Regulation of tariffs in the telecommunications industry in Zambia: Will price control undermine investor confidence?
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Date
2013-04-15
Authors
Mwamba, Martin Bwalya
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Abstract
This dissertation considers the effect of tariff regulation in the telecommunications industry in Zambia on investor confidence. Firstly, the dissertation traces the background to regulatory intervention, in form of price control, in the telecommunications sector.This inquiry reveals that price control is employed as the market conditions in the industry
transition from the status of monopoly to that of liberalisation, with the primary aim of preventing the abuse of dominance.
This paper seeks to determine whether regulation of tariffs and interconnection charges in telecommunications may bring about the side effect of undermining investor confidence. To authenticate or dispel such a prospect, this essay compares, from one perspective how tariffs are
regulated in telecoms with the way it is done in water supply and sanitation and energy industries. From another perspective, the paper compares tariff regulation in
telecommunications in Zambia with similar regulations in three other jurisdictions.
The dissertation, mainly through such comparative analysis found that rather than undermining investor confidence in telecommunications, the current form of tariff regulation has, to a large
extent, curtailed anticompetitive practices such as arbitrary pricing, thereby safeguarding and creating certainty and long-term investor confidence.Despite the largely positive appraisal of the current regulatory policy and practice, this paper recommends reform in the legal and institutional framework in order to enhance the
attractiveness of the industry to both local and foreign private investors.
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Keywords
Price Regulation---Zambia , Tariff on Telecommunication Equipment---Zambia