ICT Policy a must for regional integration
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) stakeholders from the five East African Community (EAC) member states have been asked to come up with a draft ICT policy in order to widen the scope of regional integration. The stakeholders—attending a two-day ICT Policy Review workshop in Nairobi last week—resolved to work towards harmonising the ICT policies from member states as the region moves towards a common market. In his opening remarks, Kenya’s Information and Communication Permanent Secretary Dr Bitange Ndemo noted that political, economic and social integration could only be achieved with a harmonised ICT policy. “Harmonisation does not mean that the policy arrangements in all the five countries have to be the same. Rather, they must work together in a way that promotes regional co-operation and cross-border trade”, Dr Ndemo stated. He urged the stakeholders to give priority to ICT convergence, interconnection costs, number portability and market structures as they come up with a draft policy.
Echoing similar sentiments, Mr Philip Wambugu, EAC’s Director of Planning and Infrastructure noted that regional integration requires the support of a strong, harmonised ICT policy, given the restructuring that has taken place in the countries’ telecommunications sector over the last ten years. “We are not asking countries to drop the policies they already have. But a speedy adoption and implementation of a policy that will take care of the needs of all countries is necessary”, Mr Wambugu stated, adding that regional licensing of operators will become a reality once the policies are harmonized.
Dr Ndemo observed that a harmonised ICT policy would enable the region adopt the hitherto missing common approach to issues of Internet governance and approach with one voice international ICT bodies such as the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and International Telecommunications Union (ITU). “As a region, we have never sponsored a candidate to vie for posts in those bodies. It is high time we started collaborating in this aspect”, Dr Ndemo said. He added that harmonization of the policy would lead to a level playing field, enabling residents of the region to access broadband at affordable rates.
The five EAC member states are at different stages of development of their ICT policies. This is one of the reasons that led to the delay of the construction of the East African Submarine Cable System (EASSy). But with the workshop having attracted regulators, policy makers and ICT experts from member states as well as the EAC secretariat, a unified ICT Bill could be on the way.
In Kenya, the ICT Bill is currently undergoing review. Dr Ndemo said stakeholders will in the next two to three weeks meet with the Parliamentary Committee on Information and Communication to discuss the Bill before it goes for the Second Reading. He also stated that the government was working on the Data Protection Bill while the Information and Communication Bill was at an advanced stage. Kenya started working on its ICT policy in 1991 but the first policy statement specific to telecommunications and postal sector liberalization only came in 1997, culminating in the Kenya Communications Act of 1998. It was the creation of this Act that in 1999 led to the split of the monolithic Kenya Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (KPTC) into three entities - telephone service provider Telkom Kenya, postal services provider Postal Corporation of Kenya (PCK) and a regulatory body the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK).
With the creation of a new Ministry of Information and Communication in 2004 and the National Communications Secretariat to serve as a policy advisory arm, the ICT policy in Kenya neared maturity. The ministry prepared a draft ICT policy in August 2005 which was subsequently approved by the cabinet in January 2006 and published in March the same year. Still, Kenya has regulatory issues to grapple with. Notably, the banking sector has accused mobile phone operator, Safaricom, of encroaching on their territory through its M-banking service known as M-PESA.
Tanzania boasts the most advanced regulatory framework in the region, having embarked on the reforms of its telecommunications sector in 1992. In 2003, the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority was created through an Act of Parliament and has since adopted a converged licensing framework where a licensee has the freedom to choose the technology that is most efficient and cost-effective and take signals from the market as to which services are most in demand.
In Uganda, the National ICT process began in 1998 through the Uganda National Council of Science and Technology (UNCST). In May 2002, UNCST submitted a draft National ICT Policy Framework to the cabinet, which was later approved in 2003. Though the ICT policy was adopted by the cabinet, it was not implemented due to lack of ownership. However, the establishment of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology at the end of 2006 saved the situation. An implementation plan is now in place.
Granted, the National ICT policies in the region are at different stages of implementation. But as Dr Ndemo noted, recent interest in broadband connectivity within the region and the development of a single market provides an opportunity for the EAC partner states to update their National ICT policies to reflect regional and global dynamics and become consistent with one another.
In the final analysis, EAC partner states need to develop a regional ICT strategy that addresses broader issues such as infrastructure, human resources development and mobility, ICT applications and content. Collaboration around emerging challenges such as cyber security and global participation in international policy dialogue can be achieved through a regional ICT strategy.
Meanwhile, the workshop was also told that The East African Marine Systems (TEAMS) should be operational by the third quarter of 2009. The 5000km, 120Gbps fibre optic cable to be constructed at a cost of $110m connects from the Kenyan port city of Mombasa to Fujairah in the Gulf of Oman. Giving a presentation at the workshop, Victor Kyalo, the Kenya ICT Board Co-ordinator confirmed that the manufacture of the cable was in progress and the system would be ready for commercial service by the second quarter of 2010 in readiness for the World Cup.
TEAMS was fronted by the Kenya government following its frustration with Eassy. Currently a joint venture between the government and the private sector, TEAMS is expected to connect East and Horn of African countries to the rest of the world. It is 85 per cent owned by the government, with UAE’s Etisalat holding a 15 per cent stake. Eventually, the government is expected to retain only 20 per cent, with the rest being subscribed by eleven service providers, including Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and telecoms and mobile operators. Among the potential subscribers are Telkom Kenya, Kenya Data Networks (KDN), Safaricom, Access Kenya, Econet, Wananchi telecom, Flashcom and Fibre Network Uganda, among others. The subscribers are expected to contribute proportionately to the cable’s construction. KDN has already paid $10 million.