1. Background Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Agency (RURA) was established by the law no. 39.2001 of 13/09/2001 as an independent national institution to regulate certain public utilities including among others telecommunications networks and services with the mission to promote transparency, protect free competition and provide inclusive service, as well as protect users’ rights. In accordance with the Law No 44/2001 of 30/11/2001 governing Telecommunications, Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Agency has the mandate to regulate the telecommunications sector, to enhance and deploy services in compliance with the most advanced technology to meet user’s needs at the most suitable prices. In carrying out its mandate, the Regulatory Agency is required to have due regard to the preservation and protection of the environment, the conservation of natural resources and the health and safety of users. Thus one main objective of RURA is to enhance infrastructure sharing among telecom operators by putting in place a conducing environments for such sharing so as to avoid duplicate investments in essential infrastructure, such as optical fiber and duct installations. To this respect, RURA has developed these guidelines that will set out the procedures to be followed by operators and service providers in providing access to fiber and duct infrastructure. In line with Article 48 of Telecom Law stating that; “Agreements for the sharing of facilities must be negotiated directly between telecommunications network and utility operators. In the event that the terms enclosed with such agreements cannot be agreed on either party may request the Regulatory Board to determine these terms and in particular the compensation for the use of the infrastructure”. These guidelines have a dual focus in (1) pre-empting the failure of negotiated agreements, and (2) accelerating the conclusion of such agreements related to Dark Fiber and Duct Infrastructure sharing. These guidelines shall therefore be followed by licensed telecom operators during the negotiation of fiber and duct infrastructure sharing agreement. iii