The past three decades have seen a remarkable transformation in the structure of telecommunications markets in Sub Saharan Africa with the liberalisation of the sector. The reform of the telecommunications sector has seen unprecedented growth in the industry with the sector becoming more dynamic and competitive.
Critical for realising the policy of liberalisation of telecommunications has been the use of regulation to bring about the transition from monopoly to competition. With liberalisation and the introduction of competition, regulatory oversight has not disappeared. For liberalisation to be effective it must be accompanied with an effective regulatory framework providing for aspects of telecommunications that are critical for competition, especially interconnection, spectrum and anti competitive practices.
Furthermore, the relationship between general competition law and sector specific rules is discussed. This is because a lot of literature focuses on the importance of not only sector specific rules but also general competition law for regulation of the liberalised telecommunications sector. A constant issue of debate in the developed world is the extent to which competition can and should replace regulation. This is of significance in Sub Saharan Africa where some countries, notably Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda, lack a general competition law and rely solely on sector specific rules to regulate the telecommunications sector.
Therefore, using Uganda as a case study , this dissertation assesses the adequacy of the regulatory environment for competition in telecommunications focusing on the three major aspects of interconnection, spectrum management and anti competitive practices especially in light of the importance of foreign direct investment in the telecommunications sector. Furthermore, how convergence is expected to affect regulation of competition is analysed.
