[kictanet] Day 6 of 10: current challenges facing the eRegulator

[John Walubengo]

My apologies to David Murray (Celtel) - wrongly referred to
by his predecessors name (Gerhard)...my bad. 

Old habits do indeed die hard ;-)

walu.

--- John Walubengo <jwalu at yahoo.com> wrote:

> quite enriching indeed this research by IDRC.
> 
> It seems to have spoken for the Consumer
> Societies/Assosciations.  I never knew me as a consumer
> deserved such 'rights & privilages' as highlighted in
> your
> summary below.  And yes, I do miss the input from
> Operators.  Other than Jonathan (AccessKenya), it looks
> most have opted to watch events as they unfold.  Mugambi
> (TKL) Kai(KDN) Michael J (Safaricom), Gerhard (Celtel),
> Sammy B(TESPOK) any contributions on these discussions?
> 
> walu.
> --- eadera at idrc.or.ke wrote:
> 
> > Interesting discussions.
> > 
> > I would like to enrich the discussions by sharing the
> > results of an
> > IDRC Research study aimed at understanding consumer
> > issues in the ICT
> > sector and practical ways in which they could be
> > addressed. It's
> > entitled "holding companies to account" - report
> > attached,
> > recommendations here below for quick reference. Anyone
> > interested in
> > the published hardcopy report or CD Rom, please let me
> > know and we
> > will be glad to share these with you (we have several
> > copies).
> > 
> > Kenya is one of the case studies with an African
> overview
> > included.
> > Kenyan operators participated in the interim results
> > sharing session.
> > It was also shared with ARICEA regulators and very well
> > received.
> > 
> > However one of the greatest challenges was getting
> > complaint data
> > from the operators for open analysis - key question -
> how
> > can
> > complaint data be declared public domain information?
> > This would open
> > a wide range of opportunities for accountability and
> > redress.
> > 
> > Beyond making information available (even if you
> provide
> > it directly
> > to mobile phones), what practical avenues exist to
> > redress
> > complaints? Effective ways? What mechanisms would
> provide
> > greater
> > bargaining power for consumers?
> > 
> > IDRC is currently considering a follow-up
> action-oriented
> > initiative
> > that will engage with regulators and consumer bodies,
> > where they
> > exist, to explore some practical solutions to these
> > issues. The
> > demand has come from regulators in 5 countries
> following
> > the ARICEA
> > presentation.
> > 
> > It would be nice to hear contributions from operators
> and
> > the
> > regulator, they are missing in the discussions
> > 
> > Edith Adera
> >  
> > ******
> > Recommendations:
> > 
> > Key issues from a consumer perspective: From all the
> > evidence
> > gathered for 
> > this study it is clear that three broad issues affect
> > consumers
> > adversely: 
> > price of service, quality of service and access to
> > service.
> > As operators become more established, regulators need
> to
> > shift their 
> > emphasis from the industry part of their mandate to
> > addressing the
> > consumer 
> > interest more directly under each of these three
> > headings. A
> > key area for concern affecting large numbers of
> consumers
> > is the lack
> > of 
> > price competition in most African
> > mobile markets.
> > 
> > A consumer framework  law, regulation and codes of
> > conduct: Where
> > consumer 
> > and competition law exists, it is important to
> encourage
> > the
> > undertaking of 
> > test cases to demonstrate that these laws can operate
> and
> > that the 
> > successful conclusion of test cases will help
> regulators
> > support the 
> > consumer interest in their discussions with industry.
> > Where it has
> > not 
> > already occurred, regulators need to encourage
> > competition
> > (particularly in 
> > the services layer) to help address the issues of price
> > and quality
> > of service.
> > 
> > Complaint resolution: Where it does not already occur,
> > regulators
> > need to 
> > ensure that a Code of Conduct (covering the rights and
> > responsibilities of 
> > consumers) is a condition of licence for operators,
> along
> > with the 
> > obligation to publicise the existence of the Code of
> > Conduct.
> > 
> > Regulators need to publicise their own complaints
> > procedures
> > effectively 
> > and gather data from complaints made that can influence
> > policy and 
> > regulation. Where it does not already occur, the
> Consumer
> > function
> > within the regulator needs to be: properly resourced,
> > managed at a
> > senior 
> > level and have direct access to senior management.
> > 
> > The informed consumer  the need for information to help
> > choice:
> > Serious consideration should be given regulatory
> > enforcement of
> > compulsory 
> > disclosure by the operators
> > of accurate, comparable statistical information
> relating
> > to the
> > numbers and 
> > breakdown of customer complaints. While this is likely
> to
> > be resisted
> > by 
> > the companies concerned, and although careful
> formulation
> > is necessary to ensure comparability and
> > comprehensiveness, it would 
> > greatly incentivise customer responsiveness on the part
> > of the
> > companies. 
> > It would act as a powerful tool to promote consumer
> > empowerment and
> > freedom 
> > of choice.
> > 
> > If compulsory disclosure proves impossible to implement
> > then
> > regulators 
> > should themselves initiate independent surveys that
> > identify levels
> > of 
> > consumer satisfaction.
> > 
> > As with the example from India given in Box 4,
> regulators
> > need to set
> > a 
> > simple "basket" of performance indicators on which
> > operators can be
> > judged 
> > and the results from these studies should be published
> at
> > least
> > on an annual basis. On a slightly broader front,
> > regulators need to
> > be more 
> > proactive in educating consumers about market issues
> like
> 
=== message truncated ===


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com