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The Afghanistan
Telecom Regulatory Authority would like to contract a Consultant for
the update National Numbers and Codes Planning and Numbers and Codes
allocation procedures that are needed for the telecom operations in
Afghanistan. The TOR of this Consultancy is attached to this
announcement.
Instructions for Applicants:
Experts who are interested in this Consultancy should submit their
proposals and CVs by e-mail to
secretary@atra.gov.af
by the deadline; 1600 hours 20th April 2008. Hard copies of the
proposals and CVs can be sent to the following address:
Secretary, Afghanistan Telecommunications Regulatory Authority
(ATRA), 10th Floor of MCIT Building, Mohammad Jan Khan Watt, Kabul,
Afghanistan.
The proposals for this Consultancy should have the following
information:
1. The approaches of the Consultant for the completion of this
Consultancy within the framework as outlined in the TOR.
2. Time Schedule for the implementation of the Project, which should
include all the activities that are needed for the completion of the
work plus on the job training for the personnel of ATRA. The
Consultant is free to propose a shorter implementation period.
3. Detailed CV of the Consultant and Monthly Salary or the total
amount of cost for the complete Consultancy in (USD) and should
indicate whether the amount shown in the proposal is negotiable or
not.
4. Verifiable references for the projects that are completed by the
Expert in the past. Each reference should include the name of the
Referee, his role in the project, name of the organization, duration
of the project with start and finish dates, address of the project,
e-mail and telephone number of the Referee.
5. Cover Letter which will briefly state the interest of the
consultant in this consultancy.
Enquiries on specific issues can be sent to
secretary@atra.gov.af
The required information will be provided within 2-3 days after the
receipt of the enquiry. This line of communication should be kept to
a minimum
Terms of Reference for a Consultant on
Numbers and Codes Allocation and Pricing
(Afghanistan Telecom Regulatory Authority (ATRA))
The Afghan telecommunications sector is expanding rapidly in a
post-conflict environment. Now, there are over 4.7 million
subscribers, with current investments at about US$1.05 Billions and
is expected to reach US$1.5 billion by 2010. A preliminary National
Numbering Plan (NNP) was prepared in 2003 to make available the
required numbers and codes for telecom operators. However, the plan
did not have all the required details. Additionally, recently the
Telecommunications Services Regulation Law has been issued in which
chapter number ten has been dedicated for the regulation of Numbers
and Codes. It is essential to make the required Numbers and Codes
available for the telecom operators and also address the provisions
of the recently introduced Telecom Services Regulation Law of
Afghanistan.
There are two specific concerns for ATRA regarding numbering and
codes regulation:
• How it should allocate and price numbers and codes for both
current and future users
• How it can ensure the supply of numbers and codes for future uses
in regard to the upcoming technologies and meeting the provisions of
the law.
ATRA would like to contract a consultant to review the existing
arrangements for numbers/codes allocation and pricing and assist
ATRA in developing new mechanisms to allocate and price numbers and
codes to ensure fairness, transparency and efficiency, both for
current and future uses.
The consultant will be engaged for 04 months in 2008.
Deliverables:
(1) The consultant will prepare two reports for ATRA:
a. The first report will assess current numbers/codes allocation
mechanisms, the current legislation, license conditions, the current
status of numbers/codes usage, identify areas of conflicts between
them and make specific recommendations on how ATRA can make
improvements.
b. The second report will identify potential mechanisms for the
allocation and pricing of numbers/codes in the future, develop a
roadmap for moving away from the current situation and adopting the
proposed numbering regime and make specific recommendations on how
numbers/codes might be re-farmed from incumbent users.
(2) Individually, each report will:
a. Have specific and concise assessment and analysis of the
numbers/codes allocation and pricing regime and the associated
issues and challenges. For the second report, this assessment will
be directed towards the improvement of the numbering regime while
addressing the technical and market trends, such as VoIP and E-Nums.
b. Have a brief summary of the options available to ATRA for
numbers/codes allocation mechanisms based on international
experiences and best practices and market requirements.
c. Detailed analysis of pricing mechanisms with clearly indicated
valuations of numbers and codes in the appropriate numbers/codes
categories, based on international benchmarks and Afghan market
conditions.
d. Evaluate these options in the Afghan context and present the best
mechanism for ATRA to implement a fair, transparent, and efficient
allocation and pricing mechanism. Further, these mechanisms should
encourage efficient utilization of numbers/codes by operators.
e. Provide, in the second report, a detailed and specific roadmap
for moving from the existing situation to the proposed numbering
regime while ensuring the future supply of numbers/codes for the
incumbent and also future users and technologies in the coming five
to ten years period.
f. Have specific, clearly defined and actionable recommendations
based on the assessment and analysis.
g. Have a specific and clearly defined recommendation on a
methodology to re-farm numbers/codes from incumbent users.
Methodology/Tasks:
The consultant should:
(1) Review the legal framework and the license conditions; identify
areas of conflicts between the existing legislation, the license
conditions, numbers/codes allocation and usage of numbers/codes by
licensees.
(2) Interact with ATRA and other stakeholders to understand the
specific issues and challenges and potential benefits and costs for
the involved parties from the current and proposed numbers/codes
allocation and pricing regimes.
(3) Assess the current numbers/codes allocation and pricing regime,
current allocations and assignments, as well as usage and scope for
better utilization.
(4) Provide a clear analysis of the technology and market
developments (e.g. VoIP and E-Nums) that will influence the
requirements for numbers/codes in the future.
(5) Perform a cross-country survey and comparison of different
options for allocation and pricing and harmonization of numbers and
codes in the South Asian regional context.
(6) Recommend the best allocation and pricing mechanism based on
this survey and comparison and considering the specific context of
Afghanistan’s telecom sector and the upcoming new technologies and
services.
(7) Provide a detailed and specific timeline to indicate the
requirements of numbers/codes into the next five to ten years to
ensure adequate availability and prepare ATRA for re-farming
procedures.
(8) Develop a mechanism for re-farming numbers/codes from incumbent
users.
(9) Provide any further advice to enable greater efficiencies in
allocation and better utilization of numbers/codes.
(10) Interact and engage with the ATRA to ensure that the quality of
the output at the end of the consultation period is very high.
Specific terms of reference:
The consultant should:
(1) Create two specific and concise reports that will assess and
analyze the current and future allocation and pricing mechanisms and
provide actionable recommendations.
(2) The recommendations – for both reports – should be set to a
time-line for implementation, with specific milestones and
evaluation mechanisms to gauge successful implementation.
(3) Work with translators to create a summary version of the final
report in Pashto or Dari.
Qualifications of the Consultant:
(1) A qualified candidate will have significant experience in the
analysis of ICT regulation. The consultant should have experience in
issues related to Numbering Policy. Further, it is desirable that
the consultant should be familiar with assessing the implications of
market and technical developments.
(2) Working experience in either Afghanistan or South Asian or
Middle Eastern markets is desirable. Fluency in English is
necessary, while knowledge of Pashto/Dari is desirable.
(3) Consultant should be willing to travel to Afghanistan for the
accomplishment of this task.
Level of Effort:
The consultancy is expected to require a level of effort of four
months.
Timetable:
The consultant will complete the assignment in four months from the
joining date at Kabul. Main milestones of the assistance are as
under:
• Methodology/Inception Report (Joining Date + 20 days)
• Progress Report 1 (Joining Date + 60 days)
• Progress Report 2 (Joining Date + 90 days)
• Final Report and the Concluding Work (Joining Date + 120 days)
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