ADDIS ABABA (ECA) – The Ethiopian Communications Authority (ECA) officially kicked off the public consultation process prior to issuing new telecommunications licenses.
This important milestone signals the telecommunication market opening process that relates back to the decision by the government of Ethiopia in October 2018 to proceed with the liberalization of the Ethiopian Telecommunications Sector. This decision is part of the new economic reform agenda of the government that aims to fully utilize technology to usher the next chapter of the rapid economic growth of the country.
In line with this agenda, the ECA intends to issue two additional licenses for telecommunications services operators through a competitive process pursuant to the Communications Services Proclamation of Ethiopia.
This Public Consultation, pursuant to Articles 35-37 of the Proclamation, intends to collect all interested stakeholders’ contributions regarding the proposed regulatory framework. It will further guarantee a transparent and interactive process, in the best interests of the Ethiopian people.
The Public Notice, and details of the major regulatory orientations it aims to implement, is accessible at ECA’s official website. All parties interested in the current processes are invited to submit their views on proposed regulatory orientations by November 22, 2019.
In addition, as part of the Public Consultation period, two events will be held by the ECA and the Ethiopian government:
- Press conference to officially launch the Public Consultation process (Addis Ababa, Ministry of Finance, 22 October 2019, 2 PM)
- Stakeholder conference in order to preliminarily answer questions of interested parties (Addis Ababa, Sheraton Addis Hotel, 12 November 2019)
All information concerning the initial Public Consultation is accessible here.
About the Ethiopian Communications Authority (ECA)
The Ethiopian Communications Authority (ECA) is the regulatory authority for Communications Services in Ethiopia. Its scope of regulation covers both Telecommunications Services and Postal Services within Ethiopia.
The ECA was established by the Communications Services Proclamation No. 1148/2019 as an independent Federal Government Authority, with a commitment to facilitate the restructuring, the development and the integration of the telecommunications, information and communications technology (ICT), electronic commerce as well as postal and courier services to form a well-regulated, operated and efficient communications services sector.
You can read more about ECA’s mission here.
Source: ECA