News & Events

Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority (BOCRA) has noted with concern recent Facebook reports by Duma FM presenter Mr Oageng Batenegi also known as Spanito alleging that BOCRA was the source of statistics to the effect that his radio interview programme with Mr Sydney Pilane on Thursday was listened to by 1 Million people. In efforts to exonerate himself from false reporting, Mr Batenegi issued another statement claiming that the reports they received were not officially sanctioned by BOCRA. It must be stated that BOCRA has never issued any report, official or otherwise, to Mr Batenegi or any broadcaster on audience ratings.

BOCRA wishes to emphatically state that the Facebook report is false. BOCRA has never undertaken audience measurements to determine the listenership of the radio programme in question.

BOCRA has communicated its disapproval of fraudulent use of its name to Duma FM about the misinformation and has ordered that the information be withdrawn, and appropriate public apology tendered.

BOCRA does Deliver on a Connected and Informed Society

BOCRA has noted in the Sunday Standard of 3-5 June 2018, an article apparently written by a Concerned Citizen titled Is BOCRA really delivering on a connected and informed society?

The article is an opinion piece that does not call for a response. However, it presents the opportunity for BOCRA to shed light on some of the issues raised, in the interest of consumer education.

The article raises a rhetorical question whether BOCRA is delivering on a connected and informed society. The state of communications in Botswana is open to public assessment and varied conclusions. However, ICT connectivity is measured locally, regionally and internationally on the basis of Access, Usage and ICT Skills. As at March 2016, mobile phone access stood at 3.5 million subscribers, meaning that there were 3.5 million active mobile simcards in use in Botswana. There were also 1.4 Million mobile phone internet users in Botswana. These statistics places Botswana at position five in Sub Saharan Africa behind Mauritius, Seychelles, South Africa and Cape Verde. Globally Botswana ranks position 105 out of 176 countries in the world with Cape Verde at 93, South Africa 92, Seychelles 90 and Mauritius 72. Only four other Arab states of Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia rank above Botswana at positions 99, 100, 102 and 103 respectively. However, for purposes of global comparisons the North African countries are grouped with Middle East countries because of commonalities of their economic environments. Mobile penetration has placed Botswana as one of the major users of mobile broadband internet as evidenced by the country raking among the highest in Africa in terms of usage of social media particularly Facebook.

The article also refers to Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) and incorrectly concludes that to date no single transmitter has been established. The correct information is that in terms of transmission network, Botswana has concluded countrywide transition to DTT. The national Broadcaster, Btv, has launched its DTT service and in places like Ghanzi the analogue transmission has been switched off. In terms of the private broadcasters, BOCRA has invited applications for licensing on the digital terrestrial platform. However, no license has been awarded as none of the applications received so far met the licensing requirements. In view thereof, BOCRA continues to explore other avenues including infrastructure sharing to accommodate potential local applicants. The process is ongoing and already some private broadcasters are accommodated on the government network albeit on trial basis. It is important to note that BOCRA, in line with international best practice has indeed created the necessary regulatory environment to attract private investment on digital platform. The challenge is with potential licensees meeting set requirements.

Concerned Citizen also makes reference to the BOCRA Chief Executive having prioritised Connect Botswana. Indeed, the Chief Executive has prioritised connecting Botswana. It is in pursuit of this priority that BOCRA has created a Fund called the Universal Access and Service Fund (UASF), which Fund currently has a project to connect all Primary schools in Mabutsane Region, Ganzi District and Kgalagadi Districts. A total of sixty-eight primary schools are all receiving 5 Mbps internet connectivity, 50 educational tablets per school and other ICTs peripherals including network printers. The Fund is also sponsoring upgrades of all mobile base stations in the same areas to a minimum of 3G capacity. Further, the Fund has a project to enhance connectivity along Trans- Kalahari Highway. The tender for this project is undergoing evaluation. All these initiatives are carried out to facilitate connectivity.

The article questions why BOCRA is interested in tariffs of licensed operators while there are Over The Top (OTTs) services like Netflix and Facebook that are not regulated. It is important for the Concerned Citizen to understand that BOCRA has a legal mandate to regulate tariffs of operators licensed in Botswana for the protection of Botswana consumers. BOCRA regulates Mobile Termination Rates (MTRs) because MTRs are by their nature a monopoly. In other words, for a subscriber to receive a call, only Mascom or Orange or BTCL can receive and terminate that call. Therefore, only those three can determine what to charge for handling the call. Hence, BOCRA intervenes to ensure that the MTRs reflect the cost of terminating the calls.

OTTs are a Value Add service that rides on the networks of traditional carriers. The industry worldwide, including traditional carriers, continue the debate to find an acceptable method of regulating and pricing the OTTs taking into consideration the important role they play in addressing consumer needs that is different from that of traditional carriers. It is also important to understand that traditional telecommunications operators and media as the Concerned Citizen refers to them, control a large share of the market because most of them started off as monopolies and subsequent ones enjoyed periods of regulatory protection when market entry was controlled. Therefore, they have the potential to use their market power to maximise benefits from the market to the detriment of consumers.

Finally, it is worth noting that BOCRA never took any operator to court. In all the cases that have been or are before the courts, BOCRA appears as a respondent.

Aaron Nyelesi 
Deputy Director Corporate Communications 
BOCRA

The Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority (BOCRA or the Authority) is a statutory body established under the Communications Regulatory Authority Act [CRA Act No 19 of 2012], to promote ecient provision of communication services in Botswana. The Authority is mandated to regulate the communications sector in Botswana covering Telecommunications, Information, and Communications Technologies (ICTs) and Internet, Broadcasting and Postal.

In pursuit of its mandate, BOCRA has embarked on an exercise to collect information on communications' needs of schools across the country. The collected information will assist the Authority to examine availability and usage of communication services in the form of ICTs, Internet, and Broadcasting with the aim of coming up with regulatory models aimed at addressing existing problems in the education sector. BOCRA thus invites all Private Schools in Botswana to participate in the Schools Needs Assessment. The survey covers preschools, primary schools, and secondary schools. The survey can be accessed and lled in at the following link: https://goo.gl/forms/K6JYL8TH1NGXaCBf1

Responses to the survey should be received on or before the 6th July 2018. For additional information regarding this exercise, contact Mr. Olerato Tiego at Tel: +2673685571 or email: tiego@bocra.org.bw

Organised by the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation, the Commonwealth ICT Awards are intended to recognise major achievements in ICTs by member countries and organisations, and to share knowledge amongst Commonwealth ICT stakeholders in key category areas. Held every other year, the first Commonwealth ICT & Industry Awards held in 2016 in London saw the award for Best Universal Access Initiative go to the Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority for its wholesale Wi-Fi hotspots in key strategic public areas providing every citizen 30 minutes free browsing every day at a minimum speed of 2 Mbps. Other awards and recognitions went various members, including National Communications Authority of Ghana for Best ICT Policy and Regulatory Initiative for its billing feedback mechanism as well as to UK Ofcom for its support to ICT regulatory capacity development. The Commonwealth ICT Awards 2018 promise to be an even bigger success as the penultimate evening event of the 2018 Commonwealth ICT Ministers Forum social programme.

This year, we welcome submissions in the following categories:

Country Awards:

• Universal access initiatives.
• Broadband access initiatives.
• ICT policy and regulatory initiatives.
• Cybersecurity initiatives.
• Spectrum management initiatives.
• Applications (e-health, e-education, e-agriculture and e-commerce).

Industry Awards:

• Universal access initiatives.
• Broadband access initiatives.
• Cybersecurity initiatives.
• Applications (e-health, e-education, e-agriculture and e-commerce).
• Corporate social responsibility.

To enter this awards competition, write to awards@cto.int

Who can participate

This competition is open to government departments, national ICT agencies and industry in Commonwealth countries.

For more details, download the competition’s Terms of Reference