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The ICT Policy & Regulation – Institutional Strengthening (iPRIS) project heralds a new era of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) advancement in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). From 2023 to 2028 and generously funded by the European Union (EU), Sweden, and Luxembourg, iPRIS is a transformative initiative building on the success of Sweden's preceding program from 2017 to 2022.

To participate in the iPRIS project, a National Regulatory Authority (NRA) needs to be a member of one of the following regional regulatory organisations: Assemblée des régulateurs télécoms de l’Afrique centrale (ARTAC), The Communication Regulators’ Association of Southern Africa (CRASA), The East African Communications Organisation (EACO), and The West African Telecommunication Regulators Assembly (WATRA). Additionally, the NRA must meet four essential criteria for consideration: commit to achieving gender balance among nominated staff for the change project, iPRIS will ensure representation from at least two African regions in each capacity-building round, be prepared for long-term engagement to achieve institutional capacity changes and have delegates with the professional mandate to lead institutional change. It is important also to consider that no more than seven countries can be included in each training round.

A Strategic Progression 

iPRIS represents a strategic progression to bolster the capacities of NRAs and regional regulatory organisations across Sub-Saharan Africa, primarily focusing on developing and implementing regulatory frameworks, especially in the telecommunications sector. 

Core Objectives 

The core objectives of iPRIS are ambitious and far-reaching: 

• Unlock Untapped Development Potential: iPRIS seeks to unleash untapped development potential across SSA. 
• Improve Quality of ICT Services: The project aims to elevate the quality of ICT services, ensuring accessibility and affordability for all. 
• Leverage Digital Technologies: iPRIS recognises the transformative power of digital technologies and seeks to leverage them for overall development. 
• Enhance Connectivity and Digital Inclusion: Addressing both infrastructure and access issues, iPRIS aims to enhance connectivity and digital inclusion. 

Multi-Faceted Approach

iPRIS adopts a comprehensive and multi-faceted approach to achieve its objectives: 

• Extensive Training: Participants undergo a 2.5-week training program in Stockholm, Sweden, covering essential subject knowledge, gender equality, project management, and site visits to relevant organisations. 
• Regional Support Team: A dedicated Regional Support Team collaborates with participants to implement change initiatives, promoting regional harmonisation. 
• Regional Follow-up: Regular follow-up meetings and a March 2024 review will present results, discuss progress, and encourage further collaboration. 
• Assessment and Evaluation: In December 2024, change initiatives will be assessed to foster continuous improvement. 

Participating Countries 

In the first round (2023A), iPRIS invites participation from countries associated with three regional regulatory organisations: WATRA, CRASA, and EACO. These countries collaborate to strengthen ICT policy and regulation in their respective regions. 

• English-speaking countries (19): Botswana, DR Congo, Eswatini, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, The Gambia, Zambia, Zimbabwe. 
• French-speaking countries (19): Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Comores, Cote d'Ivoire, DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Niger, Rep. of Congo, Rep. of Tchad, Senegal, Togo. 
• Portuguese countries (5): Angola, Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Sao Tome & Principe. 

NRAs at the Helm 

At the heart of iPRIS are the NRAs from Kenya, Namibia, Eswatini, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, South Sudan, and Zambia. These visionary bodies are leading change initiatives that address crucial issues such as optic fibre infrastructure, rural ICT development, cybersecurity, spectrum management, and competition-related matters. 

The following credentials, experience, or mandates are necessary for NRA workers to participate in the iPRIS project: 

1. NRA staff with an objective to handle strategic initiatives.
2. Change initiatives must be suggested by senior management and must have the complete approval of the project participants' immediate superiors.
3. Change initiatives should be timely and in accordance with the organisation's strategic objective.

These qualifications and mandates are required for participation in the iPRIS project, guaranteeing that the selected personnel can effectively contribute to the project's aims and outcomes. 

Collaborative Leadership 

The iPRIS project is led by a dedicated team of experts from Sweden, including organisations such as SPIDER and PTS. The collaboration extends to the private sector with the involvement of companies such as Ericsson, Tele2, and STOKAB.

Shaping a Connected Future 

Embarking on this transformative journey, the NRAs are at the forefront of shaping a connected, inclusive, and digitally empowered future for Sub-Saharan Africa. The iPRIS project aligns with global efforts to bridge the digital divide, emphasising robust regulatory frameworks' pivotal role in propelling the region into the digital age. 

“Africa has the opportunity to learn from experts by jumping to advance level, without necessarily starting from scratch concerning policies, procedures and resources.”- David Deng, National Communication Authority of South Sudan (NCA) 

About iPRIS 

The ICT Policy & Regulation – Institutional Strengthening (iPRIS) project is a capacity-building initiative funded by the European Union, Sweden, and Luxembourg. It aims to enhance the capabilities of National Regulatory Authorities and regional regulatory organisations in Sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on developing and implementing regulatory frameworks in the telecommunications sector. 

"iPRIS really provided us with an opportunity to meet fellow Africans, and this is something we will take with us." - Olivia Iyaloo M'kwaira, CRAN Namibia 

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The inaugural iPRIS Europe phase training was held in Stockholm, Sweden, from November 12th to 29th, 2023. Participants represented seven of the 43 National Regulatory Organisations (NRAs) in iPRIS: Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK), Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN), Eswatini Communication Commission (ESCCOM), Sierra Leone National Communication Authority (NatCA), National Communication Authority of South Sudan (NCA), Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC), and Zambia Information and Communication Technology Authority (ZICTA).

 Peer-to-peer exchange on regulatory topics 

The workshop provided an opportunity for expert presentations and peer-to-peer exchange among regulators from Europe and Africa.The  following regulatory topics under the  Joint European Offer  were explored:

Institutional and Legal Framework

This topic includes the following sub-areas:

• Governance of the NRA: Models for budgetary, financial, and organisational issues
• Independence
• Bilateral and regional collaboration
• Models for monitoring, compliance, and enforcement
• Dispute stakeholders
• Regulatory impact assessment
• Models for stakeholder interaction, public and private

Competition Regulation for a Dynamic Market

 This topic includes the following sub-areas:

• Theoretical foundation of competition regulation
• Methods for setting up a market observatory
• Methods of market analysis and analysis of market dominance
• Business market regulation, Roaming, and interconnection
• Regulation of fixed telephony/broadband and mobile operators
• Cost models for fixed and mobile infrastructure sharing
• Non-price regulation: transparency
• Quality of Service, access, and non-discrimination
• Price regulation: accounting separation
• Regulation on net neutrality

End User Protection

The following subtopics are explored:

• Theoretical foundation of end-user protection
• Regulation of end-user protection
• Handling of consumer complaints
• Specific measures for inclusion of users (gender, age, language, urban/rural and function variation users)

4. Spectrum Management

This JEO topic includes the following sub-topics:

• Theoretical foundation of an efficient assignment and managing of frequencies
• Development of a spectrum strategy
• Auctions and alternative methods for efficient allocation of spectrum
• Coverage and Quality of Service obligations
• Spectrum migration
• Network and spectrum sharing
• TV white spaces and public Wi-Fi networks

Broadband deployment

 The topic includes:

• Theoretical foundation of broadband deployment:
• Measures to support broadband deployment in areas outside the scope of commercial deployment:

Numbering and Addressing

This JEO topic includes:

• Theoretical foundation of an efficient assignment and managing of numbers and addresses
• Models for managing numbers
• Managing a numbering plan and number portability
• IP addressing, including IPv6, peering and domain names

Secure communications

This topics covers, a theoretical foundation of secure communications, robustness and resilience of the telecom infrastructure, confidential communications, regulation and supervision, and other measures.

New regulatory Issues

This JEA topic includes

• A theoretical foundation for the evolution of the ICT ecosystem and the development of ICT regulation
• Regulation proposed by the EU within ICT
• Regulation of OTT (Over-The-Top) and platforms,
• Relevant parts of data, data governance, AI (Artificial Intelligence), and Sustainability related to the EU Green Deal program.

Change Initiatives 

The participating African Regulatory authorities  also developed concepts for change initiatives. Change initiatives are deliberate and structured efforts undertaken to address challenges and opportunities within the ICT sector in SSA. Each initiative is specifically designed to align with the strategic agenda of each regulatory authority and focuses on policy development and implementation.

Change initiatives within iPRIS involve identifying key issues within the ICT sector, such as infrastructure gaps, regulatory inefficiencies, or digital inclusion barriers. The participants also benefited from presentations by experts in project management, gender equality and inclusivity.

Visit to Ericson 

The participants also toured Ericsson company in Stockholm

Follow up meeting in Zambia 

After the 2.5-week training, the participants returned to their countries. The next phase will be a week-long training scheduled to be held in Zambia in March 2024, four months after the European training, to review the progress of the change initiatives, present results, and encourage discussions.

Assesment and Evaluation

One year after the start of the training round, the implementation of the change initiatives of the participating NRAs will be assessed, fostering continuous improvement.

ICT Policy & Regulation – Institutional Strengthening (iPRIS) aims to bridge the digital divide by boosting the capacities of African telecommunications regulatory authorities through peer-to-peer learning. Engaging 43 countries in Africa, iPRIS aims to enhance inclusive digital connectivity and drive social and economic prosperity using ICT. The regulators participating in the project include National Regulatory Authorities and Regional Regulatory Organisations across sub-Saharan Africa.

iPRIS will contribute to bridging the digital divide by boosting the capacities of African telecommunications regulatory bodies. Engaging 43 countries in Africa, iPRIS aims to enhance inclusive digital connectivity and drive social and economic prosperity using ICT.

iPRIS will build peer-to-peer capacity for African National Regulatory Authorities and Regional Regulatory Organisations. It stems from recognising the significance of ICT policies and regulations in promoting digital inclusion, equitable access to the Internet, consumer rights protection, and personal data safeguarding.

Building on the success of the ICT Regulation Policy and Practice program run between 2016 and 2022 by SPIDER and the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority, iPRIS marks a strategic leap forward. It focuses on empowering telecom regulators across Sub-Saharan Africa, boosting their capacity to shape and implement regulatory frameworks in the telecommunications sector.

The iPRIS project is implemented by SPIDER (the Swedish Program for ICT in Developing Regions ), The Swedish Post and Telecom Authority (PTS), and the Luxembourg Regulatory Institute (ILR). SPIDER coordinates the project and offers its expertise in the digital international development sector and in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). PTS is regulation content and policy lead for the project. ILR brings its expertise in European regulation and policy for the French speaking countries.

iPRIS is funded by the European Union, Sweden, and Luxembourg as part of the Team Europe Initiative “D4D for Digital Economy and Society in Sub-Saharan Africa” (Code: 001).

Over the five-year period, the project aims to enhance digital connectivity and drive social and economic prosperity using ICT across sub-Saharan Africa. The project provides a platform for inclusive peer-to-peer capacity-building for National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) and Regional Regulatory Organisations (RROs), recognising the significance of ICT policies and regulations in promoting digital inclusion, equitable access to the Internet, consumer rights protection, and personal data safeguarding.