NATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS AUTHORITY
PUBLIC CONSULTATION
ON THE
CLEARINGHOUSE LICENCE
OCTOBER 2014
Contents
SUMMARY OF CONSULTATIONS
3
CHAPTER 1
6
1.1
GENERAL INFORMATION
6
1.2
CLEARING HOUSE
6
1.3
MARKET OVERVIEW
9
CHAPTER 2
12
THE RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES FOR A CLEARINGHOUSE LICENSE IN GHANA
12
CHAPTER 3
16
3.1
ELIGIBILITY
16
3.2
THE SCOPE OF THE LICENCE
16
3.3
SELECTION PROCESS
17
3.4
STAGE ONE: PRE-QUALIFICATION (ADMINISTRATIVE)
17
3.5
STAGE TWO: TECHNICAL-OPERATIONAL-MANAGERIAL ASSESSMENT
18
3.6
DURATION OF LICENCE
18
3.7
LICENSING FEES
18
CHAPTER 4
19
4.1
CONTENT OF THE PROPOSAL
19
4.2
UPDATING
20
4.3
MODIFICATION
20
4.4
DISCLAIMER
20
4.5
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
20
ANNEX A- RESPONSE FORMAT
21
ANNEX B- STANDARDIZED APPLICATION GUIDELINES
23
ANNEX C- GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSION OF FEASIBILITY REPORT FOR CLEARINGHOUSE
IMPLEMENTATION IN GHANA
25
ANNEX D -IMPLEMENTATION TIMETABLE
35
Page 2 of 35
SUMMARY OF CONSULTATIONS
1. The NATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS AUTHORITY (NCA) intends to invite proposals
from eligible Entities registered under the Ghana Companies Act, 1963, Act 179 for the
grant of a licence to build and operate an Interconnect Clearing House in Ghana.
2. Accordingly, in pursuance of its mandate under Section 27 of the Electronic Communications
Act, 2008, Act 775 and Section 4.1 of the National Telecommunications Policy 2005
(NTP‟05), the Authority hereby invites views and comments from Licensed Communication
Service Providers, Consumers of communication services and the General Public on the
appropriateness and award process which can be accessed on the Authority’s website,
www.nca.org.gh.
3. The public consultation begins with immediate effect on 5th November, 2014 and expires on 19th
November, 2014.
4. All responses/comments should be electronically sent as e-mail attachments, in Microsoft
word format to ichlconsultation@nca.org.gh
5. All respondents are requested to complete a response cover sheet (Annex A). The cover sheet
can be also downloaded on the Authority’s website, www.nca.org.gh.
6. In furtherance of transparency and openness, the Authority shall consider all responses as nonconfidential; accordingly all submissions shall be published on our website on receipt.
7. The Authority hereby invites comments and views on the Eligibility Criteria, Scope and
Conditions of the Licence, and Selection Process outlined in this document. Highlights of
the modalities are presented below.
Eligibility
An applicant shall be incorporated in Ghana, and duly certified to operate in Ghana.
There shall be a minimum of 70% Ghanaian ownership in the applying Entity; be it a company, a
joint venture or a consortium. The said Ghanaian ownership shall be maintained throughout the
duration of the licence.
An Entity shall be eligible for only the Clearing House Licence in Ghana; no Entity alone or along
with its partner, affiliate, subsidiary or shareholder with a stake in any other licence in Ghana, can
apply for this licence.
Page 3 of 35
One entity shall be licensed to build and operate an Interconnect Clearing House in Ghana.
Scope and Conditions of Licence
The Licensee shall establish and operate the common platform for routing and monitoring traffic
across all Service Providers in accordance with Section 7 of the Communications Service Tax
(Amendment) Act, 2013, Act 864.
The Clearinghouse Operations license shall be a stand-alone license and shall be maintained
independently from other licences.
The Clearinghouse operator shall provide the following services:
1. Monitoring of volumes of all traffic for Service Providers.
2. Routing or switching of traffic between Service Providers.
3. Routing or switching international traffic between International Carriers and International
Gateway Operators.
4. Routing of Short Messaging Service (SMS), Voice Message Service (VMS) or any other
Value added services or applications
5. Interconnection with any other switches related to telecommunications service
6. Provide the capability to host local and international Over-The-Top (OTT) service providers
7. Provision of International Mobile Subscriber Identity services
8. Provision of Equipment Identity Registry services
9. Provision of anti-fraud management and revenue assurance systems
10. Provide a common infrastructure for Government Agencies to host ICT Systems and
Applications and to store confidential data securely
11. Connection to Number Portability services as and when required.
12. Connection to Bank switch and Internet Exchange Points as and when required.
13. Accounting for Revenues to Government under Act 864 and Act 786 and to provide technical
support to enforce all telecommunications revenue tax compliance.
14. Provide data packet measurement and differentiation tools for Quality of Service and Price
Regulatory compliance.
Selection Procedure
The NCA shall review applications based on its merit to select prospective applicants for the award
Page 4 of 35
of the Clearing House Licence.
This procedure shall require that successful applicants meet and satisfy a Two Stage process:
Stage One: Pre-Qualification (Administrative)
Stage Two: Evaluation of Technical-Operational-Management Competence
Duration
The Licence shall be for a maximum term of ten years, renewable for a further period of five
years.
Fees
1. There shall be a non-refundable application fee of One Hundred and Fifty Thousand
Ghana cedis.
2. A Licence fee of Four Million Ghana cedis shall be chargeable for the ten (10) year
Licence term.
Next Steps
Subsequent to the completion of the Public Consultation and taking into account comments received
from Stakeholders, the Authority shall publish the final modalities and the Clearing House Licence
documents, invite applications and review the applications submitted by the prospective applicants.
Page 5 of 35
CHAPTER 1
1.1
GENERAL INFORMATION
The NATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS AUTHORITY (NCA) is empowered under Section 3(c) of
the NCA Act, Act 769 of 2008 (''The Act") to issue Licences for the operation and provision of
communication services and to determine the eligibility criteria of applicants for the said licences.
Pursuant to Section 7 of Communications Service Tax (Amendment) Act, 2013, Act 864, the NCA
intends to issue a Licence to a Ghanaian company to provide Clearing House services in Ghana.
This Licence, in accordance with the National Telecom Policy (NTP’05), shall provide for such related
obligations as competitive neutrality, non-discrimination and transparency. Presently, the principal
enactments and the policy documents governing the communications industry in Ghana are the
following:

The Ghana ICT for Accelerated Development (ICT4AD) Policy, 2003

The National Telecommunications Policy (NTP), 2005

The National Communications Authority Act, 2008, Act 769

The Electronic Communications Act, 2008, Act 775

The Electronic Communications (Amendment) Act 2009, Act 786

National Electronic Communications Regulations, L.I.1991, 2011
This document should be read in conjunction with the above mentioned statutes and other applicable
statutory laws including rules, regulations, decrees, orders, decisions, guidelines, directives and
documents of general application issued by the Government of Ghana or the Authority.
1.2
CLEARING HOUSE
A Clearinghouse Operator is an entity that provides a common, independent mechanism
(Interconnect Clearing House) for the billing and settlement of interconnect accounting traffic
for all the existing and future Operators in a particular country or region.
Interconnection is the linking of the networks of two or more service providers, thus enabling
the subscribers on one network to access the subscribers of the other networks. In a multi-
Page 6 of 35
operator environment such as Ghana, seamless interconnection has been one of the contributory
factors to the growth of the industry.
The Interconnect Clearing house takes over all the functions relating to the preparation of billing
information and reconciliation reports and the reconciliation process itself. The Interconnect
Clearing House has access to information from all the Operators involved in a particular call
and, therefore, discrepancies are more easily identified and resolved.
Operators who are owed money receive pre-reconciled billing statements that are to generate a
formal invoice. Operators who owe money receive a pre-reconciled verification statement
confirming that the amount due has been checked against the Operator’s own data.
In order to ensure that this service is non-discriminatory, the Interconnect Clearing House must
be independent and must carry the confidence of both the Regulator and the Operators. For the
national Clearing House to be fully effective, it should be mandatory for all Service Providers
to connect through the Clearing House.
The Interconnect Clearing House will need to be accountable to a body that includes the
appropriate Government Ministry, the Regulator, the Operators and the organisation running the
Interconnect Clearing House. This body will need legal and technical support and is likely to
determine not only how the Interconnect Clearing House operates but how the interconnect
regime itself is implemented.
Page 7 of 35
The relationships between the Government, Regulator, Operators and the Clearing House organisation
are shown in Figure 1 below:
Figure 1: Relationship between Stakeholders of Clearing House Operations
The Clearing House operates with two main components; the Interconnect Exchange and the Financial
Clearing House as illustrated in Figure 2 below:
Figure 2: Interconnect Clearinghouse model
Page 8 of 35
1.3
MARKET OVERVIEW
The existing interconnection scheme adopted by Mobile Network Operators in Ghana is the
peer-to-peer. Each service provider has directly connected some of its switching centres to the
switching centres of other service providers within the same geographic location.
Under the current peer-to-peer interconnect scheme, the number of independent links required
to connect each operator (without redundancies on the links) is N = n(n-1)/2. For a city (such as
Accra) with 6 operators this gives a total of 15 links. In reality however, there are 32 links
between Operators in Accra due to multiple switch locations of some Operators as in Figure 3
below:
MTN Sakaman
MTN Tetteh Quarshie
Vodafone Accra North
Vodafone Cantonments
Tigo Barnes Road
Expresso Abelemkpe
Airtel Spintex Road
GLO
Airtel North Ridge
Figure 3: Illustration of the peer-to-peer interconnection links of Operators in Accra
Page 9 of 35
The resulting topology of a meshed spaghetti network is as shown in Figure 4. The existing peerto-peer is complex to manage, expensive to implement by new entrants, and prone to link failure
as it has caused major network outages over the last years.
The challenges of peer-to-peer interconnect scheme cut across the technical, financial, and
regulatory processes that must be put in place to ensure efficient operation.
1.4 CHALLENGES
1.4.1 Inefficient interconnect scheme:
The peer-to-peer interconnect scheme has led to complexity in the network architecture, resulting
in inefficient routing of calls across networks. When the direct links between operators are broken
or disrupted, the process of rerouting calls through alternative paths becomes complex since
alternative routes may not be able to carry all the traffic of the affected route.
1.4.2 Insufficient interconnection capacity:
Some Operators have had difficulties expanding their interconnect routes to other networks. This
leads to severe congestion on those routes and networks and affects the quality of service of the
calls made on such networks.
1.4.3 Interoperability of multiple equipment types:
Service providers currently utilize several access technologies. Ghana has five Network
Operators using GSM technology, one Operator using CDMA technology and a fixed telephony
Operator using cable access. The interconnect equipment of these operators must be able to talk
to each other for seamless interconnection of the calls to take place. However, compatibility and
interoperability of especially these transmission interconnection equipment especially
connecting equipment of different manufacturers is a known global challenge. Also, it is
currently a major problem for some operators to properly interface their network with that of
other operators utilizing a different access technology. Even though all Mobile Network
Operators can send multimedia messages (MMS) on their networks, there is no exchange of
multimedia messages among those Network operators in Ghana. There has been stand-off
Page 10 of 35
among operators where one wants to interconnect on E1 level whilst the other wants to
interconnect on STM-1 level. This leads to situations where there are delays in expansion which
affected the quality of calls to those networks. As the number of links required increases under
the peer-to-peer scheme, so does the problem of interoperability of equipment types.
1.4.4 Inability to reconcile call detail records:
Some Operators are currently burdened with high interconnect debt rates. The debts are being
disputed because the calls were exchanged under a peer-to-peer interconnect scheme and there
is no third party Call Detail Records (CDR) to be used for proper reconciliation. In addition, the
same Operators do not have the financial resources to deploy a robust inter-carrier billing
platform that is necessary for accurate interconnect reconciliation.
1.4.5 Anti-competition Practices:
Under the peer-to-peer interconnect scheme, anti-competition tendencies by operators are
rampant. New operations or new expansions are delayed for as long as one of them may
deliberately choose. Due to international transit route among Operators, there have been cases
where international calls routed through the local routes are presented as local calls.
Page 11 of 35
CHAPTER 2
THE RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES FOR A CLEARINGHOUSE LICENSE IN GHANA
The rationale for introducing the Clearing House Licence is to address the challenges faced with the
existing interconnection scheme and take advantage of the opportunities of a centralised national
platform in addressing other industry challenges such as lack of technical redress to the issues of stolen
phones, uncertain subscriber identity, and to facilitate connectivity with other platforms.
The Clearinghouse will tend to interconnect Service Providers as in Figure 4 below:
MTN Sakaman
MTN Tetteh Quarshie
Vodafone Accra North
Vodafone Cantonments
Clearinghouse Accra
Location 1
Clearinghouse Accra
Location 2
Airtel North Ridge
Expresso Abelemkpe
Airtel Spintex Road
GLO MOBILE
BWA OPERATORS
INTERNATIONAL
WHOLESALE CARRIERS
Airtel North Ridge
3RD PARTY SERVICE
PROVIDERS:
VALUE ADDED
SERVICES(VAS)
Figure 4: Example of Clearing House model with redundancies for Operators
Page 12 of 35
Some of the advantages of handling interconnection through a Clearing House operator are as follows:
Optimization of number of Interconnect links:
The Clearing House regime will simplify and drastically reduce the number of interconnects
among Service Providers. The present requirement of interconnect link in any Point of
Interconnection (POI) Area is N x (N-1), where N is the number of operators to be
interconnected. As an example, in a city with 10 different operators, the number of interconnect
links required to connect all the operators is 90. After introduction of Clearing House, it will
drop down to N, i.e. equal to the number of operators. This saves operators operational funds
for other infrastructure investments. Some savings would be made on the cost of monitoring,
maintaining, and upgrading the interconnect links when calls are routed through the Clearing
House. This will also release some microwave frequencies.
Simplicity in Digit analysis/ Route selection:
The Clearing House will take over the load of digit analysis for all Inter-operator calls and Intercircle calls from the exchanges connected to it. This leads to faster switching of calls and
guarantees higher levels of quality of service.
Simplicity of operation:
The Exchanges of service operators will be responsible for analyzing and routing calls within
their network only. This will simplify their operational and coordination challenges.
Simple, cost-effective and reliable POIs:
The Clearing House operator will be in a position to collate the requirements of all operators
and plan out augmentation of POI capacities in a time bound and cost-effective manner.
Efficient handling of new and traditional interconnects:
The Clearing House is better placed to handle different types of protocol conversion hardware
and software installed at their end to handle interconnections with different traditional operators
as IP-based Services evolve in a much more cost-effective, efficient and adaptable manner.
Page 13 of 35
Better utilization of Interconnect links:
As the peak traffic period of different services is not identical, a Clearing House can help in
more efficient usage of the Point of Interconnects.
Billing and Mediation services:
Some Service Providers may not have the financial resources to deploy robust inter-carrier
billing systems. They may also lack the skill set to handle the complex call detail records (CDR)
reconciliation process. The Clearing House with the deployment of settlement platforms on its
network is better suited to handle interconnect reconciliation for the industry in a transparent
and unbiased manner. Without the existence of an interconnect Clearinghouse, operators end up
disputing interconnect charges and settlement of interconnect invoices is unduly delayed
Developing Third Party Mobile Value Added Services:
Introducing Interconnect clearinghouse would improve the third party value added service
provision, mobile aggregation services as well as reduce the issue of non-transparent revenue
share agreements which exist between content providers and mobile network operators. Content
providers would have a single point of connection to the other Service Providers for service
delivery. It would positively impact the issuance and allocation of short numbers and other
special numbering resources which is undergoing development.
Prevention of Capital Flight and Revenue Loss to Government:
Clearing House will help prevent capital flight and loss of revenue to the government by
localizing required value added services which are currently being provided to local operators
by interconnect exchanges outside the country.
Local Content:
Clearing House helps build local content and encourage innovation. Local originated/generated
content by ASP (Application service provider) can now be offered directly to subscribers or in
partnership with service providers.
Page 14 of 35
Common Platform in accordance with Act 864:
The Clearinghouse will take over the operations of the existing monitoring platforms under
Act 864 as a common platform will be available for purposes of the CST and other related
taxes and for connection to other similar switches such as the Bank switch for digital financial
service transactions.
Upon full implementation, the interconnect clearinghouse operator would offer the following
summarized benefits to the industry among others:

Increase operating traffic with reduced downtime.

Efficient Billings, Payment/Settlement process with verifiable call detail record.

Reliable, efficient and scalable network.

Reducing legal disputes amongst Service Providers, thereby minimizing cases requiring
mediation by the Regulator.

Cheaper service delivery to subscribers as gains by Service in the cost of doing business
are passed on to the subscribers in the form of lower tariffs.

Full interoperability of various technologies and classes of service by various Service
Providers.

Operate the common platform for monitoring traffic volumes in Ghana.

Operate the Centralised Subscriber Identity Registry

Operate the Centralised Equipment Identity Registry

Provide a common infrastructure for Government Agencies to host ICT Systems and
Applications and to store confidential data securely
Page 15 of 35
CHAPTER 3
3.1
ELIGIBILITY
1. All applicants shall be incorporated in Ghana, and duly certified to operate in Ghana.
2. There shall be a minimum of 70% Ghanaian ownership in the applying Entity; be it a
company, a joint venture or a consortium. The said Ghanaian ownership shall be maintained
throughout the duration of the licence.
3. An Entity shall be eligible for only the Clearing House Licence in Ghana; no Entity alone
or along with its partner, affiliate, subsidiary or shareholder with a stake in any other
licence in Ghana, can apply for this licence.
4. One entity shall be licensed to build and operate an Interconnect Clearing House in Ghana.
3.2
THE SCOPE OF THE LICENCE
The Licensee shall establish and operate the common platform for routing and monitoring traffic
across all Service Providers in accordance with Section 7 of Communications Service Tax
(Amendment) Act, Act 864.
The Clearinghouse Operations shall be a stand-alone license and shall be maintained independently
from other licences.
The Clearinghouse operator shall provide the following services:
1. Monitoring of volumes of all traffic for Service Providers.
2. Routing or switching of traffic between Service Providers.
3. Routing or switching international traffic between International Carriers and International
Gateway Operators.
4. Routing of Short Messaging Service (SMS), Voice Message Service (VMS) or any other
Value added services or applications
5. Interconnection with any other switches related to telecommunications service
6. Provide the capability to host local and international Over-The-Top (OTT) service
providers
Page 16 of 35
7. Provision of International Mobile Subscriber Identity services
8. Provision of Equipment Identity Registry services
9. Provision of anti-fraud management and revenue assurance systems
10. Provide a common infrastructure for Government Agencies to host ICT Systems and
Applications and to store confidential data securely
11. Connection to Number Portability services as and when required.
12. Connection to Bank switch and Internet Exchange Points as and when required.
13. Accounting for Revenues to Government under Act 864 and Act 786 and to provide
technical support to enforce all telecommunications revenue tax compliance
14. Provide data packet measurement and differentiation tools for Quality of Service and Price
Regulatory compliance.
3.3
SELECTION PROCESS
An application shall be based on its own merit.This procedure requires that the successful
applicant meets and satisfies a Two Stage process:
Stage One: Pre-Qualification (Administrative)
Stage Two: Evaluation of Technical-Operational-Management Competence


3.4
Evaluation of Strategic, Operational & Technical Submissions
Evaluation of Business Presentations
STAGE ONE: PRE-QUALIFICATION (ADMINISTRATIVE)
3.4.1 All applicants must be fully compliant with the requirements stated in Standardized Application
Guidelines [See ANNEX B] and the Guidelines for Submission of Feasibility Report for
Clearinghouse implementation in Ghana (See ANNEX C). There shall be no consideration for
failing to satisfy these requirements.
3.4.2 Proof of Payment of Application Fee.
3.4.3 Compliance with requirements and criteria set forth in Chapter 4.
3.4.4 Subsequent to meeting the said requirements, successful applicants shall be invited to participate
in the Stage–Two exercise; that is the Technical-Operational-Managerial Assessment.
Page 17 of 35
3.5
STAGE TWO: TECHNICAL-OPERATIONAL-MANAGERIAL ASSESSMENT
3.5.1 This segment is open to only successful Stage One applicants. It is composed of two parts:
i.
Evaluation of the Strategic, Operational and Technical Submission
ii.
Evaluation of the applicant’s Business Plan Presentation. The said presentation may
take place in a public arena, or open to the public.
3.5.2 Business Plan Applications of successful Stage-One applicants shall be evaluated by the
Authority.
3.5.3 After the evaluation of these applications, applicants shall be required to present their
Business Plan in a Public Forum. The said presentation shall also be scored. The cumulative
score of the Evaluation and Presentation shall constitute the Technical Evaluation
Assessment of the applicant.
3.6
DURATION OF LICENCE
The Licence shall be for a maximum term of ten years, renewable for a further term of five years.
3.7
LICENSING FEES
3.7.1. There shall be a non-refundable application fee of One Hundred and Fifty Thousand Ghana
cedis.
3.7.2. A Licence fee of Four Million Ghana cedis for the ten year Licence term.
Page 18 of 35
CHAPTER 4
4.1
CONTENT OF THE PROPOSAL
The proposal for a Clearing House Licence shall contain the following:
4.1.1 Receipt: Evidence of payment of the application Fee of One Hundred and Fifty
Thousand Cedis;
4.1.2 Application Letter: An application letter which sets forth the applicant’s intention to
apply for this Authorization;
4.1.3 Certificates: Certificates issued by the relevant governmental authorities in Ghana. The
above notwithstanding, all applicants shall submit certified true copies of their Certificate of
Incorporation, Certificate to Commence Business and Company Regulations obtained from
the Registrar General of the Republic of Ghana;
4.1.4 Power of Attorney: Each Applicant shall designate a representative for purposes of
Sections 4.1.2 and 4.1.6 pursuant to a Power of Attorney issued in accordance with the laws
of its jurisdiction of incorporation;
4.1.5 Sworn Declaration: A Sworn Declaration of the Applicant signed by its duly authorized
representative, with the following information:
i.
Identification of all the shareholders of the Applicants that control more than 5% of its
capital and of the entities that directly or indirectly are the beneficial shareholders
thereof. The beneficial shareholders of the Applicant shall mean those who directly or
indirectly own the majority of the shares or the voting rights or who otherwise control
such Applicant;
ii.
Statement that all the information and documentation submitted in connection with the
application is true, accurate and complete;
iii.
Statement that the Applicant has not been the subject of any bankruptcy
proceedings, reorganizations, or similar proceedings in the last 5 years;
iv.
Statement that, since the date of the Applicant’s last audited reports and financial
statements submitted pursuant to Section 4.1.6, there has not been any material adverse
changes thereto.
4.1.6
Audited Reports and Financial Statements
The audited reports and financial statements corresponding to the last three fiscal years of the
Applicant and/or (if applicable) the consolidated group to which the Applicant belongs.
19
4.2
UPDATING
Each Applicant shall maintain current, the facts and information supplied in the Proposal, and
shall communicate to the NCA all material changes that arise with regards thereto.
4.3
MODIFICATION
This Selection Procedure does not constitute an offer to contract on the part of the NCA and
NCA has the right to modify or amend any provision or condition hereof; provided however, that
any such modification or amendment shall be valid only if it is in writing.
4.4
DISCLAIMER
The NCA shall not incur any liability whatsoever in exercising its rights in 4.3 above or any
other rights granted in this Process.
4.5
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The NCA reserves the right to request, at any time, additional information or documentation
from Applicants.
20
ANNEX A- RESPONSE FORMAT
COVER SHEET FOR RESPONSE TO NCA PUBLIC CONSULTATION ON THE
INTRODUCTION OF CLEARING HOUSE LICENCE
BASIC DETAILS
Name of Respondent:
Representing (self or organisation/s):
Address:
DECLARATION
I confirm that the correspondence supplied with this coversheet is a formal consultation response. It
can be published in full on NCA’s website, and I authorize NCA to make use of the information in
this response to meet its legal requirements. If I have sent my response by email, NCA can disregard
any standard e-mail text about not disclosing email contents and attachments.
Name:
Signed (if hardcopy)
21
Format for Commenting on Document
Chapter Number
Section Number
Heading
Comment
Suggestion/ Proposed
Amendments
22
ANNEX B- STANDARDIZED APPLICATION GUIDELINES
General Information
1. Applicant
a. Name
b. Title
c. Citizenship
d. Address
e. Contact numbers
2. Management
a. Name
b. Title
c. Citizenship
d. Address
e. Contact numbers
3. Directors
a. Name
b. Address
c. Contact numbers
d. Citizenship
e. Shareholding %
f. Other Telecommunication Interests
i.
Name of Company
ii.
Address
iii.
Contact Numbers
iv.
Shareholding %
v.
Authorization/Authorization Status
vi.
Credit/Default Status
4. Shareholders (with at least 5% holding)
a. Name
23
b. Address
c. Contact numbers
d. Shareholding %
e. Other Telecommunication Interests
i.
Name of Company
ii.
Address
iii.
Contact Numbers
iv.
Shareholding %
v.
Authorization/Authorization Status
vi.
Credit/Default Status
a. Name of Entity/ Company/Partnership/Trust/Consortium etc., please define
b. Certificate of Incorporation in Ghana (Company Registration Number & Date of
Registration)
c. Certificate to Commence Business in Ghana; Number & Date
5.
Applicants must exhibit evidence of parties with which they have entered into any
agreements, arrangements or understandings which relate in any way to the Authorization
being allocated.
6.
Defaults & Delinquencies
Information required of all applicants regarding defaults and delinquencies. Each applicant
must submit information on whether the applicant, its affiliates, its controlling interests, and
the affiliates of its controlling interests are in default of any NCA licenses and/or are
delinquent on any non-tax debt owed to any National agency.
7.
Miscellaneous Information
Applicants wishing to submit a statement of verifiable reasons sufficient to justify, and or
enhance their chances may do so if they so wish.
24
ANNEX C- GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSION OF FEASIBILITY REPORT FOR
CLEARINGHOUSE IMPLEMENTATION IN GHANA
1. COMPANY PROFILE
a) Evidence of Incorporation (in Ghana)
b) Certificate to Commence Business (in Ghana)
c) Shareholders/Company Regulations
i.
There shall be a minimum of 70% Ghanaian ownership in the applying Entity; be it a
company, a joint venture or consortium. The said Ghanaian ownership shall be
maintained throughout the duration of the Licence.
ii.
A Licensed Operator in Ghana or its shareholder shall not be eligible to own a stake in
the Clearinghouse Operator or vice versa.
d) Relevant Experience/Evidence of Ability to perform including agreements drawn up with any
principals.
e) Evidence of Tax payment/Tax Clearance Certificate
f) SSNIT Contribution of Workers
g) List of Affiliate Companies
2. PROJECT STUDY
a) Engineering design system
(i) Scope of Work
The Licensee shall establish and operate the common platform for routing and monitoring traffic
across all Service Providers in accordance with Section 7 of the Communications Service Tax
(Amendment) Act 2013, Act 864.
The Clearinghouse Operations shall be a stand-alone licence which shall be maintained
independently from other licences.
The Clearinghouse operator shall provide the following services:

Monitoring of volumes of all traffic for Service Providers.

Routing or switching of traffic between Service Providers.

Routing or switching international traffic between International Carriers and
International Gateway Operators.

Routing of Short Messaging Service (SMS), Voice Message Service (VMS) or any other
Value added services or applications
25

Interconnection with any other switches related to telecommunications service

Provide the capability to host local and international Over-The-Top (OTT) service
providers

Provision of International Mobile Subscriber Identity services

Provision of Equipment Identity Registry services

Provision of anti-fraud management and revenue assurance systems

Provide a common infrastructure for Government Agencies to host ICT Systems and
Applications and to store confidential data securely

Connection to Number Portability services as and when required.

Connection to Bank switch and Internet Exchange Points as and when required.

Accounting for Revenues to Government under Act 864 and Act 786 and to provide
technical support to enforce all telecommunications revenue tax compliance

Provide data packet measurement and differentiation tools for Quality of Service and
Price Regulatory compliance.
(ii) Functional Requirements of Clearinghouse Systems
The Scope of System Architecture shall compose (but not limited to) the following:

Support the function of managing interconnect partner information

Support interconnection settlement in the telecom service scenario such as voice, IDD
service.

Be able to handle national interconnect settlement scenarios mentioned but not limited to:
 Local direct
 Local transit
 Direct toll connection (Local Access)
 Direct Toll Connection (Remote Access)
 Toll Transit (Transit at the Called End)

Support least cost routing for all possible scenarios

Be able to handle roaming processes like TD57 (TAP 3.9, TAP 3.10, TAP 3.11, TAP
3.12), TD 32 (RAP 1.4, RAP 1.5), TD35 (NRTRDE 2.1), HUR(FF.04 Version 2.1) and
upgradable to handle new roaming processes.

Support the function of managing interconnect tariffs defined according to service
scenarios

Support mapping to carriers and country or region information

Support the function of managing trunks which include the partner information
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
Support the transits for Service Providers

Provide report for all traffic volumes and settlement

Support reconciliation between Service Providers by Graphic User Interface (GUI).

Be able to do the following actions through GUI mentioned below but not limited to:
 Partner agreement
 Settlement tariff
 Reference data
 Monitor parameters
 Process schedule
 Flexible rule-based engine

Support multi-layered data reconciliation.

Support cloud based architecture

Support Subscriber Identification and Clearance Registry for all subscribers in Ghana.

Support Equipment Identity Registry for user equipment for use in Ghana.

Support connection to Number Portability Services

Support connection to National Bank switch

Support connection to Internet Exchange Point
(iii) Clearinghouse System Features
The System shall fit in with all telecom models, such as Mobile, Fixed, International Gateway,
International Carrier, Value Added Services, and Application Providers among others.
The System should be built on an integrated platform, to configure and expand the settlement
dimensions to suit the future requirements or new settlement dimensions. The System should be
flexible for localization and customization.
The System should provide function of all flow audits that decrease missing xDRs furthest. It
should also provide smart reconciliation tools to address accounting inconsistency.
The System design should be based on the hierarchical and platform design ideas and the
modular design mind trace, which aims to build a flexibly expansible service operation &
support system.
The System should ensure correctness and completeness of data, prevent loss of data during
transmission, adopt multi-check mechanism in the module, provide the full-process monitoring
function, and ensure correctness of system processing in terms of xDR quantity and various
expenses, in order to control normal operation of the whole system process.
The System should be based on advanced technologies in terms of design ideas and
implementation mode. It should adopt the technologies and products which are currently
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advanced, mature and reliable, and able to meet the existing requirements, grasp the trend of
development, and support the accomplishment of the advanced operation conceptions.
The System should support operation in mainstream UNIX and Linux such as IBM UNIX, HP
UNIX, and Suse Linux.
The System should support operation in Oracle Database.
The System should be compliant to the Advanced Telecom Computing Architecture (Advanced
TCA).
The System should have an availability of 99.999%.
The System shall provide system/application fallback and recovery options and methodology.
(iv) Requirements for Anti-fraud Management Systems
The Licensee shall provide and describe certified telecom fraud detection methodologies.
1
Fraud testing and detection method
1.1
Be able to originate test calls from probes worldwide
1.2
Terminate calls on a local unit located in Ghana
1.3
Be able to use call attempts and/or effective calls
1.4
There should be a full time synchronization between sending and receiving probe.
1.5
Be able to analyse calls on gateway in the path. Describe your methodology
1.6
Be able to detect both off-net and on-net Gateways
1.7
Be able to detect all types of international forms of bypass and refilling.
1.8
Be able to send the results of the tests at least every 5 minutes via (S)FTP or email
1.9
Be able to execute and process tests automatically for 24/7 reporting
1.13
Be able to distribute calls in the most effective way, maximising on effected routes.
1.14
Implement measures to prevent illegal bypass. Describe how these preventive
measures are implemented.
1.15
Should prevent false positives in the detection methodologies. The Applicant shall
describe how this is avoided.
1.17
All data shall be stored online at least 3 months before archiving.
2
Reporting and service
2.1
Monthly aggregated report containing all results should be provided
2.2
Daily list of MSISDN found should be provided
2.3
Hourly list of MSISDN found should be provided
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2.4
Real-time list of MSISDN found (at least every 5 minutes) should be provided
2.5
Daily, Hourly and Weekly automatic e-mail reports containing charts & tables
2.6
Access to a dedicated online reporting
2.8
Provide a sample of your aggregated reporting
2.9
Provide a sample of your list of MSISDN found
2.10
Provide a sample of your automated e-mail reports
2.11
Provide a sample of your online reporting
3
Equipment & setup
3.1
Local Units needs to be foreseen
3.2
Explain the availability and redundancy of the probes, including information on the
monitoring, maintenance and help desk support.
3.3
Explain the availability and redundancy of the central platform, including information
on the monitoring, maintenance and help desk support.
3.4
The Applicant shall provide an implementation plan.
4
Coverage
4.1
Have at least 800 routes available for originating tests
4.2
Have at least 200 mobile operators from which calls can be originated
4.3
Have at least 100 fixed operators from which calls can be originated
4.4
Have at least 50 VoIP operators from which calls can be originated
4.5
Have at least 300 carrier routes from which calls can be originated
4.6
Have at least 200 international calling cards from which calls can be originated
4.7
Reporting should contain an overview of the routes tested and at least the % of illegal
bypass detected on each route
4.8
Provide a coverage list
5
Location Detection Services
5.1
Provide location of illegal bypass operators. Describe the methodology and accuracy
for location detection.
5.2
Provide sample of evidence gathering intended for arrest and prosecution.
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b) Technical Implementation Plan
Number of interconnect points and core switches:
The Clearinghouse Licensee shall deploy at least two core switches in each point of
interconnection. The core switches should support at least 10 years life. Licensed telecom
operators shall connect to all available interconnect points for full redundancy.
The Clearinghouse Licensee shall deploy switches in the cities of Accra and Kumasi before its
operation, and create interconnect points in other regions in Ghana within 12 months post license
acquisition subject to the availability of interconnect switches in those cities by the telecom
operators.
Mandatory requirement for connection to the interconnect clearinghouse:
All operational licensed operators shall connect to the Clearinghouse within a two month period
from when the interconnect clearinghouse network is deployed.
Passage of traffic through the interconnect clearinghouse:
All operational licensed operators shall migrate all their interconnect traffic to the interconnect
clearinghouse within a period of 3 months from the commercial launch of the interconnect
clearinghouse.
This is to ensure full utilization of the Interconnect Clearinghouse and completely eliminate
issues relating to interconnect disputes amongst operators.
The traffic is to be migrated in the following percentages:
Month1 - 30%
Month2 - 60%
Month3 - 100%
An operator may choose to migrate its entire interconnect traffic to the interconnect
clearinghouse at a faster rate if it wishes.
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Type of traffic to be exchanged:
The Interconnect Clearinghouse must be able to handle voice, SMS, and MMS traffic from the
operators. It must have provision for both IP based traffic as well as TDM based traffic. This
will ensure full interoperability of all networks and operator types in the country.
The source of traffic will be both local traffic generated in-country, and international traffic from
outside the country to be terminated on networks.
Mode of Interconnection:
Operators shall interconnect to the exchange points using both wired links (fiber optics
transmission links, copper links) and wireless links (micro wave radio links, WiMAX, etc.).
Infrastructure required:
At every point of interconnect, the Clearinghouse will consist of an interconnect tandem switch
capable of both IP and TDM protocols, an inter-carrier billing and mediation platform, and an
invoicing and settlement platform.
The Clearinghouse would ensure that the network switching capacity is sufficient to handle the
estimated volume of traffic to be passed to ensure a high quality of service is maintained at all
time. Link capacity must be increased once the link utilization gets to 80% of available capacity
Timeline for deployment and implementation of licence:
Post license award, the Clearinghouse shall implement the following deployment timeline:
POI design, construction, and setup – 3 months
Establishment of interconnect with operational telecom licensees – 2 months
Commercial launch of service – 6 months from license award.
Infrastructure Sharing:
The Clearinghouse must have capacity for infrastructure sharing including towers, meet-merooms, fiber and microwave transmission infrastructure, and sufficient power backup
infrastructure to ensure 24/7 uninterrupted services.
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3. MARKET PLAN
a) Business Idea and Choice of Technology
b) Market Analysis
c) Network Deployment and Services to be offered
d) Roll-out Plan and Coverage Area
e) Market: This is to include Market Goals, Target Groups etc.
4. BUSINESS PLAN
a) Organisational Structure (including educational and technical background as well as
experience of key personnel)
Experience and Expertise:
The Licensee shall have proven expertise in network operations and anti-fraud management for
at least 10 years.
Names of at least 5 references of current customers and scope of work.
Key Personnel Required:
The key personnel for this assignment will have at least relevant University degrees at the
Bachelors level. The Project Manager must have at least ten (10) years’ experience in telecom
network operations and management. Such experiences must also include at least 5 years’
experience in Project Management of telecom networks and services. The other key personnel
shall be:
Team Leader.
The Team Leader must have a Master’s degree in a related engineering field and have skills and
experience in telecommunications sector, with at least 10 years of international/developing
country experience in core and transmission network operations and maintenance, and an
understanding with hands-on experience of the Ghanaian communications environment.
Telecommunications Engineers.
Must have experiences and skills in the telecommunications sector, with relevant experience in
telecom network operations, traffic handling and billing.
Subject Matter Experts (SMEs).
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The team must include subject matter experts (SMEs) who must be specialists in the respective
fields of Telecom Traffic agreements, Billing, Traffic Reconciliation and Settlement, Anti-fraud
Management among others in accordance with the scope of work.
b) Mission Statement
c) Capital Investment:
This should include –
i. Equipment Categories
ii. Equipment Prices
iii. Equipment Suppliers and
iv. Capital Investment Summary
5. FINANCIAL REPORTS
a) Audited Financial Reports for the past five years
This should include:
i. Income Statement
ii. Balance Sheet
iii. Cash Flow Statement
iv. Evidence of sustained funding
b) Financial Plan including:
i. Equity
ii. Suppliers Credit (if any)
iii.
Bank Loan (if any)
c) Service Costing and Pricing:
The applicant should provide a table of the costing of each item under the scope of work and the
pricing for each service.
6. SPECTRUM REQUIREMENTS
Indicate All Spectrum Requirements
7. Any other information that is relevant to demonstrate the viability of the project.
33
8. LETTER OF COMMITMENT
All applicants are also to submit a signed letter of commitment stipulating that they shall abide
by all existing ITU Regulations and Communications laws of the country as well as other rules
and regulations that may be issued.
34
ANNEX D -IMPLEMENTATION TIMETABLE
S/N
ACTIVITY
DURATION
START DATES
1.
Publication of Licence conditions and
10 Business
5th November, 2014
process Document for comments
Days
Review of comments
5 Business
19thNovember,
Days
2014
1 Business Day
26thNovember,
2.
3.
Press Release to Invite Applications
2014
4.
5.
Submission of Application and Proposals to
10 Business
Deadline: 10th
NCA
Days
December, 2014
Evaluation of Submitted Proposals by NCA
40 Business
4th February, 2015
Days
6.
Award and announcement of Winner
1 Business Day
7.
Payment of Licence Fees
Up to 60 Days
35
7th February, 2015