MINISTRY OF WORKS, TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATION Justification. Licences are important instruments for attainment of national goals and for a controlled development of the industry. Implications. A comprehensive licensing system for operation of network and ser vices will add to the bureaucracy and workload of the regulator, but given the far reaching implications of a total liberalisation and considering the absence of supportive legislation for consumer protection, the justification for such a system is strong. The comprehensive licensing system should be of temporary nature and could be withdrawn once the market has matured and shown signs of self regulation. The licence requirement for publicly accessible telecommunications systems, i e national and international fixed or mobile networks and services, should remain in force as it is of national interest to be able to control and guide the development of the national telecommunications network. The rapid development in the telecommunications industry implies that licences should be limited in time and allow for timely adjustments as conditions change. 9. TIME FRAME A controlled liberalisation of the telecommunications industry implies that control instruments need to be at hand before the liberalisation process can commence. All of these instruments are not available at present and thus need to be developed. The main instruments which need to be in place are: • a new telecommunications Act • amendment of the Botswana Telecommunications Corporation Act of 1980 • new and revised telecommunications regulations issued by the Regulatory Authority • systems and procedures for handling of type approvals • systems and procedures for handling of licence applications • licence conditions for various types of telecommunication networks and services • parameters for assessment of interconnection arrangement and for prices and tariffs • systems and procedures for monitoring and supervision. 30 TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY FOR BOTSWANA