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Regulation of undersea cables and landing stations Print E-mail
Tuesday, 24 April 2007
Link CentreOne of the underlying causes of the high costs of telecommunications in Africa has been and continues to be the charges made for international connections between countries and especially to other continents, both for voice and data. Proper regulation of undersea cables and landing stations can contribute to a significant reduction in the costs of international communications.

This paper covers the historical background to undersea cables. It then sets out the essential facilities doctrine and measure taken in the liberalization of telecommunications and the regulation of prices. The procedural and implementations issues are then set out.

The paper concludes:

Many ISPs and MNOs are being frustrated in offering more affordable international services because they cannot obtain cost-effective access to international transmission capacity. If undersea cables could be opened to them, it would contribute to the achievement of widening service provision and deepening competition amongst service providers. The first challenge is to find a solid legal basis on which to build the necessary regulations. Thereafter, an appropriate initial costing methodology is required. This can be refined over time and as more information become available.

One country is seldom in identical conditions to another. While it is vital to learn from the experiences of other countries and regulators, it is never appropriate to copy without very careful consideration of local circumstances.

While the objective is to reduce prices, it is important to do so while encouraging investors.

Regulation of undersea cables and landing stations was written by Steve Esselaar, Alison Gillwald and Ewan Sutherland of the LINK Centre and Research ICT Africa!.