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FEDERAL NEGARIT
GAZETA
OF THE FEDERAL DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF
ETHIOPIA
5th Year No.
20
ADDIS ABABA - 27th
April,
1999
CONTENTS
Council of Ministers Regulations No. 47/1999
Telecommunication Services
Council of Ministers
Regulations
....................................................... Page 919
COUNCIL OF MINISTERS REGULATIONS NO. 47/1999
COUNCIL
OF MINISTERS REGULATIONS
TO PROVIDE FOR THE REGULATION
OF
TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES
These Regulations are issued by the Council of Ministers pursuant to
Article 5 of the Definition of Powers and Duties of the Executive Organs of
the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Proclamation
No.4/1995.
PAR T ONE
General
1. Short Title
These
Regulations may be cited as the "Telecommunication
Services Council of Ministers
Regulations No. 47/1999."
2. Definitions
1) Definitions
provided under the Telecommunication Proclamation No. 49/1996
shall apply to these Regulations.
2) In these Regulations, unless the context requires otherwise:
| (a) |
"Agency" means the Ethiopian
TelecommunicationsAgency; |
| (b) |
"Licensee" means the holder of
telecommunication service license issued under these Regulations; |
| (c) |
"Local Network" includes the local exchange,
the junction network and the access network; |
| (d) |
"Priority Customers Target" means a target
indicating the total number of new exchange lines to be brought into
service for prioritycustomers to be specified by the Agency; |
| (e) |
"Public Call Office Target" means a target
indicating the total number and regional distribution of new public call
offices to be brought into service; |
| (f) |
"Public Pay Phone Target" means a target
indicating the number of coin or card operated telephones to be brought
into service; |
| (g) |
"Public Switched Telecommunication Network"
includes the Local Network, the National Long Distance Network and the
International Network; |
| (h) |
"Public Switched Telecommunication Service"
means any service to be provided using PublicSwitched Telecommunication
Network; |
| (i) |
"Roll-out Target" means telecommunication
service expansion target to be set by the Agency and may include Public
Pay Phone Target, Under-Serviced Line Target, Priority Customers Target
and Public Call Office Target; |
| (j) |
"Telecommunication Service License" includes
public switched telecommunication service license, cellular mobile service
license, internet service license and data communication service
license; |
| (k) |
''Service Target" means a target to be set by
the Agency regarding the provision of quality of service by the
licensee; |
| (l) |
"Under-serviced Line Target" means a target
indicating the total number of new exchange lines to be brought into
service for zonal and woreda and other towns of the regional states
lacking the provision of telecommunication
service. |
PART TWO
Telecommunication
Service
License
3. Application for license
1)
Application for telecommunication service license shall be
in the
form prescribed by the Agency and shall contain:
| (a) |
identity and address of the applicant; |
| (b) |
documents showing the applicant's financial
situation, technical competence and experience; |
| (c). |
such other information the Agency may determine
by directives |
2) Information provided to the Agency pursuant to the provisions of this
Article shall be confidential.
4. Grant of License
1) The Agency shall, upon payment
by the applicant of the prescribed fees, grant the
requested license within 90 days of the submission of the application; provided,
however, that no license shall be granted unless the Agency is satisfied that
the
applicant has the required technical competence, financial resource and
experience
to
fulfill the obligations relating to the license requested.
2) No license shall be granted under these Regulations unless the applicant is
eligible to invest in the sector
pursuant to the provisions of the relevant investment law.
5. Refusal of License
1) If the Agency determines that
the application or the information supplied or
the
qualifications, experience or financial capacity of the applicant in connection
with the proposed license is materially inadequate
in relation to the criteria set by the Agency,
it shall
so notify the applicant in writing setting the reasons of its
decision.
2) The applicant shall be permitted to consult
with the Agency in order to provide
all evidence in
support of its position, shall be afforded a time not less than 30
days
to overcome the objection of the Agency and
shall be entitled to amend or complete
its
application.
3) If, following such consultation and expiry
of such time, the Agency still believes that
the application or the
information supplied or the qualification of the applicant
are materially inadequate to
justify the grant of license, it shall so notify the applicant in
writing.
6. Contents of a License
A telecommunication license,
shall as may be appropriate, specify:
1) the name of the
licensee;
2) the installation to which it applies and
location of such installation;
3) the service in respect
of which it is issued;
4) Roll-out target;
and,
5) Service Target.
7. Duties of Licensee
A licensee
shall:
1) fulfill the Roll-out Target and Service Target
specified in the license;
2) publish the charges and
other terms and conditions specifying the method which is
to be adopted for determining the charges that are applicable to its services
other
than Basic Telecommunication
Service;
3) maintain its telecommunication installations
in such condition so as to provide safe,
` adequate and efficient
service;
4) allow access to the Agency to its
installations;
5) furnish to the Agency such report,
documents and information concerning
its
installations and operations as the Agency may request;
6)
continue to apply the existing numbering plan untill the Agency prescribes
a new numbering plan.
8. Amendment of License
1) The Agency may amend the
license upon request of the licensee where it
finds~lie
request justifiable.
2) The Agency may, on its Awn
initiatives, amend a license if it considers the amendment
to be necessary for reason of public interest; provided,
however, that such amendment shall not substantially
affect- the operational and financial viability of the licensee.
9 Duration of License
1) The duration of a license for
Public Switched Telecommunication Service may
not exceed
25 years.
2) The duration of a license for cellular mobile
service may not exceed 10 years.
3) The duration of a
license for internet service may not exceed 10 years.
4)
The duration of a license for data communication service may not exceed 10
years.
10. Renewal of License
A license may be renewed for
successive periods, if the licensee:
1) has submitted to
the Agency a renewal application together with its business
plan at least six months prior to the expiry of the
license;
2) is not in breach of any provisions of the
Telecommunication Proclamation No. 49/1996, these
Regulations and directives issued hereunder which constitute grounds for
revocation of its license; and
3)
agrees to upgrade its operations by replacing outdated technology with new
technology; provided, however, that the duration of each
renewal shall not exceed half of the
initial period of
the license.
11. Revocation of License
1)
The Agency may a license where the licensee:
| (a) |
has failed to fulfil the Roll-out Target or
Service Target specified in the license; |
| (b) |
failed to follow the technical standards
applicable to the service; |
| (c) |
violates the tariff set by the government;
or |
| (d) |
in transgression of the Law:
(i) provides inferior service;
(ii) Violates public
interest. |
2) No revocation of license shall be made by the Agency unless the licensee
has been given adequate opportunity by the Agency to rectify the situation or
failure.
12. Termination of License
1) A license shall terminate
if:
(a) it is not renewed pursuant
to Article 10 of these
Regulations;
(b) it is revoked by
the Agency pursuant to Article 11 of these Regulations;
or
(c) the licensee is declared
bankrupt or dissolved.
2) Upon termination of a license the
Government may take over, in consideration of compensation on the basis of book
value or replacement cost whichever is lower, the facilities of the licensee
which are absolutely necessary to continue, without interruption, the
telecommunication service.
3) If the Government does not desire to take over
the facilities, the licensee may be obliged to remove such facilities at its own
cost.
13. Fees
1) Fees to be paid for
the issuance of license shall be as follows:
| (a) |
for Public Switched
Telecommunication
Service . Birr 200,000 |
| (b) |
for cellular mobile service Birr
200,000 |
| (c) |
for internet service , Birr
100,000 |
| (d) |
for data communication service
...Birr 100,000
Fees to be paid for the amendment, upon request of the
licensee, or renewal of a license shall be 50% of the fee required for the
issuance of such license. |
2) The fees under this Article shall not include fees to be
paid for frequency allocation.
PART THREE
Telecommunication
Service
Price and Tariff
14. Scope of Application
1) The provisions of this part shall apply to the
price and tariff of Basic
Telecommunication Service.
2) The provisions of this part shall also serve as
criteria for setting, by the licensee, the price and tariff of telecommunication
services other than Basic Telecommunication Service.
15. General Principles
1) Telecommunication service pricing shall be based
on the principles of economic efficiency, public interest and economic viability
of the operations of the service.
2) Costs shall be allocated to customers
proportional to the burden they impose on the system with the exception of costs
incurred to provide Basic Telecommunication Service for under-serviced
areas.
3) The tariff level shall be sufficient enough to ensure the
sustainability of service provision and the attraction of fresh investment in
the sector.
4) The tariff structure shall consider differential rates induced
by the elasticity of demand and the varying demand schedules of services.
16. GeneralAicing Approach
Telecommunication service
prices shall be set on the basis of:
1) the system's
marginal cost; and
2) optimum system planning.
17. Telecommunication Access Service Pricing
1) The telecommunications
access services cost shall be determined on the basis of the cost attributed to
the network access component .
2) The connection fee shall be computed on
the basis of the marginal invested capital cost attributed to the access
network; provided, however, that such cost shall not include the cost of
customer premises equipment.
3) The rental fee shall be computed on the basis
of the marginal cost attributed to upkeep and maintain the access network.
18. Telecommunication Call Service Pricing
1) The call service cost shall
be determined on the basis of the cost attributed to the network
component.
2) In cases where a given network is employed for the joint use of
various call service groups the cost shall be proportioned on the basis of
assigning a share of the common capacity cost.
3) A marginal call service
cost shall be computed for each call service.
4) Long distance and
international call service rates shall be time and distance sensitive where
distance is a factor.
19. Other Charges
Other charges applicable to Basic Telecommunication
Service may be effected in accordance with a contractual agreement between the
licensee and customers subject to the approval of the Agency.
20. Tariff Revision
Tariff revision shall be conducted
whenever compelling circumstances occur; provided, however, that the maximum
time between intervals may not exceed four years.
21. Books of Accounts
1) A licensee
shall keep books of accounts of its operation based on generally
accepted accounting principles
and guidelines of the Agency.
2) The licensee shall submit
audited reports of its accounts to the Agency within six
months from the end of the Government's fiscal
year.
PART FOUR
Technical
Standards
Chapter One
General
22. Technology Choice
l) The technology to be employed in the different
parts of the telecommunication networks shall be selected by considering future
developments in telecommunications and customer service requirements. In
particular, it shall be digital, field proven, and shall employ the latest
techniques in the field of telecommunications.
2) All telecommunications
equipment to be used shall be compatible to the existing network system.
23. System Modularity
Telecommunication systems shall have a high degree
of modularity so that new services and features could be implemented with
minimum changes in hardware and/ or software.
24. System Configuration
Telecommunications systems and networks shall
employ redundant or duplicated configurations so that failure on circuit
element or component may not affect the overall performance of the system.
25. Reliability and Performance
1) The performance of individual
components and units of equipment and the system as a whole shall ensure very
high standard of reliability.
2) Mean failure rates, mean time to repair
faults and mean time between failures for the different parts of the system and
for the whole system shall be in compliance with the standard set by the
Agency.
26. Equipment Dimensioning
Equipment
Dimensioning shall consider the following:
1 ) avoidance
of major disturbances in handling overload traffic;
2)
minimizing dial tone and call setup delay under normal and over load condition;
and
3) maintaining appropriate level of
service.
27. Signaling Systems
1) Modern
signaling systems which are flexible and having additional features shall be
used whenever technically
possible.
2) Inter-working between the different signaling
systems and backward compatibility shall be
guaranteed.
3) The technical requirements for the
different signaling systems to be used in the national
network shall be in accordance with the existing signaling systems.
28. Safety Requirements
1) Flammable material shall not
be used in any telecommunications equipment.
2) Protection
arrangements shall be provided to ensure human safety when
equipment voltage and/ or
current are at the level dangerous to human life.
3)
Harmful radiation due to radio frequency, heating, harmful ionization or
optical radiation shall be protected to ensure human
safety. Radioactive materials
shall never be put into
use.
29. Protection of Telecommunications
Equipment
1) Grounding system for equipment and antenna
supporting structure shall be
made
properly.
2) All metallic enclosures of electrical
equipment, racks, wave-guides, and
outer conductors of
coaxial feeder shall be secured and connected to the grounding
system.
3) Lightening protections shall be provided for
telecommunication equipment
whenever deemed
necessary.
4) Proper overvoltage and overcurrent
protections shall be provided for
all
telecommunication equipment.
5) All metal parts of the
telecommunication equipment and system shall be
protected against corrosion.
6) The electronics part of
the telecommunication equipment shall be protected from
dust.
7) Air conditioning shall be provided for
telecommunications equipment, where
deemed necessary.
30. Marking of Telecommunication Equipment
1) Each unit
and parts of any telecommunication equipment shall have type,
model
and serial number clearly and suitably
labeled.
2) Any electrical and electronics components of
telecommunication equipment shall
be clearly marked and
shall be provided a detailed component data.
3) High
voltage parts of telecommunication equipment shall be clearly marked.
31. Electromagnetic Interference
The permissible level
of electromagnetic interference shall be in accordance with
directives of the Agency to be issued pursuant to
Sub-Article (3) of Article 52 of these Regulations.
32. Environmental Conditions
All telecommunication
equipment shall be able to operate in the environmental
conditions specified by the Agency.
33. Power System
1) Power system design and
performance shall be consistent with the over all
system
performance requirements.
2) The direct current power
supplies voltage for all telecommunication equipment shall
be negative 48
volts.
3) The power supply system shall include
rectifiers, common control equipment
and a floating
battery bank connected across the rectifiers.
4) The
rectifiers shall be designed with a minimum of 50% reserve
capacity.
5) In places where commercial power supply is
not available, there shall be a solar
power system to provide the
necessary power required by telecommunication equipment.
CHAPTER TWO
Technical Standards
for Public Switched
Telecommunication Network
34. General
Any telecommunication equipment shall
comply with the International Telecommunications Union
Recommendations, Regulations and Standards.
35. Digital Trunk and Junction Network
Digital trunk
and junction network interface shall be in accordance with the
international standard adopted by the Agency.
36. Radio Transmission Equipment
1) The geographical
coordinates of every radio station should be clearly
indicated.
2) Major transmission systems shall be provided
with a service channel which could
be used for
communication is and transfer of information.
3) Digital
multiplexing hierarchies and techniques shall be based on the international
standard adopted by the agency.
37. Antenna andAntenna Supporting Structures
1) Every
antenna and antenna supporting structure, including the antenna system shall
be strong enough to resist the highest wind pressure
expected in the area of installation.
2) Where necessary,
signal lighting system and reflective paints shall be affixed to the
tops of antenna supporting structures in conformity with
directives of the Agency.
38. Customer Premises Equipment
1) Customer premises
equipment shall be compatible with the existing system.
2)
The Agency shall issue detailed technical standards for customer premises
equipment.
39. Cable Network Design
The design of cable network
shall aim at optimum service provision taking
quality,
flexibility, reliability, economy and maintainability into
consideration.
40. Underground Cable Installation
Safety guards and
other proper warning devices shall be provided in all underground
cable installations in accordance with the directives-of
the Agency.
41. Aerial Cable Installation
1)Aerial cables shall
be able to withstand transversal wind pressure in the area
of installation.
2) The
maximum pole span shall not exceed 50 meters without any strengthening
measures for keeping the required
strength.
3) The allowable sag of aerial cables shall be
limited to less than 0.8 meters at an ambient
temperature of 45°C under windless situation.
4) The
minimum clearance between ground surface and the aerial cable including
drop wires shall be at least 4.5 meters; provided,
however, that the minimum clearance at road crossings
may not be less than 6 meters.
5)The clearance between
telecommunication and power cables shall be determined
in
accordance with this Electricity Operations Council of Ministers Regulations
No. 47/1999.
42. Cross Connection Cabinet Installation
1) Cross
connection cabinets shall be placed on the side walk away from the carriage
way in such a way that public inconvenience could be
minimized and any damage to the cabinets could be
avoided.
2) Cabinets shall be properly locked and
protected from traffic by suitable
protecting
mechanisms.
43. Drop Wire Installation
1) The sag
of one pair of drop wire shall not exceed 0.4 meters under an
ambient temperature of 45°C.
2) Abe
drop wires shall be covered with adequate insulated protector.
CHAPTER THREE
Cellular Mobile Network
44. General
1) The
cellular mobile network system of the licensee shall be digital and be
capable
of
providing:
(a) comprehensive range
of data, short messages and supplementary services; and
(b) roaming
facility.
2) Technical standards for cellular mobile
network shall be in accordance with
the international standard
adopted by the Agency.
45. Connection to the Public Switched
Telecommunication Network
The interface with the Public
Switched Telecommunication Network shall be made
via
digital links and shall use signaling system No. 7 according
to
International Telecommunications Union
Recornmendations.
46. Frequency Al10cation
The licensee shall operate the
cellular mobile service within the designated
frequency
bandwidth and shall use only the spectrum specifically allocated to it by
the Agency.
PART FIVE
Telecommunications Service Standards And
Roll-out
Target
47. Service Targets
1). The Service
target indicators shall be prescribed by the Agency in consultation with
the
licensee.
2) Service target indicators may include the
following:
(a) number of
telecommunication line faults per line per
annum;
(b) percentage of line
faults cleared
within:
(i) 8 working
hours,
(ii) 40 working
hours,
(iii) more than 40 working hours,
(c) percentage of public payphones in operation in a given period of
time;
(d/ percentage of reduction
of existing waiting list in a specified period of time.
48. Customer Support Services
1 ) The licensee shall
establish procedures for efficient customers support
services.
2) Bills to be issued to customers shall clearly
indicate the type of service and the units
for which charges are
made.
3) All fault reporting calls shall be free of
charge.
49. Rol1-out Target
1)Roll-out Target setting shall be
carried out based on the national
telecommunication development
policy and priorities set forth by the Government.
2)
Without limiting the generality of sub-article (1) of this Article the Agency
shall, in
setting
the Roll-out Target, take
into-account:
(a) the growth of telephone penetration
rate;
(b)
the reduction of long waiting
list;
(c)
the extension of telephone services to rural
areas;
(d)
the provision of new and enhanced
services;
(e) the creation of a modern and reliable national network; and
f)the
business plan of the licensee.
50. Emergency Ca11 Services
1) All calls to fire
brigades, ambulance services, police stations and other
organizations providing
assistance to the public in emergencies which are determined as such by the
Agency, shall be free of
charge.
2) Special numbers shall be assigned for emergency
call services.
3) Appropriate emergency call service
facilities shall be installed on main highways at
an interval of 50 kilo meters
when circumstances so warrant. The use of such facilities shall
be free of
charge.
51. Directory Service
1) The licensee
shall issue, printed directories to be provided to customers free of
charge, within periods of intervals to be specified by
the Agency.
2) The licensee shall provide customers with
online directory services.
PART SIX
Management
Of Frequencies
And Radio Regulations
52. National Frequency A110cation Plan
1) The Agency
shall prepare a national frequency allocation plan.
2) The
national frequency allocation plan shall, in
particular:
(a) define how radio
frequencies are used;
(b) aim at
ensuring that the radio frequency spectrum is utilized and managed in an
orderly, efficient and effective
manner;
(c) avoid obstacles to the
introduction of new technologies and telecommunication
services.
3) The Agency shall issue directives on radio
regulations.
53. Granting of Permit for Use of
Frequencies
1) The installation and use of radio
communication equipment shall only be authorized if, the
holder of the equipment has obtained a permit for the use of frequencies, and
they are in compliance with directives of the Agency to
be issued pursuant to Sub-Article (3) of Article 52 of
these Regulaitons.
2) The fees to be paid by frequency
spectrum users shall be fixed by directives of
the
Ministry of Transport and Communications.
54. Registration of Frequencies
Upon assigning
frequencies to a transmitting or receiving station all technical
and operational data indicating the spectrum and
geographical coordinates shall be
entered in
the national frequency register to be kept by the Agency.
55. Frequencies A110cated for Broadcasting Services
The
provisions of this Part and directives of the Agency to be issued on radio
regulations shall be applicable to frequencies allocated
for broadcasting services without affecting the powers
given to the Ethiopian Broadcast Agency under the provisions of other relevant
laws.
PART
SEVEN
Miscellaneous
56. Interconnection
1 ) A licensee shall interconnect
its telecommunication system to the
telecommunication system of such
other licensee.
2) The technical inter-operability and
availability conditions shall be fully conducive
for intercon
nection.
3) An agreement relating to the interconnection
shall be entered into by the licensees.
4) The Agency
shall issue directives relating to interconnections. Such directives shall
determine, among
others:
(a) the time limit for
interconnections;
(b) the technical conditions and the quality of service to be provided through
interconnections;
(c) fees and costs of interconnections.
5) Any dispute
arising between licensees in the course of negotiation for
interconnection shall be
referred to the Agency for arbitration. The decision of the Agency shall be
final and binding.
57. Power to Issue Directives
Without
prejudice to the powers given to the Agency by these Regulations, the Ministry
of Transport and Communications
shall have the power to issue directives necessary for the
proper implementation of these
Regulations.
58. Transitory Provisions
1) The existing
telecommunication service operator shall, within twelve months from
the effective date of these Regulations, obtain the
required licenses to be issued in accordance with these
Regulations.
2)The requirements provided for under part 4
of these Regulations with regard to choice of technology
and specific technical standards, shall only be applicable to new installations
to be brought into service after the effective date of
these Regulations.
59. Effective Date
These Regulations shall
enter into force on the date of their publication in the
Federal Negarit Gazeta.
Done at Addis Ababa this 27th day of April, 1999.
MELES ZENAWI
PRIME MINISTER
OF THE FEDERAL
DEMOCRATIC
REPUBLIC OF ETHIOPIA
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