PRESENTED BY: MESHINGO JACK

GRADUATE STUDENT

KOREA ADVANCED INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

ICT DEVELOPMENT, POLICY & REGULATION IN BOTSWANA

PRESENTATION OUTLINE INTRODUCTION

INFRASTRUCTURE

CHALLENGES & REGULATORY INTERVENTIONS

FUNDING ICT DEVELOPMENT

OPPORTUNITIES FOR ICT CONVERGENCE IN AGRICULTURE

INTRODUCTION

COUNTRY PROFILE AT A GLANCE

• Mobile Penetration: 169.9%

• Fixed Penetration: 8.54%

• Mobile Broadband Subscriptions: 1,295,663

• Internet Penetration: 22%

• Submarine Cables: 2 (EaSSy, WACS)

• Number Telecom Operators: 4

• ISPs: 78 (about 18 active)

• Land Area: 581,730 sq. km• Population: 2, 024, 904 Million (2011)• Monetary Unit: Botswana Pula

(1$: 10.35 BWP)• Languages: English (Official), Setswana

(National)• Illiteracy Rate: 17.2% (OECD report,

2015)• Urban population: 57.4% of total

population (2015)• Domain name: .bw • GDP Per Capita: $7,750

(Budde Communications, 2015)

4

General ICT Statistics

POLICY EVOLUTION

• Coordinated approach to ensuring universal accessibility to high speed, reliable and affordable broadband internet.

5

Telecommunications Policy of 1995

National ICT Policy (Maitlamo, 2007)

Draft Universal Service Policy of 2006

Communications Regulatory Authority Act of 2012

National Broadband

Strategy (2014)

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2

3

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INFRASTRUCTURE

INTERNATIONAL & NATIONAL CONNECTIVITY

❖ EASSy

○ Backhaul: connecting to EASSy

through Mtunzini in South Africa.

○ Capacity entitlement: 22.165Gb/s

○ Activated capacity: 4.960 Gb/s

❖ WACS

○ Backhaul: connecting to WACS

through 2 landing stations; Namibia

and South Africa

○ Capacity entitlement: 97.96 Gb/s

○ Activated capacity: 10.54 Gb/s

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ACCESS NETWORK

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3G coverage limited to main cities and some major villages

4G Rollout commenced in 2015

All urban and major villages covers by copper network

FTTx still under deployment (Botswana Fibre Networks)

▪ Access to be provided on an open Access principle

▪ Initially connecting commercial, industrial, commercial, civic and community plots

▪ Households to be considered in future

CHALLENGES & REGULATORY

INTERVENTIONS

SUPPLY & DEMAND SIDE CHALLENGES

❏ Landlocked: high transit charges

❏ Sparsely populated country

❏ Uneconomically viable areas-no incentive for investment

❏ Digital divide between urban and rural centers

❏ Last mile connectivity

❏ Narrowband internet

❏ Lack of a Digital Literacy Programme

❏ Limited relevant local content

❏ e-Government at infancy stage 10

REGULATORY INTERVENTIONS

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Profitable areas

Non Profitable areas

Allocation of 4G/LTE spectrum license issued with regulatory obligations

4G spectrum is national

Subsidy from the UASF to fund rollout of broadband services

Community Access Centers in the remote areas

Broadband infrastructure to farming areas

Operators to rollout to towns and villages with more their 5000 inhabitants at their own cost

Spectrum license indicates Operators expected to rollout in a period of 2 years

FUNDING ICT DEVELOPMENT

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1

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3

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FUNDING MODELS

High cost projects such as FTTx – government funding

Universal Access and Service Fund UASF

•Provision of Wholesale Broadband Wi-Fi hotspots in public strategic areas

• Computerizations & internet connectivity to primary school in rural areas

Public Private Partnerships

Private sector funded

OPPORTUNITIES FOR ICT CONVERGENCE IN AGRICULTURE

Climate change❖ Low Rainfall

❖ High Temperatures

OPPORTUNITIES

❖ Low Agricultural Produce

>3 million

90% export of beef (Norway, South Africa & EU)

High mobile penetration rate

Abundant international connectivity

UASF Initiatives

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ICT & AGRICULTURE IN BOTSWANA

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Livestock Traceback System Mobile Agriculture MODISAR

• BOLUS System

• Electronic Ear

Tagging

• used by farmers in

underserved areas

• marketing, farming

tips, financial

services

• >10,000 users

(September 2015)

• Livestock Farm

Management

WAY FORWARD

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Investment in last mile connectivity

International Collaboration

Prioritization

Government funding

Top level support

Public Private Partnership

ICT Convergence Strategy for all sectors

Agriculture Research and Development

PRESENTED BY: MESHINGO JACK

KOREA ADVANCED INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

ICT DEVELOPMENT, POLICY & REGULATION IN BOTSWANA