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Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority

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The Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA), established by the TCRA Act No. 12 of 2003, is an independent Authority for the postal, broadcasting and electronic communications industries in the United Republic of Tanzania based in Mikocheni ward of Kinondoni District of Dar es Salaam Region. It merged the former Tanzania Communications Commission and the Tanzania Broadcasting Commission. The TCRA is accountable to the Communications and Technology Ministry. The Information Communication and Technology (ICT) sector reform in Tanzania is notable in that development was influenced by regional, political (national) and technological factors. Tanzania is one of the few African countries to liberalise the communications sector whereby the Converged Licensing Framework (CLF) is used as a key strategy, in terms of the Tanzania Communications Regulations. Since inception in 2003, the TCRA has issued a number of regulations to administer the sector, but still faces a number of challenges such as the roll-out of services to under-serviced rural areas.

Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority
Agency overview
Formed1 November 2003
Preceding agency
  • Tanzania Communications Commission and Tanzania Broadcasting Commission
JurisdictionTanzania
HeadquartersMawasiliano Towers, 20 Sam Nujoma Road, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Agency executive
Websitewww.tcra.go.tz

Mandate and purpose

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The TCRA’s mandate is to regulate the postal, electronic communications and broadcasting industries in the United Republic of Tanzania, which includes:

  • promotion of effective competition and economic efficiency;
  • protecting the interests of consumers;
  • promoting the availability of regulated services
  • licensing and enforcing licence conditions of broadcasting, postal and Telecommunications operators;
  • establishing standards for regulated goods and services;
  • regulating rates and charges (tariffs);
  • managing the radio frequency spectrum;
  • monitoring the performance of the regulated sectors; and
  • monitoring the implementation of ICT applications.

The legislation that established the TCRA is the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority Act of 2003.[2][non-primary source needed] The primary legislation governing the industries regulated by the TCRA is the Universal Communications Service Access Act of 2006.[3][non-primary source needed]

Policies that impact the functioning of the TCRA include:

Regulations issued by TCRA

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History of the sector regulator and industry

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The following history incorporates (i) regional and (ii) national developments in the sector and the establishment of the sector regulator.

1927 Tanganyika joined the Customs Union between Kenya and Uganda.
1933 The amalgamation of previous independent Postal, Telegraph and Telephone facilities in Tanganyika, Kenya and Uganda, to form the East Africa Post and Telegraph Company.
1948–1961 Increased cooperation led to the establishment of the East African High Commission.
1951 A small radio station was established, known as Sauti(Voice) ya Dar es Salaam.
1955 The British colonial government brought in new and more powerful transmitters, which covered not only Dar es Salaam, but also other regions. At that time the colonial government changed the name from Sauti ya Dar es Salaam to Tanganyika Broadcasting Services (TBS).
1956 The station changed its name from TBS to the Tanganyika Broadcasting Corporation (TBC).
1961–1967 The East African Common Services Organisation was established.
1965 The National Assembly passed a bill changing the name of the broadcaster from TBC to Radio Tanzania Dar es Salaam (RTD).
1967 The establishment of the East African Community (EAC).
1968 The East African Common Services Organisation is renamed the East African Common Services Corporation to be consistent with the commercial nature of the corporation.
1977 Divergent political activities in the member countries resulted in East African cooperation being halted. Each member country was required to establish a national organisation for postal, telecommunications and telegraph services.
1978 Tanzania established a parastatal, the Tanzania Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (TPTC)
1993 Tanzania commences a telecommunications sector liberalization process. The TPTC was split into three separate entities, namely the Tanzania Posts Corporation, the Tanzania Telecommunications Company Limited (TTCL), and the Tanzania Broadcasting Commission (TBC). A regulator was established (TCC) and two operators, one responsible for postal, the other responsible for telecommunications services. The Communications Act of 1993 was introduced to govern the sector (excludes broadcasting).
1994 Tanzania Telecommunications Company Limited (TTCL) officially commences operations.
1999 The government established the national Television (TvT) at Mikocheni.
1999 Vodacom won the bid to operate Tanzania’s second GSM cellular network. Vodacom partnered with Tanzanian Planetel Communication Limited.
2002 Radio Tanzania Dar es Salaam and Televisheni ya Taifa merged to form a corporate body known as Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation (TBC) in Kiswahili Shirika la Utangazaji Tanzania (SuT) creating TBC Fm & TBC International on the radio side and TBC1, TBC2 and Tanzania Safari Channel on the TV side.
2003 A new Act, the Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority of 2003 established the TCRA, a merger of the TCC and the Tanzania Broadcasting Commission
2004 The merger was implemented in 2004, although each media house remained with its name - RTD and TvT respectively.

Structure and functions

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Duties

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According to the establishing Act No. 12 of 2003, the duties of TCRA include the following:

  1. Promoting effective competition and economic efficiency;
  2. Protecting the interest of consumers;
  3. Protecting the financial viability of efficient suppliers;
  4. Promoting the availability of regulated services to all consumers including low income, rural and disadvantaged consumers;
  5. Enhancing public knowledge, awareness and understanding of the regulated sectors including:          i. The rights and obligations of consumers and regulated suppliers;         ii. The ways in which complaints and disputes may be initiated and resolved; and         iii. The duties, functions and activities of the Authority.
  6. Taking into account the need to protect and preserve the environment

Functions

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The functions of TCRA according to its establishing Act No. 12 of 2003 (CAP .172) and the revision thereof (the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority Act, CAP .172 R.E. 2017) include, among others, the following

  1. To perform the functions conferred on the Authority by sector legislation, that is, to:         i. issue, renew and cancel licences;         ii. establish standards for regulated goods and regulated services;         iii. establish standards for the terms and conditions of supply of the regulated goods and services; and         iv. regulate rates and charges.          v. make rules for carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Act and the sector legislation;
  2. To monitor the performance of the regulated sectors in relation to:          i. Levels of investment;         ii. Availability, quality and standards of services;        iii. The cost of services;        iv. The efficiency of production and distribution of services, and         v. Other matters relevant to the Authority;
  3. To facilitate the resolution of complaints and disputes;
  4. To take over and continue carrying out the functions of formerly the Tanzania Communications Commission and Tanzania Broadcasting Commission;
  5. To disseminate information about matters relevant to the functions of the Authority; and
  6. To consult with other regulatory authorities or bodies or institutions discharging functions similar to those of the Authority in the United Republic of Tanzania and elsewhere.

On the other hand, the Electronic and Postal Communications Act No. 3 of 2010 – CAP. 306 and the revision thereof, (the Electronic and Postal Communications Act, CAP. 306 R.E. 2017) further provides the main functions of TCRA to include:

  1. Issuance of licenses and regulating electronic communications systems;
  2. Issuance of Postal Licenses and to regulating provision of Postal Services;
  3. Promoting fair competition and level play ground;
  4. Issuance of electronic communication numbering and addressing;
  5. Allocating, managing and regulating addresses and postcodes;
  6. Managing and assigning the national radio frequency spectrum;
  7. Establishing standards for technical equipment connected to a network;
  8. Establishing central equipment identification register;
  9. Establishing and maintaining subscribers’ database; and
  10. Regulating content related matters.

Board members

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The TCRA board chairperson and vice chairperson are appointed by the president of Tanzania, pursuant to section 7 (2) of the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) Act No. 12 under which TCRA was established.

In accordance with the provisions of clause 2.(2) of the First Schedule to the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority Act No. 12 of 2003, the minister of communications, science and technology, after submission by the nominations committee, and a competitive selection procedure as per Section 13 (6) of the TCRA Act, appoints the remaining members of the TCRA Board.

With these appointments, and in accordance with the provisions of Section 7 (1) of the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority Act No.12 of 2003, the seven members of the TCRA board are as follows:

  • Dkt. Jones A. Killimbe - chairman
  • Bw. Khalfan S. Saleh - vice chairman
  • Bi. Vupe Ursula Ligate - member
  • Dkt. Mzee Suleiman Mndewa - member
  • Bw. Ndalahwa Habbi Gunze - member
  • Dkt. George Mulamula - member

Highlights and controversies

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  • Communications in Tanzania have often been very unreliable in the past. The mobile telephone services are usually available only in urban areas, although there are currently efforts to provide nationwide mobile phone coverage. Competition in Tanzania's telecommunication sector is expected to get stiffer after the country's regulatory authority licensed four more cellular phone service providers to bring the number to ten.
  • The TCRA has given mobile network operating licenses to five more companies, bringing the tally for the country to twelve. The country now has one of the highest ratios of licenses to potential customers in the world, although with a population penetration level of just 43%, there is space for new companies to grow. The five new entrants are MyCell, Egotel, Rural Netco, Smile and ExcellentCom. They are expected to enter the country's communication industry when the process to give them network facility licensees is completed," TCRA director-general John Nkoma told the Citizen newspaper.
  • TCRA published several consultative documents:
  • Consultation Document on Code of Ethics for Advertising and Sponsorship for Broadcasting Media.
  • Consultation Document on the Introduction of a New Licence Category of Closed User Group Network.
  • Public consultation document on Code of Practice for Community Broadcasting Services.

See also

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References

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  This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority Act, 2003

  1. ^ "ICTs Strategic Resource for Development". TCRA. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  2. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-10-02. Retrieved 2010-05-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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  19. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-07-05. Retrieved 2010-05-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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