Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT)

Ref.: BDT/PKM/DM/226 , 3 August 2012

Honourable Ministers for ICT and Telecommunication and Communication Regulatory Authorities, Members of the Steering Committee, and

HIPSSA Project Focal points

Subject: Reminder to benefit from in-country technical assistance before Project closure

Dear Sir, Madam,

I have the pleasure to inform you that due to success of the pilot project in the Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) in the development of the Supplementary Acts in Telecommunication, the HIPSSA project was developed to enlarge the scope and cover all Sub-Saharan Africa. A lot of progress has been made and a lot of success achieved. The HIPSSA project reached a critical stage, with the completion of most of the regional model policy guidelines and legislative texts in close collaboration with the ECOWAS Commission and the Telecommunication Regulators’ Assembly (WATRA). These documents are available on the ECOWAS and HIPSSA project websites for download. These documents cover the following areas:  Harmonization of Policies and of the Regulatory Framework for the ICT Sector;  Legal Regime Applicable to Network Operators and Service Providers;  Access and Interconnection in Respect of ICT Sector Networks and Services;  Numbering Plan Management;  Management of the Radio-Frequency Spectrum;  Universal Access/Service;  Regulation on conditions for access to submarine cables landing stations In addition, the following texts were prepared with the assistance of the Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) with the collaboration of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) that gave input to the texts:  E-Commerce (Transactions)  Data protection  Cyber crimes/E-Crimes As you may recall, the aim of this project is to support the harmonization of ICT policies, legislations and regulatory procedures in the Sub-Saharan Africa region with the financial support of the European Union. It was officially launched during a multi-stakeholders (kick off) meeting in Addis Ababa on 11 and 12 December 2008.

International Telecommunication Union • Place des Nations • CH-1211 Geneva 20 • Tel: +41 22 730 5111 • Fax: +41 22 730 5545/730 5484 • E-mail: [email protected] • www.itu.int/itu-d – 2 –

During the ECOWAS Telecom/ICT experts meeting in Lomé, from 22 to 25 March 2011, the availability of assistance for the interested beneficiary countries regarding the implementation of the aforementioned regional guidelines and model laws into the national frameworks (in-country technical assistance) was communicated. This in-country assistance process is activated further to a formal request made by the interested country. A number of countries have already formally requested the support from the project to review or adopt new legislations for specific areas within the identified scope, and such requests have been completed. The other countries which are interested to benefit from such a support and still have not done so are encouraged to kindly communicate their interest in participating in this second phase by 15 September 2012 at the latest. Should your services require any further clarification or additional information, please contact Ms. Ida Jallow, HIPSSA Senior Project Coordinator (E-mail: [email protected], Tel.: +251 11 551 4977 Extension 31). I take this opportunity to thank you all for the active contributions from the region. Please take this letter to serve as the final reminder on the availability of in-country support and I look forward to receiving your formal requests within the stated time frame to enable your countries benefit further under the ITU/EU- funded HIPSSA project. Yours faithfully,

[Original signed]

Brahima Sanou Director

C.cc.: Mr. Andrew Rugege, Regional Director, ITU Regional Office for Africa Ambassador James Victor Gbeho, ECOWAS President S.E. M. Cheikhe Hadjibou Soumare, President of UEMOA Dr. Jean Ping, Chairperson of the AUC Mr. Nnamdi Nnwokike, Executive Secretary of WATRA