Somalia’s telecom sector must be regulated to protect Somalians health, safety and wealth

In 1991, the year civil war broke out in Somalia; Mobile telecommunication system was in its early development. 2G mobile networks were entering the world market. During the beginning of the twenty first century, mobile networks grew exponentially, at the same time technological advances led to 3G/4G system that demand more data on smart phones and tablets. Until now as of 2020 the main service telecom companies in Somalia provide is mobile and fixed telephony. The current federal government drafted Telecommunication policy that is expected to be implemented any time soon.

Telecommunication services are broader and include

·        Fixed services such as terrestrial microwave and satellite

·        Mobile systems such as cellular, maritime and Aeronautical

·        Broadcast networks including sound and television

·        Weather and remote sensing

·        Space research and earth exploration

·        Continental fiber backbone

These Telecommunication services require various technologies to be implemented. They also demand resources to establish connection and carry traffic. The electromagnetic spectrum is crucial resource that is important for Wireless systems. IP networks in the internet use public IP addresses. What is important to note is that these resources are finite and must be used in manageable and productive way. They are also unique and must be coordinated to avoid interference and disconnections.

Around the world, ITU (International telecommunication union) is responsible for developing telecommunication standards. Yearly conferences attended by member countries discuss and exchange ideas that matter for world telecommunication.

Most countries in the word privatized network operators. Telecommunication networks are implemented by various operators and service providers that are privately owned. To allow free competition and protect consumer interest, countries in the world developed regulatory agencies that coordinate and assign telecommunication resources that are inherently scarce. These agencies also ensure operator interoperability and public safety from telecommunication systems.

Objectives of Telecommunication regulation

·        To allow free and fair competition among operators and service providers.

·        To plan, coordinate and license scarce resources such as frequencies and IP addresses.

·        To encourage operators for innovation and quality communication for consumer interest.

Technical process for regulation setup

Somalia minister for communications will appoint technical committee to provide feedback. This committee will probably consist of market stakeholders, network operators, civil society, research institutions, and universities. They will discuss possible considerations for regulatory framework drafting and explaining what the regulation will entail. The ministry will collect the input and come up with preliminary document that will specify the rules and regulation that all operators will have to follow. The document will also highlight procedures for licenses and possible penalties imposed has an operator violated the standards.

Strictly speaking finalizing a concrete telecommunication standard in Somalia will take significant time considering the fragile situation the country is now emerging from. Nevertheless, for the last 20 years companies that benefited from lack of regulation and monopolized the market, a comprehensive and effective telecommunication regulatory agency is much needed.

As for now, formulating telecom standard adapted from ITU will be among the options on the table. A hypothetical standardization process the minister can follow is depicted in the illustration below

One of the fundamental obligation of any government is to protect safety, health and well-being of its citizens. While telecommunication is needed for economic growth and social networking, it can also pose serious threats if unregulated. While most countries in the world had succeeded to regulate their telecom industry, Somalia has seen economic, environmental and social health adversely affected by telecommunication malpractices, consumer SLA (service level agreement) violations by firms, illegal price wars and expensive service charging. Furthermore, over-crowded radio mast construction in metropolitan areas pose radiation and physical hazards to household. There is public debate of relationship between radio mast and cancer prevalence in Somalia in recent years although not yet verified by scientific and research institution.

Why need telecom regulation?

The need for regulation varies for country to country based on its market structure and law, but certain aspects are always common and included in any regulatory context. Things like functional structure of the regulatory body, transparency and accountability of the body, consumer protection (such as SLAs, equipment compliance), conflict resolution against different operators interest and penalties associated had an operator violated the regulation are among common things in any regulatory framework.

What to regulate?

• competition law development (including merger and acquisition cases)
• regulation of prices (intra-operator, inter-operator)
• conformation to national and international standards
• licensing and equipment compliance, radiation and public safety standards
• managing public resources such as electromagnetic spectrum and monitoring
• setting up inter-connection prices
• conflict resolution and violation penalties

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