Overview of ICT Infrastructure in Botswana
Botswana Telecommunications Authority [BTA] was established as an independent regulatory body to create and sustain an effective communications regulatory environment in Botswana. BTA has core mandate to create a transparent enabling regulatory environment through: managing the frequency spectrum; resolving industry disputes; setting industry standards; setting tariff principles and appropriate guidelines.
BTA ensures compliance with communications services regulatory framework through the management and monitoring of: service quality; customer satisfaction levels; broadcasting content; frequency spectrum; and terms and license conditions.
Lastly, BTA researches communications regulation, best practice communications services and industry performance so as to: advise government on policy formulation; establish communications regulatory policies; and inform industry and consumers.
Achievements
Liberalization and Regulation
The issuance of service neutral licenses to Botswana's three major telephone and mobile operators in the market is viewed as liberalization of Botswana's telecommunications industry. The three service providers are; Botswana Telecommunications Corporation, Mascom, Orange and beMobile. The license authorizes the three operators to provide national public telecommunication services over fixed or mobile, wire line or wireless, network links, using any available technology. However, BTC is the only fixed line operator in Botswana.
Botswana Telecommunications Corporation [BTC] started operations in 1980 with about 6500 access lines provided mostly by electro mechanical switches linked by analogue radio micro-wave systems. Today BTC has over 130 000 access lines distributed through the country [BTC Annual Report, 2007]. It also supplies the backbone of network to facilitate cellular access lines distributed communications. BTC has recently launched mobile phone service increasing the number mobile phone operators to three. This is a result of the recent introduction of the service neutral license, by BTC.
Though there is remarkable growth on telephone use as recorded by BTC, the use of cellular phones in Botswana continues to grow phenomenally. At the beginning of 2004, there were over 530 000 mobile phones available through out Botswana, more than one per household [Central Statistics Office 2004]. Even in communities where cellular telephony services are not provided, people owned mobile phones that they use to when traveling or by going to a nearby community where access is possible. These numbers have continued to grow, to-date mobile subscribers stand at 1 531 606 or 88% while fixed line subscribers stand 142 929 or 8% tele-density as at July 2008.
In June 2006, further to the liberalization of telecommunications industry in Botswana, Minister of Communications, Science and Technology pronounced liberalization of telecommunications for purposes of increased competition and quality services. The pronouncements were made in the following:
1. Provision of Voice over Internet Protocol [VoIP] by value-added network service providers to be provided by Internet Service Providers (ISP). Effectively ISPs would provide service at national and international level
2. Mobile operator start providing their own transmission links to build their own backbone infrastructure to carry their 'traffic'
3. Mobile operators would exploit Service Neutral License provision to enable them to provide all telecommunications services including voice, data irrespective of whether service is transmitted wireless or on wire.
4. Introduction of service neutral licenses at rural and district level
5. Liberalization of the international voice gateway to allow other players to provide international switching and transmission of voice services. This service has currently been the monopoly of one telecommunications company [BTC].
6. Establishment of the Universal Service Fund whose proceeds would be used to subsidize rural telecommunications.
7. Privatization of the Botswana Telecommunications Corporation
8. As all the three mobile operators have been issued with service neutral license, a similar arrangement has been extended to Internet service providers; Value Added Networks Service [VANS] to allow them to provide VoIP. At the end of March 2008 24 VANS licenses had been issued.
Broadband
BTC has completed upgrading its national Management Data Network [MDN] and the Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line [ADSL]. 2006/07 saw the successful launch of broadband services in most parts of the Botswana and it will be spread to support the Education, Healthcare, Libraries and other public sector needs [BTC Annual Report 2007].
Metropolitan Area Network [MAN]
Similarly in 2006/07 a network utilizing fibre-optic cables previously [MAN] initially reserved for key business area was rolled out. This was a deliberate move to create high capacity multi-Gigabit network to support existing services and launch new services such as Ethernet. This initiative becomes the first commercial Multi-Protocol Label Switching [MPSL] deployment in Botswana.