 11.
ICT policy, legislation and regulation: tools for national
development |
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- From policy to legislation and regulation
- The broad objectives of policy
- The scope of policy
- An example from Mauritius
From policy to legislation and regulation
Policy is the key determinant
of legislation and regulation. It sets out the vision for ICT
and its links to national development goals. Legislation establishes
how policy is implemented by providing the statutory foundation
for the required institutions (for example, consultative, advisory
and regulatory bodies) and processes (for example, licensing).
Legislation specifies the financial, staffing and reporting regimes
under which the regulator operates and which define its functions
and degree of independence. Regulatory agencies are responsible
for developing regulations that lead to the implementation of
policy and policy objectives, such as, for example, new tariff
structures and universal access programs.
|
Process |
Example |
|
Policy (the vision) |
The Ministry of Communications develops a new national
policy aiming at establishing a liberalized telecom environment,
opening telecom markets to competition (eg., long
distance and basic services) |
|
Legislation |
A new telecom Act is passed
establishing the new regulator as an independent government
agency and establishing target dates for opening each
market to competition
|
|
Regulation |
The regulatory agency implements a new tariff structure
(slowly eliminating cross-subsidies among long-distance
and local services) and starts the process to license
new operators |
The broad objectives of policy
The main objective of national ICT
policy is to balance the benefits and the risks of expanded ICT
use in a way that is consistent with national development goals.
Generally, this broad goal translates into a number of specific
policy choices:
- What to privatize? And when?
- When to introduce competition in
each market?
- When to introduce regulation?
- What to regulate and what to leave
to market mechanisms?
These choices will
be explored further in chapter 16.
The scope of policy
While policies must
address the extension of the communications infrastructure through
telecommunications reform to stimulate private sector growth
and create job opportunities, this is a necessary but by no means
sufficient condition for an effective ICT contribution to national
development goals. ICT policy must also incorporate social goals
by building human capacity and creating the conditions for the
development of relevant applications and content.
ICT policies have to do with education, health, agriculture,
culture and all other areas of activity that impact on quality
of life. They can be integrated into sectoral as well as broad
national policies; for example countries may commit to introducing
ICTs into schools in order to expand educational opportunities
and increase the supply of ICT-literate graduates; they may extend
internet access to rural clinics to improve the delivery of health
services. As the use of the internet expands within countries
a host of specific issues emerge: privacy and security, intellectual
property rights, access to government information are examples.
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E-Sri Lanka is a
vision that will help heal the divisions of the
past
Sri Lanka has captured
a window of opportunity to harness the ongoing
information and communication technology revolution
in support of enduring peace, accelerated growth
and fair equity. The e-Sri Lanka miracle has become
a model of an ICT-enabled development strategy
whereby information technology is exploited for
broad-based growth involving all key sectors of
the economy and society.
http://www.esrilanka.lk/roadmap.htm |
|
An example from Mauritius
The Mauritius government
began the reform of its telecommunications sector in 1997 with
the publication of a discussion paper (Green Paper); following
extensive consultation the policy (White Paper) was published;
a new Telecommunications Act was passed in 1998.
The Policy of the Republic of Mauritius
with respect to the telecommunication sector establishes a vision:
"To develop Mauritius into a
modern nation and to enhance the nation’s competitiveness
in the global market place so as to improve the quality of life
of the people…”
Including a set of principles to govern development of the sector:
• The active promotion by government
of an informa-tion-based economy;
• The promotion of competition and network interconnection
as circumstances permit;
• An effective and independent regulatory body with clearly
defined powers and responsibilities;
• Private sector participation to the greatest extent possible;
• The termination of all exclusivity provisions by the end
of 2004.1
The regulator – the Information
and Communication Technologies Authority – was established
by the Information and Communication Technologies Bill which
identified its objectives, structure, powers and functions. The
bill also created advisory and dispute settlement mechanisms.
The Mauritius legislation addresses both economic and social
goals through the creation of a telecommunications regulatory
authority as well as a national advisory body and appeals board.
It aims to democratise access to ICTs and at the same time increase
competition and link Mauritius firmly to the global information
economy.
| Mauritius’ information
and communication technologies bill (No. 38 of
2001)
Explanatory Memorandum
The object of the above Bill is to provide for –
(a) the establishment and management of an Information
and Communication Technologies Authority;
(b) the regulation of the information and communica-tion
technologies sector including
-telecommunications;
-the use of the Internet;
-the enhanced development of an information societyand
online services;
- the protection and security of data;
- the facilitation of convergence; and
- the establishment of ICT Advisory Council and of
an ICT Appeal Tribunal
(c) the democratisation of information and communication
technologies for the promotion of a knowledgebased
society.
(d) the transition towards a fully liberalised andcompetitive
market in the information and communication sector.
2
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The legislation sets
out the structure, objectives, powers, functions and tools of
the regulator, in this case the Information and Communication
Technologies Authority. The legislation makes provision for the
creation of an Internet Management Committee, which, inter alia,
is responsible for organising stakeholder input into discussions
related to the internet and for advising the Authority on internet
issues. It is the responsibility of the regulator to implement
the policies detailed in the legislation. Chapter 15 looks more
closely at the nature of regulation.
1http://ncb.intnet.mu/mitt/ministry/policytel.htm
2 http://www.icta.mu
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