Full Text Available

Note: Clicking the button above will open the full text document at the original institutional repository in a new window.

Telecommunications law and regulation in Lesotho: a critical analysis

In 2000, the Lesotho telecommunications sector underwent a fundamental change in structure, from that of monopoly to one of competition. A new regulatory regime was introduced and a regulatory agency, the Lesotho Telecommunications Authority was established to promote telecommunications development...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Lebone, Likonelo
Other Authors: Hofman, Julien
Format: Thesis
Language:English
English
Published: Department of Commercial Law 2026
Subjects:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1867613215471435776
access_status_str Open Access
author Lebone, Likonelo
author2 Hofman, Julien
author_browse Hofman, Julien
Lebone, Likonelo
author_facet Hofman, Julien
Lebone, Likonelo
author_sort Lebone, Likonelo
collection Thesis
description In 2000, the Lesotho telecommunications sector underwent a fundamental change in structure, from that of monopoly to one of competition. A new regulatory regime was introduced and a regulatory agency, the Lesotho Telecommunications Authority was established to promote telecommunications development and to safeguard competition.The 2000 legal framework supports competition but fails to adequately minimise the regulatory risk. The new regime also failed to facilitate improved or satisfactory sector performance. The Lesotho regulatory framework addresses most internationally recognised telecommunications regulatory issues, but most areas needs improvement if sector performance and investor perception is to be enhanced. Firstly, the Government must give the regulatory Authority functional independence. Secondly, the Authority must revisit various policy areas. For instance universal access policy and programmes that bring affordable services to the rural and urban populations alike must be developed and implemented; complimentary policies that encourage the use of the services and investment in the sector, like investment, consumer protection and competition policies must be adopted; alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, especially for disputes between the regulator and service providers must be introduced and preferred in the sector. The challenge is to bring telecommunication services to all communities including low-income families and communities in rural and mountainous areas. Thus whatever policies are adopted, universal access and improved sector performance should be a guiding goal which must be pursued rigorously.
format Thesis
id oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/42855
institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language English
eng
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:32:36.207Z
license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2026
publishDateRange 2026
publishDateSort 2026
publisher Department of Commercial Law
publisherStr Department of Commercial Law
record_format dspace
source_str UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/42855 Telecommunications law and regulation in Lesotho: a critical analysis Lebone, Likonelo Hofman, Julien Telecommunications law In 2000, the Lesotho telecommunications sector underwent a fundamental change in structure, from that of monopoly to one of competition. A new regulatory regime was introduced and a regulatory agency, the Lesotho Telecommunications Authority was established to promote telecommunications development and to safeguard competition.The 2000 legal framework supports competition but fails to adequately minimise the regulatory risk. The new regime also failed to facilitate improved or satisfactory sector performance. The Lesotho regulatory framework addresses most internationally recognised telecommunications regulatory issues, but most areas needs improvement if sector performance and investor perception is to be enhanced. Firstly, the Government must give the regulatory Authority functional independence. Secondly, the Authority must revisit various policy areas. For instance universal access policy and programmes that bring affordable services to the rural and urban populations alike must be developed and implemented; complimentary policies that encourage the use of the services and investment in the sector, like investment, consumer protection and competition policies must be adopted; alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, especially for disputes between the regulator and service providers must be introduced and preferred in the sector. The challenge is to bring telecommunication services to all communities including low-income families and communities in rural and mountainous areas. Thus whatever policies are adopted, universal access and improved sector performance should be a guiding goal which must be pursued rigorously. 2026-02-18T12:13:22Z 2026-02-18T12:13:22Z 2007 2026-02-18T11:25:15Z Thesis / Dissertation Masters LLM http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42855 en eng application/pdf Department of Commercial Law Faculty of Law University of Cape Town
spellingShingle Telecommunications law
Lebone, Likonelo
Telecommunications law and regulation in Lesotho: a critical analysis
thesis_degree_str Master's
title Telecommunications law and regulation in Lesotho: a critical analysis
title_full Telecommunications law and regulation in Lesotho: a critical analysis
title_fullStr Telecommunications law and regulation in Lesotho: a critical analysis
title_full_unstemmed Telecommunications law and regulation in Lesotho: a critical analysis
title_short Telecommunications law and regulation in Lesotho: a critical analysis
title_sort telecommunications law and regulation in lesotho a critical analysis
topic Telecommunications law
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42855
work_keys_str_mv AT lebonelikonelo telecommunicationslawandregulationinlesothoacriticalanalysis