ITU Regional Standardization Forum for Africa
(Kampala, Uganda, 23-25 June 2014)
ICT STANDARDISATION CHALLENGES
IN UGANDA
Patrick Mwesigwa,
Director/Technology, Networks & Services
Uganda Communications Commission
Email: pmwesigwa@ucc.co.ug
PRESENTATION OUTLINE
Mandates of standardisation
bodies in Uganda
Standards enforcement measures
Challenges
Addressing the challenges
Conclusions and recommendations
Kampala, Uganda, 23 June 2014
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STANDARDISATION BODIES IN
UGANDA
Uganda National Bureau of Standards
(UNBS)– All standards
National Information Technology
Authority – Uganda (NITA-U) - IT
National Environment Management
Authority (NEMA)– Environment
Uganda Communications Commission
(UCC)– ICT standards
Kampala, Uganda, 23 June 2014
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Uganda National Bureau of Standards
(UNBS)
UNBS is responsible for overall
standardisation in Uganda
UNBS develops standards through
Technical committees – TC 6 on
electrotechnology standards is
responsible for ICT related standards
Standards development is need-based
Kampala, Uganda, 23 June 2014
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National Information Technology
Authority – Uganda (NITA-U)
NITA-U is mainly responsible for provision
of IT services for Government bodies
especially e-government services
Also mandated to IT standards.
Also responsible for
-
-
Management of the National Backbone
Infrastructure (NBI)
Cyber security in government operations
Kampala, Uganda, 23 June 2014
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National Environment Management
Authority (NEMA)
NEMA is responsible for all standards
related to environmental protection
Includes
-
E-waste management
Built environment (houses, masts etc)
Health and safety, impact of ICT services
on health e.g. electromagnetic radiation
Kampala, Uganda, 23 June 2014
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Uganda Communications Commission
(UCC)
UCC as regulator of Communications
sector is responsible for all standards
in the ICT sector
This includes standards for
-
Telecommunications
Broadcasting
Postal
Internet including cybersecurity
etc
Kampala, Uganda, 23 June 2014
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UCC AREAS OF STANDARDISATION
Quality of service
-
QoS regulations developed
Monitoring carried out regularly
Quality of equipment
-

Type approval regulations developed
Minimum specifications for digital
broadcasting equipment developed
Research and Development
Kampala, Uganda, 23 June 2014
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UCC AREAS OF STANDARDISATION
Number resources usage
-
Numbering regulations developed
Regulations on unsolicited messages
Tariffs/Interconnection
- Reference interconnection rate set
Infrastructure
-Infrastructure

sharing guidelines
Spectrum Management standards
Kampala, Uganda, 23 June 2014
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Standards enforcement measures
Cautioning
Fining
Name and shame
Confiscation of offending
equipment
Closure of offending stations
Kampala, Uganda, 23 June 2014
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CHALLENGES IN UGANDA
Coordination between different
standardisation bodies
-
-
The need to streamline all mandates
to eliminate overlaps
The need for stronger collaborations
The different levels of advancement in the
collaborating bodies
Kampala, Uganda, 23 June 2014
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CHALLENGES IN UGANDA
•
•
Inadequate capacity
Limited number of staff that are
knowledgeable about standardisation
Inadequate tools
Rather weak enforcement structures
Limited access to relevant updated
documents on standards
Rather many international Standards
Development Organisations (SDO) to
deal with
Kampala, Uganda, 23 June 2014
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CHALLENGES IN UGANDA
Inadequate resources
• Subscriptions to journals may be
expensive
Long and rather unclear process of
legalisation of standards
- In the case of local ICT standards,
process involves regulator, ministry,
parliament and judicial system.
Kampala, Uganda, 23 June 2014
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CHALLENGES IN UGANDA
-
-
At any of these stages, standards are
subject to watering down through
vested interests
In the case of standards for UNBS,
the process of registering them with
the international bodies is lengthy
and costly
Kampala, Uganda, 23 June 2014
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ADDRESSING THE CHALLENGES
The various standardisation bodies need
to develop a clear framework for working
together
Standardisation process should be given
due importance at highest level
Improve access to current information
 Increase funding for standardisation
activities
Kampala, Uganda, 23 June 2014
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ADDRESSING THE CHALLENGES
Streamline the process of national
ICT standardisation to remove
bottlenecks
Consider establishment of Regional
Standardisation Bodies such as EAC
to address regional requirements
Kampala, Uganda, 23 June 2014
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Conclusions and Recommendations
Most of the challenges can be
mitigated through stronger
collaboration, both at the
organisational level within the
country and at the regional level
ITU should encourage and support
standardisation efforts both at
regional and national level
Kampala, Uganda, 23 June 2014
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THANK YOU FOR YOUR
KIND ATTENTION!
pmwesigwa@ucc.co.ug
Kampala, Uganda, 23 June 2014
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