TELECOMMUNICATIONS DISPUTE RESOLUTION DIRECTIVE WHEREAS it is imperative that disputes between Telecommunications Operators and between consumers and Telecommunications Operators are resolved in a manner that is fair, efficient, and cost effective; COGNIZANT of the necessity to formulate a legal framework that governs disputes which arise in the Telecommunications sector; RECOGNIZING the need to provide disputing parties the availability of alternative dispute resolution procedures such as mediation and settlement; NOW, THEREFORE, pursuant to Articles 6(2), 6(15), 37, 48 and 54(2) of the Proclamation, the Ethiopian Communications Authority hereby issues this Directive. PART ONE GENERAL 1. Short Title This Directive may be cited as the “Telecommunications Service Dispute Resolution Directive No. 796/2021.” 2. Definitions In this Directive, unless the context otherwise requires: 1) “Appeals Tribunal” means a Tribunal established under Article 39 of the Proclamation. 2) “Authority” shall mean the Ethiopian Communications Authority established under Article 3 of the Proclamation. 3) “Claimant” means a person who submits a claim before the Authority. 4) “Consumer” means any person who receives or has received Telecommunications Services from a Licensee by virtue of a service subscription agreement into which he enters or accepts the terms set forth by the Licensee. 5) “Complaint’’ or “Claim” means a formal written or electronically submitted statement of any allegation of the breach of the rights of a Claimant. 6) “Dispute” means an issue in contention between licensees, a consumer and a licensee, where one or both parties is aggrieved by the decision and/or conduct of the other, and the parties have failed to reach an amicable resolution after due effort has been made. 7) “License” means a License issued by the Authority. 8) “Licensee” means a person who has been issued a License by the Authority. 9) “Notification of Resolution” means a Licensee’s final decision for resolution of a Complaint, or rejection of a Complaint, which must be indicated in writing or by any other verifiable means. 10) “Person” means any natural or juridical person and any reference to the male gender shall apply equally to the female gender. 11) “Publish” means the posting of the Authority’s Decision on its website and/or other media as appropriate. 1