The Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority (BOCRA) has been told to up its game.
A report commissioned by the Authority to conduct a Consumer/Operator Perception Survey of the communications sector in Botswana called on BOCRA to improve its policies, stating that they sometimes fall short of industry standards observed in other countries or fail to align with current industry trends.
Broadcasters, mobile operators, and internet providers have pointed out that despite Botswana’s purported intention to adopt a digitally forward-looking approach, the current regulatory environment does not reflect this aspiration. They emphasise the importance of striking a balance between the interests of consumers and operators. According to them, BOCRA should objectively address industry issues while considering the concerns of all stakeholders involved.
“BOCRA should work more on regular monitoring if it intends to achieve its mandate, BOCRA don’t really have a regulatory presence beyond licensing, BOCRA tend to oppose their mandate, BOCRA are weak at fostering competition, there is poor regulation and BOCRA try to encourage competition, but the resulting environment is not competitive,” the report says.
The consumers and operators also indicated that BOCRA does not follow its mandate. “BOCRA should consider an open market that enables us to buy what we want to use,” the report says. It says there is “Poor customer service,” adding that “It takes decades to respond to stakeholders; No openness, honesty, and accountability in any of their decisions.”
The report says “BOCRA say they are the most transparent of all Parastatals but didn’t disclose results of bidding for IMT licenses; we are not consulted prior to decisions being made by BOCRA”.
The operators and broadcasters indicated that “Competition is not fair because we are competing with companies that are funded by the government like BTC and BoFiNet; BOCRA should open more community radio stations. We do not find them (BOCRA) as creative or digital, they don’t practice what they have written on the paper.”
BOCRA was also accused of allowing briefcase ISPs (Internet Service Providers) to enter the market.
“We think this is counterproductive as they do not add value. BoFiNet does the ISP work for them. All they do is sign up customers. This makes effective competition difficult. Wealthy Companies register ISPs to supply internet for themselves and staff,” the report says.
It says this reaps no rewards for Batswana in general.
According to the report, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) make it difficult to interconnect on their intersections and it seems like there is no enforcement of them sharing from the regulator.
“MNOS don’t actually say no, but they make it so difficult that you end up giving up. Pricing is not monitored either. Internet seems expensive because BoFiNet makes it expensive as a wholesaler. There are players in the market that offer pricing that is a lot more competitive than BoFiNet, but we cannot buy from them,” the report says.
It says technology is moving extremely fast, and BOCRA should be miles ahead of everyone. “We have never been consulted by BOCRA when they are making decisions. BOCRA are not yet at a standard to be considered world-class,” the report says.
Turing to licensing, the report says “BOCRA are not open; They are selective about what they tell stakeholders. BOCRA should educate stakeholders on ways to diversify their business models. This would monotony in the products and services that regulated entities offer.”
“BOCRA asks for a lot of things from us before we get a license. SMEs are failing because requirements are too demanding. BOCRA doesn’t reserve areas for SMMEs. Wholesalers play in our space while allowing suitcase ISPs to mushroom. We are squeezed in the middle with no niche market to target,” the report says.
It says “As the number of operators increases the quality of BOCRA services diminishes. The business development unit is not easily accessible. They do not deal with us with the right mindset and readiness. The market is ahead of them.”
SMEs said they face great difficulty when trying to get licenses. “The increase in the number of service providers leads to inferior network quality. It is difficult for SMEs to get licenses. BOCRA just talk and rarely ever act on what they say they will do,” the report says. It shows that some technologies are still controlled by the 3 big network companies in Botswana, and they are not cooperating to open gateways to our products.
“BOCRA should engage stakeholders more often. Stakeholder engagement is non-existent. Market entry is limited to big companies as they are the only ones capable of getting a license for mobile modems. It is difficult to run our business under their licensing conditions,” the report says.
The report says there is no diversity that is promoted by BOCRA “within our operating environment” and “BOCRA has yet to find a balance between inclusion and fair, regulated competition.”
The report says services in rural areas cost more, regulation should curb this that would promote inclusion.
“License holders aren’t really bringing in diversity and BOCRA is not doing enough to encourage them to do so. Tech is inherently costly so BOCRA can’t really make it easy to operate as it requires large amounts of capital. BOCRA license requirements and operating prescriptions make it difficult for startup businesses to run effectively,” the report says.
The report says the prohibition of cross-subsidisation creates increased operating costs and has not taken into consideration the investment costs that BOCRA’s customers incur.
“A company should have one license regardless of the services they provide. We have been trying to get interconnectivity for years but we are getting blocked. The big providers do not see it as a positive development. BOCRA is not assisting us in negotiating with them. Allowing entities to get all licenses makes it easier for large companies to monopolize,” the report says.
The report says “There is no effort in place by BOCRA to help improve our operating environment. There is a charge for every satellite, and this is very expressive. Interconnectivity is encouraged but not mandated because BOCRA has no teeth to enforce.”
The mobile operators, broadcasters and internet service providers said BOCRA timeframes do not consider the challenges they face and the financial difficulties they have. “BOCRA should rather have a provision for auditing compliance within a certain period after awarding the license. The current profitable customer base is limited to areas with large population sizes,” the report says.
It says; “We currently are not permitted to offer mobile modem devices to those living in more remote areas as a way of broadening our client base. Target customers are limited since mobile modem internet licenses are limited to big companies.” Businesses regulated by BOCRA also indicated that “The license fee is too high; we are not able to recoup our investment” adding that “BOCRA should audit imported services and assess whether that infrastructure is available and accessible locally; BOCRA could incentivise more local solutions by banning some imported services and allow us to build capacity.”