Click Here & Upgrade PDF Complete Expanded Features Unlimited Pages Documents respect to ICTs, lack of a reliable, widely distributed and high capacity network for data, voice (sound) and video (pictures) has greatly contributed to the low availability and penetration of ICT services as well as costly deployment of basic services especially in rural areas. This has resulted in inadequate telephone and Internet services; high start up costs for radio (especially community radio stations) and TV broadcasting. The net effect is low information access levels that are affecting citizen s participation in governance issues as well as the high cost of doing business across the country. 6.5.1 POLICY GOAL To increase access and promote widespread deployment of ICT services through the expansion of the nation s telecommunications backbone infrastructure covering the whole country. 6.5.2 COMMITMENTS In order to achieve the above goal, Government shall: (a) Endeavour to attain full liberalisation of all services in the ICT sector subject to regional and international protocols/agreements, best practices as well as market readiness; (b) Put equitable and cost-effective mechanisms to manage the country s strategic communication resources such as the frequency spectrum and Country Top Level Domain (CTLD (.ZM)) in order to allow for the development of modern, effective and efficient communication systems in the country; (c) Facilitate the development and deployment of a telecommunication infrastructure backbone with regional and international connectivity through Public-Private Partnerships to offer reliable, high capacity and nationwide service to data, voice and video service providers in the retail market; (d) Require all licensed service providers (telecommunications (voice, data, video), Internet Service Providers etc) operating a national/regional license to submit development/expansion/roll-out plans as part of the licensing framework; (e) Require the regulator to put in place market based guidelines for infrastructure sharing, network interconnection, tariff setting among other things as part of the licensing framework; (f) Develop clear policy guidelines for developing, sharing and 34

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