Togo to host the 21st seminar of Francophone Telecommunications Regulation Network, FRATEL

Telecom

Tuesday, 19 December 2023 16:31

Togo to host the 21st seminar of Francophone Telecommunications Regulation Network, FRATEL

(Togo First) - The Francophone Telecommunications Regulation Network (FRATEL) will hold its 21st seminar on 21-22 May 2024. The event will be hosted in Lomé, Togo, by the Togolese telecom watchdog, ARCEP Togo. The theme of the seminar is "Data economy and digital services: what are the technical-economic regulatory issues ?"

"Members of the Network (Fratel, ed. note) will exchange on the technical-economic regulation challenges of the use of non-personal data from the public and corporate sectors, potential data storage market failures and public interventions to remedy them, as well as regulatory measures for fostering emergence and development of digital services, especially mobile payments," the Fratel Network noted.

The meeting should shed light on the Togolese regulator whose operations are grounded in the collection and analysis of data. In this regard, the regulator’s QoS center, set up in 2021, allowed it to better monitor local and regional trends and call out local operators for breaches in their contracts. Among others, the ARCEP’s warnings recently led to the lowering of prices in Togo, for calls, mobile data, and fiber optic services.

The FRATEL was officially established in 2003 in Bamako, Mali. It regroups French-speaking telecommunications regulators. The group was launched at a symposium of French-speaking regulators in Paris in 2002.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

REFORMS OVERVIEW

STARTING A BUSINESS (more info)

At the fifteenth position, worldwide, and first in Africa, under the Starting a Business index of the 2020 Doing Business ranking, Togo sustains its reformative dynamics with more reforms….

ENFORCING CONTRACTS (more info)

Compared to some years ago when it was one of the lowest rankers under the Doing Business’ Enforcing Contracts indicator, Togo, leveraging many efforts to improve its business climate, was able to jump significantly on the index in the recent years... .

CONTRACT EXECUTION (more info)

Creation of special chambers of commerce for small debts • Creation of chambers of commerce at the Court of Appeal • Civil and commercial cases now handled by distinct clerks • Establishment of commercial courts in Lomé and Kara • Lawyers and bailiffs now have access to the FORSETI COMMERCIAL platform • A maximum period of 100 days was fixed to settle a commercial dispute .

TRADING ACROSS BORDERS (more info)

In comparison to previous years,Togo has significantly improved its ranking under the“Trading across borders” indicator by adopting multiple reforms that focus mainly on the digitization and reduction in delays, for import and export procedures related to import and export.

In comparison to previous years, Togo has significantly improved its ranking on the “Trading across borders” index by adopting multiple reforms that focus mainly on the digitalization and reduction in delays, for import and export procedures related to import and export.

CONSTRUCTION PERMIT (more info)

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GETTING ELECTRICITY (more info)

Over the past two years, Togo’s ranking under the Doing Business’ Getting electricity and water indicator has increased consistently. Owing this performance to multiple reforms aimed at making it easier for businesses to access power and water, Lomé plans to introduce even more reforms this year to keep up its improvements.

REGISTERING A PROPERTY (more info)

Out of all the 'Doing Business’ indicators, Property Registration is where Togo has improved the most since 2018. Indeed, after spending years in the lowest part of this ranking, the country now seeks to beat Rwanda which is the best performer on this index in Africa. To do so, Lomé has been introducing many reforms, with the latest batch implemented this year.

PUBLIC PROCUREMENT (more info)

From professionalization to digitization, through legislative regulations, Togo’s public procurement framework is constantly being modernized. Several reforms have been implemented to improve the sector much to the benefit of the private sector, which is the focus of the National Development Plan.

PAYING TAXES AND DUTIES (more info)

To improve its business environment, Togo introduced some important reforms related to the payment of tax and duties. From the replacement of some taxes to the cancellation of others through exemptions, the country has only one objective: offer the most attractive tax framework to investors and economic operators. To achieve this, the authorities relied on digitization.