Download or read book Telecommunications Policies for Sub Saharan Africa written by Mohammad A. Mustafa and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1997-01-01 with total page 94 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: World Bank Technical Paper No. 345. This report examines specific policies for achieving sustainable development of the mining industry in the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. The report highlights the importance of the mining sector to national economies of the region and discusses World Bank assistance in formulating policy. Also available in Spanish: (ISBN 0-8213-3942-7) Stock no. 13942.

Download or read book The Liberalisation of the Telecommunications Sector in Sub Saharan Africa and Fostering Competition in Telecommunications Services Markets written by Rachel Alemu and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-02-02 with total page 389 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study investigates whether the existing regulatory framework governing the telecommunications sector in countries in Sub-Saharan Africa effectively deals with emerging competition-related concerns in the liberalised sector. Using Uganda as a case study, it analyses the relevant provisions of the law governing competition in the telecommunications sector, and presents three key findings: Firstly, while there is comprehensive legislation on interconnection and spectrum management, inefficient enforcement of the legislation has perpetuated concerns surrounding spectrum scarcity and interconnection. Secondly, the legislative framework governing anti-competitive behaviour, though in line with the established principles of competition law, is not sufficient. Specifically, the framework is not equipped to govern the conduct of multinational telecommunications groups that have a strong presence in the telecommunications sector. Major factors hampering efficient competition regulation include Uganda’s sole reliance on sector-specific competition rules, restricted available remedies, and a regulator with limited experience of enforcing competition legislation. The weaknesses in the framework strongly suggest the need to adopt an economy-wide competition law. Lastly, wireless technology is the main means through which the population in Uganda accesses telecommunications services. Greater emphasis should be placed on regulating conduct in the wireless communications markets.

Download or read book Telecommunications Reform in Malawi written by Frew Amare Gebreab and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2003 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1998 the Government of Malawi decided to reform its telecommunications sector. Although the reform was ambitious in some ways, it was modest when compared with the most ambitious reforms adopted elsewhere in Sub-Saharan Africa. The two main accomplishments were splitting the incumbent fixed line monopoly, the Malawi Post and Telecommunications Corporation, into two companies-Malawi Telecommunications Limited (MTL) and Malawi Post Corporation (MPC)-and issuing two new cellular licenses to two new private entrants. In addition, the Government also established a new regulator which was separate from, but heavily dependent on, the Ministry of Information and liberalized entry in value-added and Internet services. However, the Government had neither privatized the fixed-line telecommunications operator nor introduced competition in fixed-line services by the end of 2002. Clarke, Gebreab, and Mgombelo discuss sector performance before reform, details of the reform, the political motivation for reform, and events in the five years following the reform. The reform yielded mixed results. Although cellular penetration and Internet use expanded dramatically following reform, prices increased, especially for cellular calls, and fixed-line penetration remains low by regional standards.

Download or read book Assessing the impact of privatization policy on telecommunications sector effectiveness and economic activity in Sub Saharan Africa written by Oneurine B. Ngwa and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Price Structure and Network Externalities in the Telecommunications Industry written by Atsushi Iimi and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2007 with total page 43 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many developing countries have experienced significant developments in their telecommunications network. Countries in Africa are no exception to this. The paper examines what factor facilitates most network expansion using micro data from 45 fixed-line and mobile telephone operators in 18 African countries. In theory the telecommunications sector has two sector-specific characteristics: network externalities and discriminatory pricing. It finds that many telephone operators in the region use peak and off-peak prices and termination-based price discrimination, but are less likely to rely on strategic fee schedules such as tie-in arrangements. The estimated demand function based on a discreet consumer choice model indicates that termination-based discriminatory pricing can facilitate network expansion. It also shows that the implied price-cost margins are significantly high. Thus, price liberalization could be conducive to development of the telecommunications network led by the private sector. Some countries in Africa are still imposing certain price restrictions. But more important, it remains a policy issue how the authorities should ensure reciprocal access between operators at reasonable cost.

Download or read book Determinants of a Digital Divide in Sub Saharan Africa written by Piet Buys and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2008 with total page 26 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most discussions of the digital divide treat it as a "North-South" issue, but the conventional dichotomy doesn't apply to cell phones in Sub-Saharan Africa. Although almost all Sub-Saharan countries are poor by international standards, they exhibit great disparities in coverage by cell telephone systems. Buys, Dasgupta, Thomas and Wheeler investigate the determinants of these disparities with a spatially-disaggregated model that employs locational information for cell-phone towers across over 990,000 4.6-km grid squares in Sub-Saharan Africa. Using probit techniques, a probability model with adjustments for spatial autocorrelation has been estimated that relates the likelihood of cell-tower location within a grid square to potential market size (proximate population); installation and maintenance cost factors related to accessibility (elevation, slope, distance from a main road, distance from the nearest large city); and national competition policy. Probit estimates indicate strong, significant results for the supply-demand variables, and very strong results for the competition policy index. Simulations based on the econometric results suggest that a generalized improvement in competition policy to a level that currently characterizes the best-performing states in Sub-Saharan Africa could lead to huge improvements in cell-phone area coverage for many states currently with poor policy performance, and an overall coverage increase of nearly 100 percent.

Download or read book Price Structure and Network Externalities in the Telecommunications Industry written by Atsushi Iimi and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 43 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many developing countries have experienced significant developments in their telecommunications network. Countries in Africa are no exception to this. The paper examines what factor facilitates most network expansion using micro data from 45 fixed-line and mobile telephone operators in 18 African countries. In theory the telecommunications sector has two sector-specific characteristics: network externalities and discriminatory pricing. It finds that many telephone operators in the region use peak and off-peak prices and termination-based price discrimination, but are less likely to rely on strategic fee schedules such as tie-in arrangements. The estimated demand function based on a discreet consumer choice model indicates that termination-based discriminatory pricing can facilitate network expansion. It also shows that the implied price-cost margins are significantly high. Thus, price liberalization could be conducive to development of the telecommunications network led by the private sector. Some countries in Africa are still imposing certain price restrictions. But more important, it remains a policy issue how the authorities should ensure reciprocal access between operators at reasonable cost.

Download or read book Telecommunications and Universal Service written by Seán Ó Siochrú and published by IDRC. This book was released on 1996 with total page 105 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Telecommunications and Universal Service: International experience in the context of South African policy reform

Download or read book Information and Communication Technologies for Development in Africa written by Ramata Molo Thioune and published by IDRC. This book was released on 2003 with total page 138 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Volume 1 looks at the introduction, adoption, and utilization of ICTs at the community level. In various contexts -- geographical, technological, socioeconomic, cultural, and institutional -- the book explores the questions of community participation. It looks at how communities in sub-Saharan Africa have reacted to the changes brought about by the introduction of these new ICTs and, in detail, presents both the opportunities and the challenges that ICTs present for community development. The book will be useful for both researchers and development practitioners active, or just embarking upon, an "ICT for development" program. It will also be a very useful reference tool not only for academics but also for policymakers, decision-makers, and development professionals interested in the issue.

Download or read book Telecommunication for Business in Africa written by H. R. Mgombelo and published by Penn State Press. This book was released on 1997 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Telecommunication for Business in Africa is a collection of studies on policy and regulation for the communications sector, as well as on telecommunication solutions and information services designed for economic actors in sub-Saharan Africa. This limitative angle on business solutions and services, which however impact strongly on economic performance, is the unique characteristic of this volume. The studies presented are based on original research across Africa and include detailed country case studies. Telecommunication for Business in Africa documents opportunities offered by today's communities of investors, systems integrators and concept designers, aiming to empower both small and large business and making Africa more competitive. Telecom Forum Africa (Kenya), the initiators of this publication, is a research and investment promotion organization.

Download or read book Broadband for Africa written by Mark D. J. Williams and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2010-03-16 with total page 100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa see broadband ICT as an essential part of their long-term economic development strategy. Backbone networks are the high-capacity networks that lie at the heart of communications systems and allow the delivery of the high volumes of data needed for broadband. What high-capacity backbone networks that do exist in the region are typically limited to major urban areas and some inter-city routes. Competition between backbone networks is underdeveloped so the price of services remains high and quality is often poor. This pattern of network development is the result of high costs and regulatory restrictions on network development. Where countries have fully liberalized their telecommunications markets and promoted infrastructure competition, prices have fallen and quality improved. Backbone network policy should focus on promoting competition, reducing the cost of network construction and encouraging network development into currently underserved areas. Competition can be promoted by removing regulatory restrictions such as limits on the number of licenses and constraints on type of infrastructure and services that licensees can offer. The cost of backbone network development can be reduced by utilizing energy and transport infrastructure and reducing legal costs such as obtaining planning permission. Stimulating backbone network development beyond major urban areas can be achieved through establishing public-private partnerships to encourage operators to build networks into currently underserved areas.

Download or read book 2006 Information and Communications for Development written by and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2006-01-01 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: """The report is essential reading for policy makers, government workers, and academics pursuing the goal of equitable, sustainable development across the world."" - N. R. Narayana Murthy, Chairman and Chief Mentor Infosys Technologies Ltd. Information and communication technology (ICT) is rapidly evolving, changing rich and poor societies alike. It has become a powerful tool for participating in the global economy and for offering new opportunities for development efforts. ICT can and should advance economic growth and reduce poverty in developing countries. It has been 20 years since the first telephone operator was privatized, a little over 10 since the World Wide Web emerged, and 5 since the telecommunications bubble burst. How have the ICT sector and its role in development evolved? What have we learned? How can we move forward? Information and Communications for Development 2006: Global Trends and Policies contains lessons from both developed and developing countries. It examines the roles of the public and private sectors, identifying the challenges and the benefits of adopting and expanding ICT use. The report assesses topics essential to building an information society, including investment, access, diffusion, and country policies and strategies. Assessing what has worked, what hasn't, and why, this report is an invaluable guide for understanding how to capture the benefits of ICT around the world."

Download or read book Telecommunications and Development in Africa written by B. A. Kiplagat and published by IOS Press. This book was released on 1994 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This publication views Africa in a global perspective, in economic, regulatory and technological terms. Arguments are offered for ensuring that Africa keeps pace with global technology as the rest of the world is gearing towards multimedia communications and the associated productivity gains.

Download or read book An Information Policy Handbook for Southern Africa written by Tina James and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Africa s ICT Infrastructure written by Mark D.J. Williams and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2011-06-23 with total page 311 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have been a remarkable success in Africa. In just 10 years dating from the end of the 1990s mobile network coverage rose from 16 percent to 90 percent of the urban population and by 2009 nearly half of Africa s rural population was also living within range of a mobile network. Large-scale investment in the sector across the continent has transformed telecommunications from a luxury enjoyed by a privileged few to a mass-market, low-cost service, used in villages and cities alike. Africa s ICT Infrastructure: Building on the Mobile Revolution charts this ICT revolution, reviewing the rapid growth in networks and the emergence of the mobile phone as a part of everyday life in Africa. It also tracks the policy and regulatory changes that have driven this growth: the liberalization of markets, the establishment of effective competition and the emergence of institutions to regulate the sector. Africa s ICT Infrastructure reviews how the investment in the sector has been financed and how the structure of the market has changed since the liberalization process started. It looks at the role of both private and public institutions as sources of financing for the sector and charts the emergence of investors from developing countries in leading the expansion of the sector across the region. In the context of these successful sector reforms, Africa s ICT Infrastructure addresses one of the key questions facing regulators and policy makers: how far will this process go in delivering universal access to telecommunications services? By adopting an innovative new spatial modeling approach, the authors have mapped existing mobile network coverage in Sub-Saharan Africa and estimated the limits of commercially viable network expansion. But at the same time as voice networks are expanding across the region, the focus of sector policy makers is turning to the Internet which is becoming increasingly important in the global economy. The authors use a similar spatial approach to analyze the commercial viability of wireless broadband networks in Africa and review the development of the region s fiber-optic network infrastructure which lies at the heart of broadband service delivery. Finally, Africa s ICT Infrastructure draws these experiences together and offers a set of policy recommendations that will support the continued development of the sector, particularly in the delivery of affordable broadband Internet.

Download or read book Broadband as a Video Platform written by Judith O'Neill and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2014-02-05 with total page 185 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume features contributions from a conference held in Lusaka, Zambia, to explore the role and prospects of broadband in Africa as a video platform—with emphasis on the strategies and building blocks for deployment and advancement. While it may seem that such networks and their applications are not a realistic scenario for developing countries, it would be short-sighted and economically dangerous to ignore the emerging trends. The pace of introduction of next-generation networks in industrialized countries is rapid and the developing world will not be able to stand aside. The risks of falling behind are great and in any country there will be elements of business and society who wish to forge ahead. Policymakers and network architects need to be prepared. Media companies and broadcasters, in particular, must be alert to the new developments as should be medical and educational institutions. The availability of advanced high-speed business application tools in a country will affect its participation in international transactions and its economic growth. This volume features contributions from industry leaders, policymakers and scholars, representing a variety of perspectives, including technology and infrastructure management, economic development, marketing, education and health. The authors collectively discuss how broadband deployment as a platform with sufficient speed for video may be encouraged by public policy and regulation and how investment in broadband for this and related purposes can improve the quality of life and experience in Sub Saharan Africa in media and data, while being a financeable, commercially sound business.

Download or read book Connecting Sub Saharan Africa written by Pierre Guislain and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2005 with total page 72 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Connecting Sub-Saharan Africa' outlines a strategy for information and communication technologies (ICT) development in Sub-Saharan Africa that will further the reform agenda to facilitate deployment of ICT infrastructure, and encourage the development community to support African governments in this regard. The strategy builds on the earlier reform agenda in the sector by leveraging the achievements to date of Sub-Saharan African countries to advance the essential goal of increasing the continent's connectivity. It provides strategies for developing and enhancing the capacity of Africa's ICT institutions--including regulators, ministries, and regional bodies--to lead the development of an interconnected region and implement sustainable regional strategies for integration and knowledge sharing. Of particular concern is the ability to bring rural areas into the national, regional, and global economies, thus creating new opportunities for the world's poorest citizens.