This document discusses policy and regulations for satellites in Africa. It notes the need for new policies to address issues like ICT, energy, cybercrime, and content management. Effective policy should simplify market access for new entrants, define rules for operations and investments, and promote competition. Regulations are needed to protect consumers regarding pricing, billing, complaints and liability. The regulatory environment should be transparent, predictable and support industry growth. Scarce resources like frequencies should be allocated fairly. Desired outcomes include a vibrant satellite market through regulatory certainty, liberalization and transparency. Policies also need to address emerging issues and technologies like cloud computing. The document recommends blanket licensing for VSAT systems and following mobile licensing practices to streamline the process.

1. Effective Policy and Regulations for Satellite
Future Sat Africa Conference
Professor Zain Khan, CMC
Professor of the Practice in ICT
www.cmu.edu/rwanda
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2. Sample of Issues
• Need for new polices
• Formulation of policies – policy process
• Have we become process robots and slaves to
old arcane processes?
• Questions often asked include: why does it take
us so long go accomplish so little?
• New policy issues include:
 ICT and Energy
 Cyber Crime
 Cloud computing
 Content management

3. The policy context – some points on
Licensing & Regulation
Objectives:
• Simplify Access to satellite market for a
potential new entrant.
• Define conditions of operation, rights and
obligation re: investment and ensuing decisions
• Create a level playing field and promote
competition segments.
Source: ITU Report on “Regulation of Global Broadband Communication”

4. The policy context
• Create conditions for consumer protection –
defining relationships between consumers and licensees (pricing,
billing practices, consumer complaint procedures, reciprocal
responsibilities, dispute resolution, limitations of liability for
service, and mandatory services to consumers.
• Ensure transparent and predictable
regulatory regime and safeguard industry development
in the region- for satellite operators to gain confidence in the
industry and the market
• Manage scarce resources – regulators to allocate
fairly, efficiently and in the public interest, concerned
• Define targets and obligations to be attained
by all licensees.
Source: ITU Report on “Regulation of Global Broadband
Communication”

5. Desired policy outcomes
• Creating a vibrant market for satellite
services (like in the banking system) is needed
and this can be created through regulatory
certainty, liberalization, equity and
transparency and by promoting competition.
• Address new issues related to emerging
services, consumer & societal needs and
market threats (Cyber threats & cross border
information flow, cloud computing)

6. Policy best practices
• Blanket Licensing for VSATs (VSATS are configured
based upon technical criteria – involving power level,
frequency, etc. – that mitigate the risk of interference.
Thus, a single blanket license can be issued covering a
very large number of VSAT terminals).
• Follow Mobile licensing practices. (For mobile
systems, international frequency co- ordination
procedures and the use of harmonized standards
practically eliminated the risk of harmful interference
and a growing number of countries were able to
exempt the circulation of terminals from individual
licensing requirements).