Setting the rules of the game: how regulation supports national development in Côte d’Ivoire

From the way your car is manufactured to the rate at which the water flows from your taps, regulation influences your day-to-day life in ways that you may not even realize.

At its core, regulation sets minimum standards that keep consumers safe, sets competition rules and attracts investment. And its impact on the way we use and interact with technology is no different.

“Good regulation lets us determine the rules of the game,” says Regina Fleur Assoumou-Bessou, Director for International Cooperation with the Regulatory Authority of Côte d’Ivoire (ARTCI).

And this is something that Regina is very familiar with.

Using her experience at ARTCI and as Chairperson of ITU-D Study Group 1 and Vice-Chairperson of the Telecommunication Development Advisory Group (TDAG), Regina supports the development of regulation that expands access and use of information and communication technology (ICT) in Côte d’Ivoire and around the world.

What is telecommunications regulation?

Côte d’Ivoire is a great example of this in action: thanks to strengthened telecommunications regulation in 2012, the number of people using the internet almost doubled from the previous year (2011) and has been growing steadily ever since, opening new opportunities and possibilities for its citizens.

2012: a big year for ICT regulation in Côte d’Ivoire

Today, Côte d’Ivoire stands out in the region with its well-developed telecommunications infrastructure, and the telecommunications sector represents roughly 10 per cent of the nation’s economy.

But this was not always the case.

The first regulatory provision within Côte d’Ivoire was the 1995 Act which opened the sector up to ICT competition, but “this Act had some limitations” Regina says.

In March 2012, the regulatory framework was revised and a new telecommunications code was adopted to strengthen provisions on consumer protection, the licensing system, competition issues, and cooperation issues.

“The mechanisms, working methods and ways of cooperating with other actors evolved,” Regina explains. “For example, we established a permanent framework for consumer input, so that consumers are treated better, so that we discuss things more, so that we listen to them more. This is somewhere that regulatory activities and changes in regulation have had a very direct impact.”

It also meant that the regulatory environment could adapt to technological changes, and led to the granting of 3G licences and enabling multi-play services in which landline, Internet and mobile are bundled together through the same connection.

The African Coast Europe-ACE undersea cable project – which went live in June 2021 – was also approved in 2012. It will extend broadband internet access and capacity in the country which will, in turn, play a big role in delivering digital transformation for education, healthcare, and other critical public services.

The importance of international cooperation

But this work was not done alone.

“Strengthening Côte d’Ivoire’s legislation has been based on the whole range of outcomes from activities within ITU but also activities at the regional level,” Regina says.

As Chairperson of ITU-D Study Group 1, she supports the development of internationally harmonized regulation.

“The work of ITU-D Study Groups culminates in reports and guidelines. These reports serve as a reference (for Member States) as they draft their policies, strategies and regulations,” she says.

Among other things, this work has specifically supported the strengthening of market dominance regulation and consumer protection in Côte d’Ivoire.

A call for female leaders in regulation

Regina’s impact goes beyond regulation – she is also the first African and first African female Chairperson of ITU-D Study Group 1 thanks to the support of her Administration.

“I think that this needs to continue so that we have far more women and female champions in this sector – it’s really thrilling!” Regina says.

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Côte d’Ivoire currently has Generation 4 (G4) level regulation which was facilitated by strengthening the regulatory framework in 2012, and is now working to implement Generation 5 (G5) regulation.

Generation 5 (G5) is reflected as the latest generation and is ‘seen as complementary to the previous generations’, highlighting the increased importance of more flexible and collaborative regulatory frameworks capable of addressing the broad impacts of the digital economy across sectors (ITU 2020). Learn more about ITU’s generation of regulation here.