The Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRA) has called on owners of commercial as well as residential units to provide the customer the right to choose his service provider.
It has come to TRA’s notice that tenants of some establishments are forced to opt for a specific service provider as the owners of these places enter into agreements with one telecom company.
In a public announcement TRA said, “Some passive infrastructure owners/providers, like owners and developers of shopping malls and complexes, serving multiple tenants with the footprint [footfall] of public, enter into arrangements and agreements with a telecommunication service provider (selected by a tender or otherwise), that has the potential to prevent effective competition and deny choice of services to the tenants and or to the public.
“It is noticed that such agreements enshrine exclusivity or ownership of elements of passive infrastructure and to a selected service provider thus denying the opportunities for consumers to choose their preferable service providers.
“Providing telecom services to residents and visitors of commercial and residential complexes to fully satisfy their needs can only be achieved with the support of the private sector owning and managing the infrastructure of these buildings.
“This can be achieved through the adoption of open access policy for the civil infrastructure, to enable all licensees to build their ducts and install equipment for the provision of telecom services in a transparent and non-discriminatory manner, and to prevent dominance and exclusivity in the provision of telecom services in these buildings,” it said.
The authority further stated that all present and future property developers/owners of shopping malls and complexes and fenced communities should adhere to the provision of open access for all the elements of passive infrastructure in order that the users are not constrained to a pre-selected service provider for the ICT services. “TRA expects correction to any existing arrangements that is in violation of the principle of non-discrimination and exclusivity.”