History Of Regulation
- 1995: Botswana developes a sound telecommunications policy
- 1996-1997: Telecomms Act, BTC (Amendment)Act, Birth of the BTA, end of BTC monopoly
- 1998-2001: Licensing of 2 Mobile Service Providers and multiple ISPs(16)
Botswana's Telecommunications Act(16)
Summary of Botswana's Telecommunications Act
(source: Effective Regulation: Case Study Botswana 2001)
- Telecommunications Act 1996, provides for the creation of the regulatory authority and introduces
competition in the provision of telecommunication services.
- Botswana Telecommunications Corporation (Amendment) Act 1996, eliminates BTC’s legal monopoly over the provision of all public telecommunication services.
- National Broadcasting Act 1998, establishes the National Broadcasting Board.
- Telecommunication Regulations 1997, promulgated by BTA Board establishes rules, inter alia, on:
– Numbering;
– Property access;
– Radio communication equipment and testing;
– Type approval.
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Overall Organization (19)
The regulator is headed by a board of directors and senior management. The 5 member board was established in 1996 in accordance with the Telecommunications Act, and all members of the board are appointees of the Minister of Works, Transport and Communications.
- 3 of the current board members are women
- All but the chief executive serve on a part time basis
- the board plays an oversight and approval role on policy decisions without any administrative interference
- The board was responsible for the approval of the 2 existing GSM licensees
The Chief Executive of the BTA is Cuthbert Moshe Lekaukau, a pre-emminent lawyer and administrator. He was appointed as the Executive Chairman of BTA on 9 December 1996.
The chart below depicts the organizational structure of the BTA board
The board reporting relationship to the minister is depicted below
Key Achievements
The BTA has been a driving force in the rapid development of the telecommunications infrastructure in the country through the promotion of sound policies. Among these include
- Greater coverage of services and connections to the local population
- Choice in mobile telephony service for the consumer
- Greater access to telecommunications services in rural areas
Strategic Commentary
The BTA continues to face strong challenges in the regulation of the sector. Some of these challenges include:
- Formulation of policies that would lead to Universal Usage and Access
- Promoting interconnectivity between the different service providers
- Providing guidance and policy around new technologies such as VoIP and number portability
- Increased pressure to transform incumbents (BTC) into world class companies
The BTA is pursuing a strategic initiative to explore how to improve the rural urban teledensity ratio (reported at 1:9 , Jun 2002, BTC)(16).
