Untitled DocumentIn most countries, licensing is one of the primary functions of the regulator, although in certain countries, this responsibility falls under the jurisdiction of the sector ministry or is shared between the regulator and the ministry. Through licensing, governments often implement policies aimed at opening the market, providing services to underserved areas, modernizing telecommunications infrastructure, and supporting ICT policies. Licensing responsibilities generally include: preparation and publication of model licences; development of licence application guidelines and evaluation criteria; establishment of licence fees; and licence renewals. Recently, regulators have begun to re-examine their licensing practices as a result of increasing technology convergence and are moving towards unified or converged licensing models as discussed in Chapter 4.
As more regulators examine the need to adopt new licensing regimes in light of increasing liberalization and technological developments, it is critical to take into account and review the impact of the proposed new licensing regimes on the existing licensees and, in particular, any exclusivity provisions that were previously granted to incumbent operators. Usually, incumbent operators are concerned with issues such as licence parity; therefore, regulators are often faced with the challenge of facilitating the market entry of new service providers while at the same time addressing the acquired rights of existing operators.
In addition, when establishing licence award processes in cases where a beauty contest (comparative evaluation) process is used to select and award the licence to the best applicant, regulators should formulate objective and transparent evaluation criteria. Not only will transparent evaluation criteria be more attractive to potential new entrants, but these will also minimize the potential for unsuccessful applicants to appeal the licence award.