Tom Phillips
Chief Regulatory Office, GSM Association
A new report commissioned by the GSM Association
highlights an unclear regulatory environment in
sub-Saharan Africa, which is jeopardising investment
in mobile communications
Public Policy - Socio-Economic Benefits of Mobile
- Regulation and the Digital Divide
As part of the GSMA's work to reduce the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO),
the GSMA's Public Policy department has addressed the three main cost
components of owning and using a mobile phone: the handset price, tax
and regulation.
To examine the impact of regulation on the development of the mobile
sector, the GSMA commissioned PWC to undertake a research study looking
specifically at the Sub Saharan region of Africa. The report, titled
Regulation & the Digital Divide identifies the key elements required
for a best practise regulatory environment and demonstrates how this
can significantly increase mobile investment and boost mobile penetration
and usage.
When governments and regulators get it right, all stakeholders benefit
from a digital dividend. The report estimates that best practise regulation
in Sub-Saharan Africa would have:
Increased total sector investment by 25%
equating to an additional US$5 billion spent on developing the
sector
Reduced the TCO by 10%
Due to demand elasticity and
the impact of telecoms on economic growth, these two factors in
turn would have increased the number of subscribers in Sub-Saharan
Africa from 83 million to 108 million with a corresponding annual
increase in regional GDP of nearly US$900 million.
Key Recommendations
Consumers and society benefit when a regulatory framework exists
in which the mobile sector can thrive and continue to make a vital
contribution to the development of economies and societies. The long-term
winners will be those countries whose governments set in place sound
regulation, based upon the key recommendations below:
Government policy
Establish a Telecommunications Act that
enshrines the principles of fair competition, regulatory independence
and reflects long term policy goals, linked to national, social
and economic development targets.
Create an effective National Regulatory
Authority, which is independent from both undue political and
financial pressures and is staffed by appropriately trained professionals.
Create and maintain a national, strategic
telecoms plan.
Implement policies that minimise direct,
mobile-specific taxation and, as a result, maximise the potential
for investment by the private sector.
Regulators
Develop appropriate resources and skills,
in particular with regards to economics, to assess the impact
and appropriateness of regulatory policies.
Develop and communicate a clear set of
regulatory policy objectives and targets.
Implement consistent and transparent regulatory
policy, and conduct regular consultation with stakeholders.
Focus on reducing risk and commit to a
stable and predictable environment.
In order to maximise the significant
benefits to economies and societies, governments, regulators, and
mobile operators should develop a long-term partnership based on
consultation, collaboration and sustainability.
* GSM customer counter, located on the homepage of GSM World is indicative only, estimated from market data collected by Wireless Intelligence. It is not a precise figure, nor usable for legal purposes
