Botswana Market - Botswana Telecommunications Authority

The reform of the information and communication technology (ICT) sector has fueled major changes at the regulatory and institutional levels. One of the most striking changes has been the rise of the ICT sector-specific regulatory agency.

Because of International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is receiving a growing number of requests for best practice guidelines and recommendations related to the independence and effectiveness of regulatory bodies, the Sector Reform Unit (SRU) of the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) decided to conduct a series of case studies on the topic of regulatory independence and effectiveness.

Botswana was selected as one of five SRU case studies to be conducted in 2001 for a number of compelling reasons. Botswana has won a well-deserved reputation as one of the first countries in the African region to establish an independent and effective regulatory body. In fact, its level of independence and effectiveness may develop as a world model. BTA is one of the few regulatory bodies that enjoy complete freedom in licensing operators and in established and financing its operational budget. Shortly after it was formed, BTA won plaudits for its licensing mechanism and successfully resolved the country’s first interconnection despite. In addition to successfully regulating Botswana’s telecommunication market, BTA has been integrally involved in the creation and on-going work of the Telecommunication Regulators’ Association of Southern Africa (TRASA) that has developed model legislation and regulatory guidelines for the Southern African region. Thus, a study of BTA enabled ITU also to study TRASA as a model that may serve other regional regulatory organizations.