[kictanet] further info about EA telecoms

[Rebecca Wanjiku]

The East African Community, in its current form, was established as a
partnership between Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda in 2001.  Burundi and
Rwanda joined the Community in 2007.

The purpose of the
Community is "to widen and deepen economic, political, social and
cultural integration in order to improve the quality of life of the
people of East Africa through increased competitiveness, value added
production, trade and investment."  This includes a process of
integration beginning with customs union (established in 2005), moving
through the creation of a common/single market, then to monetary union
and finally to political federation.

 Harmonisation is
crucial to this process.  Harmonisation does not necessarily mean that
arrangements in all three countries must be the same, but that they
must work together in a way which promotes cooperation and cross-border
trade, and which does not favour one country or its businesses/citizens
over another.  The EAC Strategic Plan proposes harmonisation in many
areas of economic and other activity - from fiscal and trade policy to
legal and judicial processes.

Harmonisation of policies
and regulations relating to communications is also proposed within the
EAC.  Harmonisation was an important part of the development of a
single market in communications within the European Union - in which
communications businesses from any one country can compete on equal
terms with those in any other country within the Union.  The regulatory
frameworks associated with harmonisation have been very important in
liberalisation within the EU.

 The study which I am
presently working on focuses on options for harmonisation of
communications policy and regulation within the EAC.  It is primarily
(but not exclusively) concerned with telecommunications and with
services that depend on telecommunications.  At this stage, it is also
primarily concerned with the three founder members of the EAC (Kenya,
Tanzania and Uganda).

 Important questions raised by harmonisation include the following:

 1. What differences are there at present between the communications
markets in the different EAC countries?  What effect do these
have?  What would be the effect of removing them?

 2.
What are the main problems with current policy and regulatory
arrangements in each country - particularly where business development
and consumer services are concerned?

 3. What effect
would the development of a single market in the EAC region have on
communications businesses and on consumers?  For example:
  a. What would businesses be able to do that they cannot do at present?
     b. What difference would it make to consumers?
     c. Would it facilitate more transactions across national borders - in ICT and other sectors?
     d. Would it lead to the development of more EAC-wide ICT businesses?
     
 4. What are the main (economic, social, political) drivers for
harmonisation of communications policy and regulation?  What are the
main constraints?

 5. What priority issues need to be
addressed in the first stage of harmonisation?  (In other words, what
major problems faced by businesses or consumers should be addressed
first on a cross-border basis?)

 6. Should arrangements
for market structure and regulation eventually be the same in all EAC
countries?  If so, over what timescale?  If not, why not?

 7. What institutional arrangements would be appropriate for harmonising
communications policy and regulation in the region?  What would be the
right timescale for doing this?


 
Tel. 254 720 318 925 
blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/





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