A Liberalized Telecommunications Sector for Ethiopia: the Regulatory Frame work and Its Prospect
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Date
2007-06
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Addis Ababa
Abstract
Information and communication Technology (ICT) is bringing the big world into a
s mall place, by allowing eas y information flow, knowledge transfer and thereby
fa cilitating busine s s relations and social interactions.
ICT,if not has more importance than it has in developed countries ,it isequally
needed in d eveloping countries to facilitate economic developme nt and alle viate
poverty.To realize the mentioned benefits telecommunication industry, which is
the main integral part of ICT. should be developed and made efficient. To bring
effici ency in the te lecommunication sector, private ownership and competitive
market on the s ector are becoming the better choice than government monopoly.
Since the last twe nty years, as a result of technological advance ment on telecom
indus try, which was cons idered as a natural monopoly for its huge investment
require me nt and security reasons, is being opened to private owners hip and
competition. Liberalization and privatization are taking place worldwide. In
Ethiopia, telecommunication s ervice was started as early as 100 years ago.
Howe ver, the de velopment on the sector in 100 years was minimal compared to
other sub Saharan African countries . Telecommunication infrastructure is not
expanded to most parts of the country. The state owned enterprise, Ethiopian
Telecommunications Corporation (ETC),whic hcurrently provides
telecommunications is being blamed for its inefficiency and low te le-density in the
country. Besides , the digital gap between the rural population and remote areas
on one hand and urban population and nearby cities on the other is also wide.
Despite the green light give n by the available investment lay domestic private
sector in the te lecom bus iness, governme nt expressed its intention to continue its
monopoly. The current regulatory body is weak and not playing its regulatory
role to facilitate a competitive e nvironment.
The writer recomme nds that a competitive environme nt should be created for the
telecommunication sector of Ethiopia, through liberalization. Among
telecommunications service s , a t least mobile telephony, internet service and other
value-added s e rvice s should be allowed for private parties, to provide the s ame in
competition with the incumbent, ETC.