Report

More documents

Recommendations

Info

176 QUANTIFICATION OF BENEFITS FROM ECONOMIC COOPERATION IN SOUTH ASIA is growing basically due to prepaid mobile scheme, which has crossed the 1.5 mn mark at the end of this quarter. Since 1995, Nepal has initiated the involvement of the private sector in the development of the telecommunication services. To make this work more systematically and regularly, the telecommunication of 1997 and telecommunication regulation of 1998 had been implemented. Nepal Telecommunications Authority has been established as an autonomous regulatory body on 4 March 1998. There are several issues pending with the regulator which include, VoIP and internet telephony legalisation, mechanism for the allocation/assignment of spectrum and frequency fee determination for WiMax band, amendment of the Telecom Act 2053, disbursal of the rural telecom development fund (RTDF) for providing telecom service in rural areas, issues regarding the use of Nepal electricity authority’s fibre network by other licensed telecom operators and use of VPN by ISPs to provide data communication service, mechanisms to encourage ISPs in rural areas of Nepal. Table 15.7 Key Telecom Indicators for Nepal Population 28 Fixed lines 0.764353 Fixed teledensity 2.73% Mobile phones 1.57 Mobile density 5.61% Source: http://www.nta.gov.np/ In 2004, Nepal undertook the following commitments: • For voice telephony: – No limitation on number of service providers will exist on January 2009. However, foreign participation permitted through a joint venture with up to 80% equity participation. • For circuit switched data transmission services • For facsimile services • For private leased circuit services: – No limitation except that foreign participation permitted through a joint venture with up to 80% equity participation. • For cellular mobile telephony: – By 2004 two mobile operators will be licensed – No limitation on number of service providers will exist on January 2009; however, foreign participation permitted through a joint venture with up to 80% equity participation. – Mobile technology will not be prescribed but will be left to the choice of the operator upon the date of accession. • Additional commitments taken are as follows: Nepal has committed to the reference paper. The gap between the applicable regime and commitments for Nepal is the minimum among SAFTA countries that have made commitments under GATS. Of the other two countries, Bhutan is not a member of WTO while the Maldives has not made any commitments in Telecom. Bhutan Major reforms have been taking place in Bhutan, especially in the telecommunications and other ICT service sectors, for the last few years. In principle, the functionality of regulation, policy, and operations has been segregated from one other with the enactment of the Bhutan Telecommunication Act 1999. As the result of this Act, the once-government owned department of telecom has been transformed into a state-owned corporation and a separate regulatory agency has been created within the ministry. As an initiative of government restructuring, the former ministry of communication has been bifurcated into two separate ministries, namely, ministry of information and communication and ministry of work and human settlement, in June 2003. The government of Bhutan sees telecommunications and other ICT services as important and essential catalysts for the overall development of the country. In order to reap the fruits of ICT for development, a committee consisting of different ICT players, including members from government, private investors, NGOs, and donor entities, was established and given the task to discuss and develop a national ICT policy and strategies in 2004. The committee has recognised the importance of the telecommunications infrastructure for the overall development of ICT related services, and it is felt that there is a need to liberalise and introduce competition in the telecommunications market by 2007. Though policies and strategies have been developed for opening the Bhutanese telecommunications market, actual mechanisms for opening up the market have not yet been formulated. Currently, the telecom scenario is not very good with overall teledensity at mere 4.03%. But with policy changes in place we may see a spurt in growth in the coming years.
P ROSPECTS FOR THE TELECOMMUNICATION SECTOR UNDER SAFTA 177 The Maldives The Maldives is the smallest nation of SAFTA. The Maldives boasts an efficient, upto date telecommunications system. Through recent efforts of long-time monopoly telco, Dhivehi Raajjeyge Gulhun (Dhiraagu), there is now full telephone service coverage. Dhiraagu is a joint venture between the Government of the Maldives (65%) and Cable & Wireless plc (UK) with 35%. Along with its fixed-line network, the company also operates a GSM mobile service and was, until recently, the country’s sole licensed ISP. But Wataniya Telecom Maldives, a sister company of Wataniya telecom international, become the second operator after it was issued a licence as the new mobile phone operator in February 2005. Telecom density in Maldives is highest among SAFTA countries at 98.76%, while the fixed line penetration is low at 10.88%. TAM was established in September 2003 as a separate entity with a mandate of regulating the telecommunications sector, creating a conducive environment for promoting competition in telecommunication services and developing the sector in accordance with the national polices and regulations. The ministry of transport and communication now has the role of policy making while the telecommunications authority assumes the responsibilities of regulating the telecommunication sector. Table 15.8 Key Telecom Indicators for Maldives Population 330,000 Fixed lines 36729 Fixed density 11.13 Mobile phones 320,000 Mobile density 0.96969697 Source: http://www.mcst.gov.mv/ COMPARISON OF WTO COMMITMENTS MADE BY SAFTA WITH THE ACTUAL POLICY IMPLEMENTED The foregoing analysis has shown that SAFTA country commitments in the Uruguay Round were limited both in terms of sectoral coverage and modes of delivery and that most countries did not bind the existing regime. While full commitments were offered in Mode 1 generally, only partial commitments have been made in Mode 3. Nepal’s commitments dated 2004 are the most recent and also the most liberal of all the SAFTA countries. It permits up to 80% foreign participation in all categories, while limiting the number of cellular 12 Mattoo et al. providers to 2. In other categories there is no explicit limitation on number of providers and w.e.f. from January 2009, there will no limitation on number of service providers in any category. For other countries, specifically India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh the commitments are meagre. Foreign equity has been restricted to 25 in India and 40% in Sri Lanka. While Pakistan has no restriction on foreign equity (it can go upto 100%) the number of providers has been left ‘unbound’, thereby reducing the quality of the commitment. Further, the language of the commitments is often ambiguous, thereby diminishing their value. For instance, when Bangladesh committed to ‘four licenses issued’ in cellular telephony, the ambiguity in the choice of tense was not an accident: the licenses in question had already been issued. 12 Commitments in Mode 4 in all countries are to the extent stated in the horizontal schedule. All SAFTA members have undertaken MFN exemptions with respect to accounting rates. While Sri Lanka and Nepal have fully committed to the Reference Paper, India Pakistan and Bangladesh have offered additional commitments to review the lack of guarantee on regulatory principles. Comparison of the WTO commitments of SAFTA countries with the applicable regime as it has evolved over the few years reflects the fact that the applicable regime is far more liberal than the commitments made. As detailed in the previous section, some of the recent policy initiatives render countries like India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal as exceedingly liberalised telecommunication economies. Given liberalisation of the sector at home and the limited nature of the commitments, the gap between the commitments and applicable regime has widened. This remains the case even when one considers the revised offers, where available. This picture can be seen, for example, from the tables in the Appendix tabulated separately for each country. Some information in the tables is either not available or reflects the fact that revised offers have not been submitted by the countries or are not available in the public domain. An implication of the finding that the applicable regime in SAFTA countries is more liberal compared to, both commitments and revised offers, is that there is scope for improving commitments without further changes in national policy. However with the Doha Round talks stalled, there is no pressure on these countries to improve the quality of their commitments using the GATS framework of request and offer. Further,
Page 3 and 4:
QUANTIFICATION OF BENEFITS FROM ECO
Page 5 and 6:
QUANTIFICATION OF BENEFITS FROM ECO
Page 7:
Preface Our consultations with seni
Page 10 and 11:
viii CONTENTS 7. Revenue and Welfar
Page 13 and 14:
Executive Summary OBJECTIVE This st
Page 15 and 16:
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY xiii Table 1 EAMA
Page 17 and 18:
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY xv India A full S
Page 19 and 20:
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY xvii indicates th
Page 21 and 22:
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY xix ments on basi
Page 23:
Part I BENEFITS FROM TRADE, INVESTM
Page 26 and 27:
4 QUANTIFICATION OF BENEFITS FROM E
Page 28 and 29:
Page 30 and 31:
Page 32 and 33:
10 QUANTIFICATION OF BENEFITS FROM
Page 34 and 35:
Page 36 and 37:
Page 38 and 39:
Page 40 and 41:
Page 42 and 43:
Page 44 and 45:
Page 46 and 47:
2 Literature Review and Rationale f
Page 48 and 49:
Page 50 and 51:
Page 52 and 53:
Page 54 and 55:
Page 56 and 57:
Page 58 and 59:
Page 60 and 61:
4 Effective Additional Market Acces
Page 62 and 63:
Page 64 and 65:
Page 66 and 67:
Page 68 and 69:
Page 70 and 71:
6 Impact of SAFTA on Member Countri
Page 72 and 73:
Page 74 and 75:
Page 76 and 77:
7 Revenue and Welfare Implications
Page 78 and 79:
Page 80 and 81:
Page 82 and 83:
8 Impact of SAFTA on Inward and Out
Page 84 and 85:
Page 86 and 87:
Page 88 and 89:
Page 90 and 91:
Page 92 and 93:
9 Quantification of Benefits from T
Page 94 and 95:
Page 96 and 97:
Page 98 and 99:
Page 100 and 101:
Page 102 and 103:
Page 104 and 105:
Page 106 and 107:
Page 108 and 109:
Page 110 and 111:
Page 112 and 113:
Page 115:
Part II BENEFITS FROM DEEPENING INT
Page 118 and 119:
Page 120 and 121:
Page 122 and 123:
Page 124 and 125:
Page 126 and 127:
11 Construction and Related Enginee
Page 128 and 129:
Page 130 and 131:
Page 132 and 133:
Page 134 and 135:
Page 136 and 137:
Page 138 and 139:
Page 140 and 141:
12 Tourism and Travel Related Servi
Page 142 and 143:
Page 144 and 145:
Page 146 and 147:
Page 148 and 149: 126 QUANTIFICATION OF BENEFITS FROM
Page 172 and 173: 14 Health and Related Services 1 IN
Page 186 and 187: 15 Prospects for the Telecommunicat
Page 223: APPENDICES
Page 236 and 237: Appendix 8 Intra SAARC FDI Collabor
Page 238 and 239: Appendix 11 Table A11.1 On an Emplo
Page 240 and 241: Appendix 12 Original Commitments/In
Page 248 and 249:
Page 250 and 251:
Page 252 and 253:
Appendix 14 Table A14.1 Telecommuni
Page 254 and 255:
Page 256 and 257:
Page 258 and 259:
Appendix 15 REFERENCE PAPER Scope T
Page 261 and 262:
Bibliography Abelson, P. (1996),
Page 263 and 264:
BIBLIOGRAPHY 241 Cuba (2002), Negot
Page 265 and 266:
BIBLIOGRAPHY 243 (2004), Impacts of
Page 267 and 268:
BIBLIOGRAPHY 245 Silva, Patricia an
Page 269 and 270:
BIBLIOGRAPHY 247 (1998), Tourism Se
show all

Report

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?