such policies only with equipment’s failure to meet a standard than the Self-declaration of conformity by manufac-
respect to domestically licensed satellite op- services or end users that are associated with turers has significant advantages over type
erators, such practices inevitably lead to con- the network. approvals. The practise removes an unneces-
cerns about the absence of a level playing field The ITU-D Question 17/1 Survey made a sary burden from Administrations, and also
between domestic and foreign operators, with similar finding: Responses indicate that there enables all participants – manufacturers, Ad-
the consequence of increasing pressure for is a trend towards accepting international or ministrations and end users – to avoid delays
restrictive rather than permissive market ac- regional standards on unwanted emissions and added costs associated with traditional
cess policies imposed upon satellite operators. during the type approval of FSS and MSS earth type-approval processes.
As the European “3G” experience clearly dem- station terminals. Of the respondents, the ma- While it is relatively new, it has already been
onstrates (as one example), auctions have done jority of nations surveyed in every region rec- proven to be effective, even on a regional scale:
little to promote increased availability of afford- ognize Mutual Recognition Agreements The European Community has implemented
able and innovative service offerings. While so- (MR As), with a total of 38 out of 50 countries legislation that eliminates government type
called cost-recovery principles for spectrum- indicating acceptance. A frica’s proportion is approvals of satellite and other telecom termi-
related regulatory activities may be difficult to higher, where 11 countries recognise MR As, nals, introducing harmonized standards and
question, the perception of spectrum as an versus only one that does not. certification procedures to be issued by inde-
attractive new source of governmental revenue A frican Administrations’ interest in mini- pendent laboratories. This change is being
generation poses significant concerns. At the mising costs associated with type approvals is brought about with the Radio and Telecommu-
end of the day, it is effectively nothing more shared by a growing number of countries nications Terminal Equipment Directive 1999/
than a tax to be paid by the ultimate end user throughout the world that mutually recognise 5/EC (the “R&TTE Directive”), which intro-
of any telecommunications service provided. type approvals issued by other Administrations duces a system based on manufacturers’ dec-
Nevertheless, radio frequency spectrum is – whether on the global level through the ITU laration of conformity and relaxation of the
a scarce resource and national Administrations GMPCS-MoU or through regional mutual rec- regulatory constraints on the free movement
need to provide access to it for all radio com- ognition agreements such as those applied by and putting into use of terminal equipment144 .
munications users in an optimised way141 . In the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation group Although satellite communications services
this respect, the satellite industr y continues and the Inter-American Telecommunications can be provided on a universal and cost-effec-
to be burdened by spectrum limitations, either Commission. tive basis to both large and small users, in cer-
through reallocation of vital frequency alloca- In order to help facilitate use of the MR A tain circumstances measures must be taken in
tions to terrestrial users or through unduly process for satellite-based systems, the private order to ensure that satellite transmission de-
constraining mitigation techniques. This has sector has also offered a solution. A technical vices do not pose a radiation hazard threat to
the unfortunate effect of hampering services framework that enables Administrations to the public. Regulations and licensing condi-
to remote regions of the world where satellites mutually recognise test results generated dur- tions that can be used to protect public safety
constitute a critical telecommunications link. ing the satellite operator type-approvals proc- include: restrictions on physical accessibility
There are terrestrial technologies that have ess. This framework is encapsulated in a docu- of transmission equipment (i.e., use of fenc-
the potential – and the commercial interest - ment entitled “GVF 101: Mutual Recognition ing, secure areas and warning signage), restric-
to make use of either C- or Ku-band spectrum of Performance Measurement Guidelines and tions on the design and configuration of trans-
in A frica. As has been demonstrated at vari- Procedures for Satellite System Operator Type mission equipment in order to ensure that
ous multi-lateral spectrum meetings over the Approvals” (see Sources & Resources). It de- transmissions do not exceed appropriate lev-
past five years, A frican Administrations are as fines a set of standardised measurements that els (homologation, type approvals, self-decla-
interested in the uses of this spectrum for sat- can be used to check compliance of an earth ration of conformity), and restrictions on the
ellite services as they are for other immediately station antenna model with applicable per- proper installation and use of transmission
available technologies such as wireless local formance requirements. The procedure also equipment (i.e., requiring adequate training for
loop (lower C-band) and fixed point-to-point provides for independent auditing of the ac- equipment installers and operators).
links (upper C-band). curacy and completeness of the data by Author-
ised Test Entities, which are elected by satel- 4.11 ACHIEVING CONTENT NEUTR ALITY
4.10 OPTIMISING EQUIPMENT lite-operator members of the GVF. Content is not addressed in the applications to
CERTIFICATION The avai labil it y of a standardised, provide VSAT service in sub-Saharan A frica.
Approximately US$135 billion in telecommu- audited data package alleviates the need for This is not to say that the Administrations are
nication and information equipment is affected each country to maintain its own testing and indifferent to content, however, the nature of
by type-approvals processes throughout the verification requirements, reducing costs for the content is not addressed during the appli-
world each year142 , a significant percentage of administrations and improving the quality and cation process except as it is used to define
which is satellite-based systems. These type- comprehensiveness of the data submitted to the service (e.g., ‘corporate Intranets’ or ‘data
approvals costs are passed on to consumers in regulators as a part of the licensing or type transmissions’).
the form of higher equipment prices, and an approval process. At the same time, accept- Satellite networks can be effectively used
additional layer of expense is often added when ance by domestic regulators of a standardised to provide all forms of telecommunications
Administrations require type-approval testing data package can greatly reduce costs for sat- services. As a result, Administrations that regu-
and certification for satellite terminal equip- ellite service providers, by permitting them to late “content” often apply those regulations to
ment already tested and certified by other Ad- use a single set of tests and data to demonstrate satellite operators. For example, some coun-
ministrations. compliance with the technical requirements tries still maintain limits on the number of car-
In A frica, the current state of type approv- of both satellite operators and domestic licens- riers that are permitted to provide international
als and equipment-registration requirements ing officials in multiple countries. voice traffic. Other countries restrict the pro-
for satellite earth stations suggests a strong However, other Administrations are bypass- vision of private line resale services, call-back
interest in streamlining these traditional proc- ing mutual recognition to go a step further. A services, or international carriage of VoIP.
esses in order to lower consumer prices and good example is Ghana, which reported that Administrations increasingly are opting not
to place restrictions on the content of interna- ing regulations for the satellite sector. In or- When mainstream businesses avoid (or are
tional telecommunications services, because der to maximise industry compliance, laws and prevented from) investing in certain countries
restrictions on the number and types of inter- regulations are being designed in recognition and regions, a gap develops in the chain of
national carriers that serve a country serve only of the fundamental characteristics of the busi- supply and demand. Either a certain percent-
to erode competition and raise prices for cus- ness community145 . Like all mainstream busi- age of the demand for telecommunications
tomers. Some countries use revenues from nesses, satellite and other telecommunications services is not met by existing suppliers, or
international telecommunications services to service providers are highly risk averse. This the demand is met, but at much higher prices
help subsidize and reduce the costs of local means that business ventures seek, above all than would exist in a competitive market.
telecommunications services. But these im- else, predictability and consistency. A rational A significant gap between supply and de-
plicit universal support mechanisms are still business would prefer to invest in a country mand encourages the growth of non-main-
being maintained in a fully competitive mar- where it is likely to receive a modest, but pre- stream businesses, which may be willing to
ket through the imposition of universal serv- dictable and consistent revenue stream, as op- provide services in non-compliance with do-
ice fees on international carriers, or through posed to a country where the company might mestic laws and regulations. Such non-main-
interconnection requirements. receive an initially large, but unpredictable and stream businesses are less likely to promote
In any event, content restrictions that are inconsistent revenue stream. local economic development, because they are
being imposed by Administrations should be Recognising these basic principles, coun- less likely to create well-paying jobs and they
technology-neutral – applying equally to satel- tries increasingly are developing laws and regu- often take measures to avoid payment of local
lite-based and wireline telecommunications lations for the telecommunications sector taxes.
service providers. Since satellite networks can (along with all other business sectors) that are Administrations are finding that the most
be used to provide all forms of telecommuni- objective (non-discriminatory), easily under- expedient way for government to discourage
cations services, no country should limit the stood (transparent) and highly predictable. the development of non-mainstream businesses
number of satellite licenses that are issued in Such laws and regulations also prohibit gov- is to create legal and regulatory conditions that
an attempt to restrict certain types of content. ernment actions that are arbitrary or discrimi- are conducive to the mainstream business com-
natory. For example, most if not all mainstream munity. When given the option, consumers –
4.12 ENFORCING COMPLIANCE telecommunications service providers would particularly business customers – will purchase
All operators face the risk of fines, suspension be willing to pay an annual licensing fee to services from mainstream business as opposed
or annulment of licences, and confiscation of provide satellite services in a country, as long to non-mainstream businesses. Furthermore,
their equipment if they are discovered to be as the fee was reasonable and consistent from mainstream businesses are often willing to help
operating without a licence, whether they are year to year. the government regulate and “police” the par-
in an A frican countr y or elsewhere in the Mainstream businesses tend to avoid invest- ticipants in an industry segment in order to
world. Operators are particularly at risk using ing in countries that lack objective, transpar- help eliminate unfair competition from non-
C-band, which continues to be heavily used ent and predictable regulator y structures. mainstream business ventures. As a result, the
for terrestrial services. The highest fine - as Furthermore, a government-imposed restric- best way Administrations have found to ensure
reported anecdotally – to be levied against a tion on the number of participants that can compliance with laws, regulations and licens-
VSAT service in recent years was US$1,000,000 exist in a particular market segment (i.e., a ing conditions is to establish a strong main-
in the Republic of Nigeria. mandatory monopoly, duopoly, or other nu- stream business community through the adop-
Most countries have little difficulty secur- merical restriction) also serves to prevent many tion and use of objective, transparent and pre-
ing enforcement of telecommunications laws, mainstream businesses from providing services dictable laws, regulations and licensing condi-
regulations and licensing conditions, includ- in the country. tions. "
Section 5
Open and Closed Skies
5.. Global Regulatory and Policy Trends
Sources & Resources for each nation’s WTO terminals, marking of terminals, customs ar-
commitments). This means that the pro-com- rangements, access to traffic data and review.
petitive regulatory principles contained in the Fittingly, perhaps, there was a strong re- 146 The GATS was heralded as the first-ever set
GBT Reference Paper - which addressed fair sponse by Administrations to the GMPCS-MoU of multilateral, legally enforceable rules
interconnection rules, transparent licensing in the ITU-D Question 17/1 Survey; 55 of the covering international trade in services. It
criteria and competitive safeguards for the 63 countries that responded addressed the consists of 29 articles (dealing with gen-
same, establishment of an independent regu- question on the GMPCS-MOU and the imple- eral principles and obligations such as
lator, non-discriminatory allocation and use of mentation of its Arrangements. Chart 11 indi- “Most Favoured Nation” M.F.N. and Na-
scarce resources such as spectrum (and applies cates those that responded “yes”, by region, tional treatment); 8 Annexes (dealing with
to both terrestrial and satellites services alike) when asked whether they had implemented the rules for specific sectors); and 130 (indi-
– may provide an excellent example to A fri- GMPCS-MoU and its Arrangements. vidual country’s specific commitments to
can states, but one which few are applying. Due to their global or regional coverage, provide access to their markets) schedules
Most A frican Administrations also have not GMPCS systems are capable of providing serv- of commitments on specific service sec-
engaged the WTO Information Technology ices in urban areas as well as in remote areas tors.
Agreement (ITA), which entered into force on of the world. Consequently, advanced telecom- 147This summar y derives from an informal
July 1, 1997. This agreement was designed to munication services may become available in background document provided by the
reduce or eliminate customs duties (and other these areas for the benefit of all areas of the WTO.
charges) on information technology equipment country. The possibility of being able to oper- 148 See the revised Report by the Secretary
by the year 2000. Countries committing to the ate GMPCS terminals without geographical General, “Policy and Regulatory Issues
ITA undertook to bind their ITA commitments constraint is one of the most attractive features Raised by Global Mobile Personal Com-
in their WTO tariff schedules. Although de- for potential users. munications by Satellite (GMPCS),” Part
veloping countries have received “extended This has important implications not only I, para. 9. World Telecommunication
staging” for at least some products in their for MSS systems – for which the benefits of Policy For um, 21-23 October 1996.
schedule, only three African countries - Egypt, unconstrained use across vast areas is readily Printed by the International Telecommu-
Morocco, and Mauritius - are party to the ITA. apparent – but also for FSS systems which, nication Union.
while roaming is generally of less relevance,
5.2 GMPCS-MOU: IMPLEMENTING THE would nonetheless be much more accessible (a) existing and planned global and regional
ARR ANGEMENTS to users if Regulators were to base licensing satellite systems providing mobile personal
GMPCS as an acronym stands for “global mo- regimes for FSS systems on the GMPCS-MoU’s communications voice and low-speed data
bile personal communications by satellite.” The provisions for blanket licensing, mutual recog- services and operating in the geostationary
definition actually encompasses both mobile nition of type approvals, and elimination or orbit (GEO MSS);
and fixed satellite systems, whether or not they reduction of customs duties. (b) existing and planned satellite systems op-
are regional or global, planned or existing, To complement the GMPCS-MoU, which erating in non-geostationar y orbits and
narrow- or broadband, or rely upon geo-station- provides only a framework and guiding princi- providing mobile narrow-band ser vices,
ar y or non-geo-stationar y satellites 148 . A ples, the GMPCS-MoU Group, in cooperation excluding voice, on a global or regional
GMPCS-based licensing framework can there- with the ITU Secretary General, have drafted basis (i.e. “Little LEOs” or “Little” NGEO
fore be effectively applied to any satellite net- and approved the GMPCS-MoU Implementation MSS);
work that may be intending to provide service and its Arrangements149 . These detail the means (c) satellite systems planned to come into op-
in any country. by wh ich Adm inistrations could use the eration in the next two to five years in or-
The GMPCS-MoU is a cooperative frame- GMPCS-MoU to grant mutual recognition of der to offer narrowband mobile services,
work signed by Member States, GMPCS System type approval of terminals and of licensing, including voice and relatively low-speed
Operators, GMPCS Terminal Manufacturers recognise the marking of terminals and per- data, on a global or regional basis and to
and Service Providers to memorialise the non- mit terminals to be placed on the market.150 operate in non-geostationary orbits – in-
contractual and non-legally binding terms of The Implementation and its Arrangements cluding Low Earth Orbits (LEOs), Medium
their cooperation. As of June 15, 2003, there also make clear the broad application intended Earth Orbits (MEOs), and Highly Inclined
were 164 signatories to the GMPCS-MoU. for the GMPCS-MoU, so Administrations should Elliptical Orbits (HEOs) – (i.e. NGEO MSS);
The objective of the cooperation is to al- facilitate private-sector participation in the pro- (d) satellite systems planned to come into op-
low GMPCS subscribers to take their terminals gramme, regardless of whether they are pro- eration in the next five to ten years in or-
any where and, more importantly, to use them viding an MSS or FSS system. der to offer fixed and transportable, multi-
in countries where they are licensed. The final media broadband services on a global or
text of the GMPCS-MoU was adopted on 18 5.3 ITU RA DIO REGULATIONS: regulatory basis and to operate either in
February 1997. It contains six articles dealing CO-ORDINATING SATELLITE SERVICES geostationary or non-geostationary orbits
with type approval of terminals, licensing of ITU Radio Regulations govern the use of spec- (GEO and NGEO FSS).
regulatory barriers have not been as easy to * The Convention defines the status of the 1998 or during the past five years. Twenty-
overcome or mitigate. personnel of the various partners in inter- three States have during this period already
The development of the Tampere Conven- national humanitarian assistance, includ- deposited the instrument of ratification, acces-
tion has been beneficial in identif ying the ing that of government entities, interna- sion or acceptance. There is no time limit for
scope of the problem and in proposing ways tional organizations, non-governmental ratification, accession or acceptance with or
and means by which these might be over- organizations and other non-state entities, without previous (provisional) signature, and
come155 . The Tampere Convention effectively and defi nes thei r pr ivileges and it can be expected that the additional seven
explores the overall concepts of the provision immunities. parties needed for its formal entry into force
of additional telecommunication infrastructure * The Convention fully protects the interests will join the Convention in the near future..
to a disaster area. Whilst emphasizing the of the States requesting and receiving as- While the Convention is already widely
rights of national Authorities to control their sistance. The host government retains the applied and provides the framework for agree-
own telecommunications environment, it sug- right to supervise the assistance. ment on satellite and other telecommunication
gests ways and means by which the provision * The Convention foresees the establishment matters in most operations of international
of additional equipment might be facilitated. of bilateral agreements bet ween the humanitarian operations, it is of course esirable
In any disaster situation, it would therefore provider(s) of assistance and the State re- that the number of 30 parties to the Conven-
be beneficial to consider invoking the Tampere questing/receiving such assistance. tion be reached as soon as possible.
Agreement to facilitate and expedite the pro- The United Nations Secretary-General is the
vision of satellite and other telecommunica- A State may express its consent to be bound Depositary of the Convention. The Office of
tions services in support of disaster relief and by the convention by any of the following Legal A ffairs, Treaty Section, United Nations
mitigation efforts. means: Headquarters, is in charge of the relevant pro-
a) By definitive signature; cedures and information on depository mat-
Key elements of the Tampere Convention b) By signature subject to ratification, accept- ters (signature, ratification, acceptance, ap-
* The Convention is designed to expedite ance or approval followed by deposit of proval or accession). The United Nations Emer-
and facilitate the use of emergency tel- an instrument of ratification, acceptance gency Relief Coordinator and Under-Secretary-
ecommunications within the framework of or approval; General for Humanitarian A ffairs is the Opera-
international humanitarian assistance. c) By deposit of an instrument of accession. tional Coordinator for the application of the
Such telecommunication assistance can be Convention. The United Nations Office for the
provided as direct assistance, provided to The period for signature subject to ratifi- Coordination of Humanitarian A ffairs (OCHA),
national institutions and/or a location or cation, acceptance or approval (only) ended Geneva Office, is in charge of the implementa-
region affected by a disaster, and/or as part on 21 June 2003, by when 60 States had used tion and execution of the respective functions
or in support of other disaster mitigation this possibility either during the conference and works closely with the ITU. !
and relief activities. (ICET-98), which adopted the Convention in
Section 6
Open and Closed Skies
6. Toward National and Regional Strategies in the African Context
6. TOWA RD NATIONAL A ND REGIONAL in the world. Two years later – and during a lic platform where access to each Admin-
STR ATEGIES IN THE AFRICAN CONTEXT period that corresponded with significant lib- istration’s satellite regulations is provided.
Not surprisingly – and not unlike other large eralisation of Africa’s VSAT sector - no less than This step, for which the Internet and the
regions of the world - the A frican continent’s 47 percent of A frican ISPs, respectively, were worldwide web is ideally suited, provides:
tremendous size and diversity have given rise linked via satellite. Only Latin America - with • Nearly immediate, inexpensive trans-
to many different satellite regulatory and policy 66 percent - was higher. parency to facilitate the private sector’s
approaches. This, in turn, has contributed to Certainly, much regulatory work remains provision of services, while relieving
the emergence of an important trend: Sub-re- to be done. But the successful results already regulators’ administrative burden;
gional groups of A frican Administrations have realised from national-level de-regulation of the • A means by which the regional inter-
formed organisations that are helping to ad- satellite sector has set the stage for more con- governmental group, usually through a
vance satellite-regulatory harmonisation initia- certed action at A frica’s sub-regional levels. task force or working group, can view
tives. the satellite regulations currently ap-
From TR ASA in sub-Saharan A frica to 6.1 REGIONAL TR A DE, REGIONAL plied in their region, analyse them and
WATR A in West A frica to EARPTO in East A f- ECONOMY, REGIONAL POLICY thus develop improved harmonization
rica, these organisations have all been estab- Addressing the regulatory challenge of facili- through improved understanding of
lished to enhance Administrations’ efforts to tating domestic and international satellite com- where their respective differences and
achieve national policy objectives, but in a munications services is taking place today at similarities reside.
broader, more inclusive regional context. Sat- the regional and sub-regional levels through 5) Harmonisation is usually (or always) pur-
ellite-based solutions are increasingly seen by groups of Administrations that share similar sued by establishing a body of satellite-re-
these groups to be inherently well suited to objectives. This trend, while not yet univer- lated policy and regulatory principles that
helping achieve key A frican policy objectives sal, is nonetheless apparent in both advanced Administrations within the region mutu-
– including improved standards of education, and emerging regions, and involving both de- ally agree to be in their common interest;
health, public safety and trade – not only at veloped and developing countries. 6) These principles – which can take the form
the national level, but also in a regional con- From nation to nation and from region to of Resolutions, Recommendations, Deci-
text. region, there are numerous differences in the sions, etc. - are typically non-binding and
The Administrations’ shared interest in col- way Administrations are addressing the chal- are meant to serve as regional-level guid-
laborating on regulator y harmonisation is lenge. But there are also striking similarities ance for national-level development and
driven by recognition of two key factors: and patterns that have become manifest in the implementation of light-touch satellite
way that successf ul har monisation pro-
1. Satellite-based services are able to quickly grammes are being applied157:
and cost effectively provide Internet, data,
voice, fax and video services in rural, sub- 1) The first most fundamental similarity is the
urban and urban areas, and for domestic understanding among Administrations that 156 DTT Consulting is a U.K.-based consul-
as well as international applications; if the regulatory environment for satellite tancy specialising on satellite communica-
2. To take advantage of satellite networks’ communications is not optimised, the pri- tions. See http://w w w.spotbeam.com
unique ability to provide links across the vate sector’s ability to provide vital serv-
sub-regions – and across the various regu- ices and infrastructure is undermined or 157 See http://w w w.itu.int, ITU Question 17-
latory approaches applied in each nation prevented; 1: “Satellite regulation in developing
– harmonisation is required. 2) The second is the agreement among Ad- countries”.
ministrations within a given region that the 158 TR ASA Members that have strategically lib-
Recognition of the former has also driven solution is light-touch regulation under- eralised the provision of VSAT services in-
the tremendous national-level regulator y pinned by harmonised regimes that pro- clude: Angola; Botswana; Democratic Re-
progress examined in the previous section of mote the cost-effective usage of satellite public of Congo; Lesotho; Malawi; Mauri-
this Report. But are reforms having any practi- solutions; tius; Mozambique; Seychelles; Swaziland;
cal impact in promoting expanded access to 3) Respecting the sovereignty of individual Tanzania; and Zambia.
telecommunications? According to research by nations is generally regarded to be of para- 159 See http://w w w.itu.int, ITU Question 17-
DTT Consulting156 , in 1998 A frica accounted mount importance in any regional satellite 1: “Satellite regulation in developing
for less than 10 percent of the world satellite regulatory harmonisation effort; countries” .
market for ISP links – the fourth lowest region 4) The next step is typically to create a pub- 160 GVF Satellite Regulatory Survey.
first refusal;
• Other factors beyond the regulator’s
control may inhibit implementation of
an 'Open Skies' policy; and
• TR ASA should identif y all factors inf lu-
encing the adoption of 'Open Skies' poli-
cies.
3. Harmonised Spectrum Fees: Noting
that some Administrations are already re-
viewing fee levels (and trying to get incum-
bent operators to release unused spec-
trum), the group will conduct a review that
takes the following factors into account:
• Spectrum fees are a source of revenue
for some regulators, thus any reductions
would have to be supported by alterna-
tive sources of funding;
• In some Administrations, the practise
of charging fees both per terminal and
for spectrum usage has been simplified
by i mplementi ng si ngle-charge
schemes;
• A document detailing Administrations’
fee structures – as well as the rationale
behind the fees – is be compiled before
Expanding teleconnectivity into economically emergent regions will accelerate growth attempts are made to recommend a
(Copyright: Charley Lewis) standard regional approach; and
• Fee changes would have to be sup-
regulations; tled to use TR ASA guidelines and models at ported by other reforms.
7) Once adopted at the regional level, these their own discretion. However, the presence 4. Earth Station Licensing: TR ASA has be-
principles then effectively serve as a tem- of TR ASA has encouraged its Member States gun a process of identif ying the types of
plate that, if implemented at the national to adopt the proposals and implement national VSATs that could be covered by a blanket-
level by various Administrations, promul- policies in line with SA DC’s goal of harmoni- licensing regime. The GVF “Regulatory &
gates a progressively more harmonised re- sation throughout the region. Policy Guidelines” are being used as a ref-
gional operating environment. The TR ASA Administrations’ harmonisation erence document.
deliverables – which have included guidelines 5. Appropriate License Fees: The Admin-
6.2 TR ASA: SOUTHERN AFRICA: 14 on ever ything from interconnection to ac- istrations expect this area to be more dif-
ADMINISTR ATIONS, ONE REGION counting161 – are submitted as recommenda- ficult than any other. Again, noting that
During the past seven years, most of the south- tions to the Southern A frica Transport and
ern A frican Administrations have been actively Communications Commission (SATCC), the or-
engaged in satellite regulatory reform at the ganisation responsible for transport and com-
national level. For example most of the coun- munication matters in the SADC region. SATCC
tries in the sub-region have now effectively then submits these for ratification by SA DC, 161 TR ASA’s harmonisation instruments in-
removed the major barriers to entry for for- after which the recommendations are made clude the following: Fair Competition
eign VSAT operators158; there are typically no available for Member States to consider in the Guidelines Study Report, TR ASA Intercon-
requirements to install a local hub; and license development of their own telecommunications nection Guidelines, TR ASA Model Inter-
fee levels have begun to be lowered in most policies and regulations. connection Regulations, TR ASA
cases159. Recently, the organisation has begun to fo- Bandplans, TR ASA Tari ff Guidelines,
While Administrations in the region have cus on harmonising satellite regulation and TR ASA Model Tariff Regulations, TR ASA
not yet harmonised their satellite regulatory policy in the region. This became apparent on Recommendations for Effective Regulation
approaches, a proliferation of satellite-based March 2004 in Lesotho at a TR ASA/CATIA Low- and Structures, SADC Model Telecommu-
services are now being offered in the region, Cost VSAT Workshop, which resulted in the nications Bill, SATCC Model Telecommu-
including tele-medicine, distance learning, ru- establishment of a detailed action plan target- nications Policy, TR ASA Regulator y Ac-
ral communications, PSTN backhaul for terres- ing seven key areas: counting Guidelines, TR ASA Administra-
trial mobile services in remote areas, and do- tive Rules, and Procedures Template for
mestic and international corporate enterprise 1. One-Stop-Shop Satellite Licensing: The Regulators.
applications such as Internet service provision, initiative, which is to include the creation 162 See http://w w w.trasa.org
retail, banking, oil & gas, and mining. of a harmonised VSAT-license form and a 163 The WATR A Members include: Burkina
In parallel with this, the Administrations common online-application capability, is Faso, Cape Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinee,
of the Southern African Development Commu- to be implemented first on each regulator’s Guinee Bissau, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Sen-
nity (SADC) formed the Telecommunications website, with links to these placed on the egal, Togo, Republic of Benin, Ghana, Gam-
Regulator y Association of Southern A frica TR ASA web site162 . bia, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria. For
(TR ASA) to co-ordinate regarding harmonised 2. 'Open Skies' Policies: Recognising that more information, contact Ms. Lolia S.
policy and regulatory principles that promote some Administrations still have policies in Emakpore, emakpore@ncc.gov, tel - +234
access to communications. place that prevent the free use of ITU-co- 9 670 3843/+234 9 234 0330 Ext. 1098)
Harmonisation is viewed with suspicion by ordinated satellite capacity (generally, in 164 WATR A has since signed a CATIA MOU and
Administrations in every world region, because these countries it is a requirement that sat- began co-ordinating satellite regulator y
of concerns that it could infringe on national ellite capacity is obtained from the incum- harmonisation activities during a work-
sovereignty160. TR ASA’s Members have success- bent operator, Intelsat or, in some cases, shop held at WATR A’s A nnual General
fully addressed those concerns whilst promot- New Skies Satellites) the TR ASA Members Meeting held in Abuja during May 2004.
ing harmonisation by developing model policy agreed that: 165 As reported in the October 2003 edition
and regulatory frameworks. Each state is enti- • The incumbent should have a right of of SatMagazine.com.
Section 7
Open and Closed Skies
7. Where to From Here? Mapping the Future of Satellite Regulation in Africa
Finland
Portugal
Sweden
Netherlands
UK
France
Germany
Greece
Italy
Belgium
sions’:
276931
30000
25000
152100
20000
104000
Euros
15000
10000
28025
16770
19964
21400
25635
5000
1579
2341
3250
3750
3800
4651
5970
6484
6600
9124
150
360
390
535
0 0
Denmark
Estonia
Spain
Sweden
Bulgaria
Netherlands
Ireland
Belgium
UK
Finalnd
Portugal
Austria
Switzerland
Slovenia
Latvia
Croatia
Czech Republic
Poland
Norway
Germany
Hungary
France
Italy
Lithuania
examined, assuming a VSAT network with the built on trust, ultimately, makes everyone the poral policies; policies on receive-only termi-
following characteristics: loser. By contrast, reaching out to neighbours nals; and, registration forms. Access to the
and working together by pooling knowledge information is available for 20 administrations
* A bi-directional 64 Kbps link & using has helped to produce a marketplace in which so far.
200kHz – 1MHz of bandwidth; goods and services can be bought and sold ef- Common areas and differences can be iden-
* A network of 10 earth stations and one hub ficiently and, just as importantly, an environ- tified among the requirements in the existing
all located within a single country; ment in which cultural understanding has regulations of various CITEL member Admin-
* Supporting a data service, and using a sin- grown. istrations, and also varying levels of develop-
gle satellite; ment of such regulations for granting satellite
* With connection to the PSTN, and not re- 7.2 CITEL: HARMONISING SATELLITE REGU- network licenses in member countries. In
quiring co-ordination. LATIONS IN THE AMERICAS175 granting licenses, Regulators in the region of
The issue of granting licenses for satellite net- the Americas share certain fundamental objec-
In 2000, first-year licensing fees across a works has been an item of key importance in tives related to regulatory policies, such as:
range of 11 European administrations exhib- the regulations of the countries in the Ameri-
ited significant differences. But immediately cas hemisphere. With regard to the current sta- * Regulators seek to implement simplified,
before, during and after the 2000 case study tus of satellite regulations of CITEL member harmonized regulatory policies that will
was conducted, the CEPT Administrations had governments, the Third Summit of the Ameri- promote investment and deployment of sat-
begun adopting the new satellite Decisions, cas held in Quebec, Canada in April 2001 re- ellite systems (VSAT, broadband, etc.), and
which had a direct bearing on receive-only and quested that Ministries or departments respon- that improve public interests, the economy
bi-directional FSS systems’ license fees. From sible for telecommunications and appropriate and well-being of countries;
receive-only earth stations (“ROES”) to Ku- and regulatory bodies to cooperate, within CITEL, * Regulators grant licenses to earth stations
Ka-band two-way systems (“VSATs”, “SITs”, and in order to clarif y and simplif y rules govern- and try to ensure that licensees and users
“SUTs”), in each case they reduced unneces- ing the provision of satellite services in the are protected from detrimental interfer-
sary licensing and, in so doing, minimised the countries. ence.
fees associated with them. As for regulations governing satellite sys-
By 2002, the majority of CEPT Administra- tems and cooperation to meet the requirements In the context of CITEL, the Working Group
tions had implemented a high percentage of in each country to obtain licenses to provide Relative to Satellite Systems to provide Fixed
satellite-related Decisions. As implementation satellite telecommunications services, progress and Mobile Services has also began to discuss
of the satellite Decisions progressed, it helped has been made in a variety of areas. Because of the concept of OSS (One-Stop-Shop), follow-
to establish a more harmonised VSAT licens- the interest in the subject, and with the par- ing the experience in Europe. As part of its
ing fee structure across the region, as can be ticipation of governments, CITEL’s “Permanent studies, CITEL is still seeking to determine
seen in Chart 13. Consultative Committee II: Radio communica- which is the most appropriate forum for the
tions including Broadcasting (PCC.II) Working OSS concept, the manner in which informa-
Lessons Learned174 Group Relative to Satellite Systems to provide tion is to be updated, and possible financing
The lessons learned in Europe were expensive Fixed and Mobile Services” has prepared a web arrangements.
lessons perhaps, but they were worth it. Per- page176 on CITEL’s website with information The first meeting of PCC.II in Orlando,
haps the most important piece of information on contact persons in regulatory agencies; fre- Florida adopted resolution PCC.II/RES.1(I-03)
that gathered is that being too sensitive about quency bands available to VSAT networks, re- establishing CITEL’s electronic forum, a discus-
sovereignty and unwilling to enter compacts quirements for frequency coordination; tem- sion group to prepare proposed guidelines for
implementation of regulatory measures to pro- been slow compared to other continents. Over across the Continent and more impor-
mote the deployment of broadband satellite the last 10 years considerable resources have tantly, to provide for the submission of li-
networks in the Americas. been focused on trying to make it happen more cense applications with a single electronic
During the second meeting of PCC.II held quickly, but lack of knowledge and short-term application form.
in San Salvador in October 2003, the comments interests have made it difficult to create genu-
and proposals of the discussion group were inely competitive environments. TR ASA and WATR A were the first A frican
examined at a round-table comprising satellite Without increased competition, access inter-governmental regulatory groups to con-
experts in the sector and regulators. The ob- costs have fallen more slowly and service de- firm that they will drive the CATIA programme
jective was to encourage the development of livery has not met demand. There have been forward in the respective regions of sub-Saha-
adequate, f lexible regulatory systems that will few successful sustained attempts to offer ran and West Africa. Both organizations signed
permit rapid implementation and use of, and widespread rural access. There are many al- memoranda of understanding with CATIA un-
access to, the services provided through the ready working on the task of creating competi- derscoring their commitment to lead local de-
satell ite systems, with an emphasis on tive regulatory frameworks but all acknowl- velopment efforts for the satellite regulatory
broadband networks, as part of the technologi- edge that there is no “magic bullet” to achieve harmonisation programme.
cal, economic, and social development of this objective. According to R ichard Mwanza, TR ASA’s
CITEL member countries. Based on the results Although there have been successes (e.g. Programme Manager, the organisation plans to
of the round-table discussions, the Working the creation of independent regulators), the co-ordinate a wide range of activities that aim
Group Relative to Satellite Systems to provide central issues of competition and regulatory to facilitate implementation of the objectives
Fixed and Mobile Services drew up the “Guide- reform have only begun to be addressed. In noted above. For example:
lines for the implementation of national regu- order to attract private-sector capital into tel-
lations that facilitate the deployment of satel- ecommunication infrastructure, there will 1. Workshops will be held comprising top-
lite services, particularly broadband services, need to be improved competition and regula- level national policy makers and regulators,
in the Americas”. tory regimes to allow new entrants into the assisted by experts, international agencies
These guidelines were approved by PCC.II field. Failure to provide this type of regime and regulators from other continents with
under CITEL recommendation PCC.II/REC.6 means that A frican countries will slip further experience in low-cost VSAT regulation.
(II-03) to the effect that, among other things, behind in terms of global competitiveness. 2. An online forum and website will be
the Member States’ ministries or departments NEPAD’s programme of action has made these established for regulators to continue to
responsible for telecommunications and appro- assumptions a significant part of its underly- share and disseminate information on their
priate regulatory bodies should consider the ing rationale. VSAT regulatory strategies. This will serve
possibility of including in their national regu- The approach being supported through the as a precursor to the creation of an online
lations concepts associated with: “block” or CATI A programme aims to support a wide One Stop Shop for submitting VSAT license
“generic” earth station licensing; regional or range of local stakeholders who will in prac- applications using a combined application
international hub requirements; availability of tice be the main drivers for a positive reform
procedures, regulations and applications on- process; advancing reform from within, as an
line; minimisation of regulatory requirements integral part of the development process.
for landing rights; minimisation of local pres-
ence requirements; consumer protection; de- An A frican One Stop Shop
velopment of additional means of promoting The CATI A satellite project aims to provide 170 Ibid.
satellite broadband deployment; and dissemi- support for A frican Administrations to adopt 171 See http://w w w.itu.int, ITU Question 17-
nation of the CITEL Mutual Recognition Agree- the emerging global standards and multi-coun- 1: “Satellite regulation in developing
ment aimed at eliminating the duplication of try collaborative strategies in provision of regu- countries” .
the homologation and certification processes lations for low-cost satellite services. The lack 172 This chart derives from a study conducted
in Member States (see annex for details on of these are seen as amongst the most signifi- by the Satellite Action Plan Regulator y
Recommendation PCC.II/REC.6 (II-03) as cant barriers limiting the rapid deployment of Working Group (SAP-REG), which is a non-
adopted by the Member States). the new more affordable VSAT-based Internet profit Brussels-based organisation that pro-
As regards global mobile personal commu- services which could have a significant impact vides consensus-based satellite-industr y
nications systems (GMPCS), CITEL acknowl- on improving access to the Internet in A frica. views to the European Commission
edged the benefits of signing the GMPCS Thus, there are two main regulatory areas 173 Ibid.
Memorandum of Understanding and recom- that are being addressed by CATIA: 1) the bar- 174 This conclusion derives from a contribu-
mended that its Member States consider the riers faced by low-cost ‘consumer grade’ satel- tion made by Michael Leach, Manager, In-
expediency of initiating arrangements at the lite service providers for Internet access; and ternational Satellite Policy and Regulation,
national level to permit the unrestricted circu- 2) the logistical difficulty that satellite-based U.K. Department of Trade & Industry, who
lation of GMPCS terminals across their borders service providers have in obtaining authorisa- also led the CEPT working group respon-
(recommendations PCC.II/REC.49 (XII-99) and tions because of the diverse nature of the regu- sible for establishing the “COM”, Europe’s
PCC.III/REC.56 (XIV-99). lations, their lack of transparency and the ne- reduced and harmonised set of satellite
Another subject of importance to CITEL is cessity to obtain separate authorisations from service licensing authorisation conditions.
the Tampere Convention, which seeks to make each of the different Administrations in which An expanded version of the contribution
it easier for aid and rescue workers to ensure the ser vice will be rolled out. Specifically, also appears in ITU Question 17-1: Satel-
the cross-border transportation of telecommu- CATIA aims to facilitate: lite regulation in developing countries.
nication equipment during and after an emer- 175This sub-section derives from a contribu-
gency and to use that equipment under secure * Elimination of the prohibition on private tion made by CITEL’s PCC.II Working
conditions within the framework of interna- use of satellite that is imposed by many Group. It also appears in ITU Question 17-
tional humanitarian assistance. The Member countries; 1: “Satellite regulation in developing
States have therefore been urged to sign and * “Implementation of blanket-licensing and countries”.
ratify the Tampere Convention to facilitate its improved type-approval approaches for 176 Details can be obtained at the following
entry into force (resolution COM/CITEL 169 low-cost VSAT terminals for Internet ac- i nternet address: http://
(XIII-03). cess, as has already been established in w w w.citel.oas.org/sp/ccp2-radio/VSAT/
Europe and the Americas (provided the vsat_informacion_de_licencias.asp.
7.3 CATIA: SUPPORTING THE DEVELOPMENT systems meet certain predefined criteria); 177 The UN Environment Programme Task
OF SATELLITE REGULATION IN AFRICA * The creation of a One-Stop-Shop (OSS) to Force on Renwable Energy for ICTs in Ru-
Progress on opening competition in A frica’s serve as a single point of contact for infor- ral Areas (IRESD) is currently working on
broadcast, telecoms and Internet fields has mation about licensing requirements this issue.
form, which can be simultaneously sub- regulators (along with harmonised/reduced ance of many small licences (not necessarily
mitted to all of the regulatory authorities regulatory barriers) is quickly and universally large bids for fixed line or GSM licenses) should
chosen by VSAT operator. adopted by the Administrations. The experi- be used to support the regulator, instead of
3. Regional satellite policy and regula- ence of the European OSS clearly underlines larger fees derived from only a few service pro-
tor y guidelines will be developed for the importance of ensuring universal adoption viders.
southern Africa, based on the experiences of the system, otherwise the programme will Finally, once the regulatory constraints are
of TR ASA and drawing from the GVF’s “Sat- falter. addressed, there are other challenges to wide-
ellite Policy and Regulatory Guidelines”. Given that there is now a high priority by spread deployment of VSAT services, such as
4. A One Stop Shop will be created for national governments and regional/sub-re- the lack of local technicians to install and sup-
Southern Africa following the first aware- gional bodies to improve connectivity in Af- port thousands of terminals, the need to pro-
ness workshop. Based on data the CATIA rica, there is a strong political imperative back- vide equipment with alternative sources of
team and its partners have gathered and ing this initiative. This project aims to assist power in rural locations, and the need to col-
the inputs from national regulatory authori- the regional regulatory associations to encour- lect payments from remote rural areas in local
ties, TR ASA will maintain the sub-regional age standards and uniform compliance among currencies.
One Stop Shop for Southern A frica. It is members, and to ultimately operate the One For technician training, a VSAT Installer
envisaged that an integrated One Stop Stop Shop. Certification Course has begun to be rolled out
Shop for A frica would be created towards It is possible that there may be some con- by the GVF (see Sources & Resources). Alter-
the end of the CATIA programme, by pull- cerns at the national policy-making level in native power sources are less easi ly ad-
ing together three sub-regional One Stop some countries over the loss of potential licens- dressed177 ; the higher costs will have to be ad-
Shops, one each from TR ASA, EARPTO and ing revenues that may prevent them from dressed through industry innovation, funded
WATR A. adopting blanket exemptions. Thus, a key task programmes, or both. And A frica’s rural-pay-
of CATIA will be to develop proposed general ment issues may be overcome by drawing on
The main challenge for the project is to strategies for revenue generation to ensure the experience developed with pre-paid
ensure that the goals of achieving blanket ex- autonomy of the regulators. In general, the scratch cards for GSM services. !
emption and adoption of the OSS by national principle is that license-fee income from issu-
Section 8
Open and Closed Skies
8. Conclusions
Conclusions
8. CONCLUSIONS ICT infrastrucure throughout the Continent as, country’s development. Like never before, and
Of the world’s 49 Least Developed Countries in a word, “cruel”. as stated in the definition of ITU-D Question
(LDCs) – defined by the UN as low-income The Pan-A frica Satellite Survey and case 17/1, “Administrations must ensure that their
countries suffering from long-term handicaps studies conducted for this Report have also regulatory treatment provides a level playing
to growth – 31 are from the A frica region178 . demonstrated is that an important tool has field for both existing and emerging satellite
The ITU has calculated that, until a country emerged that is capable of leveraging acceler- operators, service providers and satellite-based
has passed the threshold of 1 main line per ated access to ICTs, provided that African Ad- applications.”
100 inhabitants, it takes, on average, 50 years ministrations are prepared to actively facilitate Such treatment may be facilitated at vari-
to reach a teledensity of 50 main lines, a level its use. In the satellite area, frequency use, ous levels: Globally through organisations like
ref lecting high telecommunication develop- network operations, service provision and the the WTO and ITU; regionally through groups
ment. But until a country reaches 1 main line use of radio terminals can be considered as the like the Asia Pacific Telecommunity (APT),
per 100 inhabitants, it is “virtually impossible” main elements which have been the target of A frican Telecommunications Union (ATU),
to predict how long it will take to reach higher a number of regulatory measures (e.g. licens- European Conference of Postal and Telecom-
levels. Thirty-four of the 49 LDCs have a ing conditions and procedures) normally munications Administrations (CEPT), Euro-
teledensity of less than one179. meant to help the development of satellite tel- pean Commission (EC), Inter-A merican Tel-
Providing increased access to ICTs in Af- ecommunications and facilitate market access ecommunication Commission (CITEL); and
rica is a complex problem. Access to the to satellite providers, but which may also act sub-regionally through groups like EARPTO,
Internet and other telecom services has been as market barriers181. TR ASA, WATR A and others.
held back not only by restrictive regulatory These are not the only challenges. From However, while these organisations are one
frameworks, but also antiquated infrastructure, among the aforementioned technological inno- of the ideal types of forum through which to
high fixed costs, low economic and investment vations have arisen systems and services - most pursue harmonisation, implementation of
activity, diverse geography, language and cul- notably IP-based satellite communications - that regulatory reform is largely being driven by
ture, and much more. Accordingly, VSAT is not require a rethink of traditional regulatory ap- initiatives taken at the national level. In sum-
proposed to be the tool for A frica’s challenges; proaches. Domestic vs. international, telecom- mary, these reforms include:
it is one of several tools, each of which plays munications vs. broadcasting, voice vs. data…
to its respective strengths – fibre for point-to- all such distinctions have now been superseded * Establishing an Independent Regulator;
point services, mobile for voice and narrow- by the advance of IP-based satellite, which ef- * Strategically Liberalising the VSAT Sector;
band data, satellite for point-to-multipoint nar- fectively renders all ser vices into one form: * Creating Transparency;
row and broadband solutions. data. * Streamlining Licensing Conditions;
In interviews, meetings, and workshops, in At the same time, the industry’s competi- * Effectively Managing Spectrum;
casual conversation and in public speeches, tive structure has also changed at the level of * Optimising Certifications;
officials of A frican Administrations – includ- national and international markets: Many Post, * Achieving Content Neutrality;
ing ministries, regulators, and incumbents – Telegraph and Telephone organisations (PTTs) * Enforcing Compliance;
have expressed their frustration with the seem- have been privatised as well as intergovernmen- * Joining the WTO and Making Satellite
ing intractability of the ICT-access problem. tal satellite operators. This concurrent evolu- Commitments;
In a paper submitted to a recent communica- tion of satellite operators, service providers, * Implementing the GMPCS-MoU Arrange-
tions conference180, Akossi Akossi, Secretary and applications - as well as their correspond- ments;
General of the A frican Telecommunications ing regulatory treatment - highlights the im-
Union (ATU) – and a former Director General por tance of ensur i ng tr ansparent and
of the Cote d’Ivoire Telecommunications Regu- non-discriminatory market access conditions
latory Agency (ATCI) - referred to the lack of as the best means of promoting an individual
178 From the ITU pamphlet on the Special Pro-
gramme for the Least Developed Coun-
Liberalisation, transparency and a commitment to tries, 2000-2003.
179 Ibid.
satellite regulatory harmonisation are within Africa’s 180 Satcom A frica 2004, held on 17-18 Febru-
ary in Johannesburg, South A frica.
reach. So too is Africa’s ability to transform the 181 Comprehensive Satellite Initiative Report,
11 July 2001, CEPT ECTR A ERC JPT SAT
statistics. doc. (01) 265.
* Co-ordinating Satellite Services Using the velop satellite regulator y reforms – and the monised regulator y approaches, because of
ITU Radio Regulations; IDRC Pan-A frica Satellite Survey confirms this their wide coverage. The services that the op-
* Mitigati ng Disasters Employi ng the is underway right now - they are doing so in erator provides, often on a pan-regional scale,
Tampere Convention. co-ordination with neighbouring Administra- depend on authorisations and spectrum allo-
tions, with whom they share not only a com- cations in each country in its coverage zone.
As has been shown in this Report, the mon border but also common policy objec- If those authorisations are difficult to obtain
above-noted practical steps have already begun tives, including enforcement of radio fre- or allocations are not uniformly recognised
to be taken in A frica, and with significant suc- quency allocations and ensuring that licensees across a region, then the advantages of satel-
cess. Nigeria’s liberalisation and reform of the are protected against harmful interference. lite services can be blocked.
sector resulted in rapid increases in invest- Increasingly, those shared policy goals have To help overcome that challenge, the CATIA
ment, jobs, and access to ICTs for the entire also come to include the provision of ICT solu- programme has been launched and is being
spectrum of users: From the largest corporate tions applied domestically and internationally engaged by Africa’s regional regulatory groups,
enterprises, to schools and hospitals, to con- or, more to the point, the promotion of public as well as by the individual Administrations
sumers. And theirs was not an isolated case: interest, social welfare and trade - to, from and who are their Members and whose direct par-
Malawi, Tanzania, Mozambique, Uganda, Mau- within the region. ticipation will decide the next chapter of this
ritius - literally dozens of A frican Administra- The regional regulator y authorities - story. Those Administrations include, it should
tions have begun the process of facilitating EARPTO, TR ASA and WATR A have each rec- be noted, countries like Botswana, whose
satellite service provision. ognised the potential to develop an interna- teledensity increased from 2.07 to 7.51 in the
This, however, is only the beginning of a tional and harmonised operating environment 1990s and was subsequently removed from the
story that is still being written. Of those A fri- that embraces satellites’ inherent ability to list of LDCs. They also include countries like
can Administrations surveyed that had imple- provide end users with an inexpensive, single Cape Verde, whose teledensity level increased
mented satellite reforms, most were in rela- communications platform capable of serving from 2.41 to 11.21 in the 1990s and was rec-
tively early stages and none had fully imple- almost any location, regardless of population ommended for graduation from the LDC list in
mented all – or even a few – of the above-noted density or proximity to urban areas. 2000.
approaches. While this poses a major obstacle Active participation by A frica’s inter-gov- Liberalisation, transparency and a commit-
to addressing A frica’s “digital divide”, it also ernmental groups is essential, because one of ment to satellite regulatory harmonisation are
represents what may be one of the largest re- the greatest strengths of satellite networks also, within Africa’s reach. So too is A frica’s ability
gional ICT opportunities in the world. nonetheless, creates the greatest regulator y to transform the statistics. !
As A frican Administrations continue to de- challenge. Satellite operators depend on har-