Zimbabwe: calls for new legislation to drag the telecoms regime into the C21st

[The Herald] Zimbabwe, like most African countries, has a bad mix of telecommunications, basically consisting of an old fixed-line network, that is undercapitalised and narrow-band, underlying a modern set of cellular networks under mostly private ownership.

It is the state of the old fixed-line network, and the very narrow width of the connections to the outside world, that make up the "digital divide" that so many talk of when comparing the rich north with the poor south.

The state of the old networks also explains why sub-Saharan Africa generates twice as much revenue from cellular networks, despite cheaper airtime, than the European Union.

TelOne in Zimbabwe is probably above average as a fixed-line network by African standards, but those standards are antiquated and take little notice of the information and digital revolution of the last two decades.

This is why we see TelOne, battling to maintain what it already has, having to charge high tariffs for voice communication. It is unable to offer the sort of modern services that upgraded fixed-line networks can offer, yet has lost much of its voice traffic to the cellular phone networks.

The modern world requires cheap broadband connections to move vast quantities of data, and to allow real-time connections to big databases, and generally the cheapest way of doing this, especially in cities and other conglomerates of users, is through optic fibre networks.

New transoceanic optic fibre links have been able to undercut the satellite links in many areas.

Zimbabwe is no stranger to this.

Zesa, through its PowerTel subsidiary, provides a basic inter-city broadband data service, allowing banks, for example, to give all their branches access to a single database and giving the main internet service providers some of the modern communications they need.

New Minister of Information Communica-tions Technology Nelson Chamisa seems aware of some of the problems.

He has barred TelOne from cutting customers until a rational tariff has been set and a reasonable policy sorted out.

He correctly points out that major capital investment is required, but the users of the TelOne voice network cannot be expected to fund this, especially as data users not voice users will be the major beneficiaries of such investment.

He has spoken of a new ICT Bill.

This will have to drag Zimbabwe into the 21st Century and so needs to be carefully crafted, using as far as possible the willingness of many consumers and investors to fund the required development.

TelOne and Zimbabwe's links with the outside world are seen as strategic entities and thus have to be kept in Government ownership.

Yet other countries, including countries with very serious security concerns, seem to have no problem using major private investment and ownership of their telecommunications. Strategic interests are safeguarded through the ability of Governments to requisition or even take-over necessary communications in a grave emergency.

It is now impossible in the modern world in any democracy to prevent any breach of a telecommunications monopoly, so many governments have dumped the monopoly, privatised telecommunications and simply retained the right of regulation and of eminent domain.

We suggest Zimbabwe follow this route.

A privatised TelOne, for example, should quickly find the capital necessary to wire the city centre, industrial sites and the Mount Pleasant belt of office parks with optic fibre, giving all the major seekers after broadband a good basic service.

The same privatised TelOne could also find capital for expanding dramatically the band-width of Zimbabwe's external links.

There were submissions by one major internet service provider a few years ago, for example, to lay an optic fibre link to South Africa from the PowerTel terminus in Bulawayo, renting out spare capacity to competitors and other users.

An ICT Bill could throw open the data business, provide a regulatory regime, provide ways for consumers to appeal tariffs and still answer the Government's security concerns.

We hope that careful thought, in consultation with providers and users of services, will be given to drafting this vital Bill so that Zimbabwe can have the services it and its people and businesses need for development.

Speed Up ICT Bill