The InfoComm and Infrastructure Division will be responsible for maintaining and promoting competition within ICT and Media sector.  This Division will carry out the following functions:

 

Technical Regulation

  • Develop technical regulations associated with the ICT and Media sector
  • Regulate Interconnection and infrastructure sharing of ICT facilities between or amongst licensees.
  • Plan, administer, manage and assignment of numbering for the ICT services.
  • Develop technical standards for the ICT and Media sector including systems specifications and standards for equipment and devices including radio and other devices.
  • Develop Quality of Services (QoS) standards for ICT services and monitor the Quality of Experiences based on the QoS standard.
  • Review and promote technological innovations.
  • Developing procedure for equipment type approval including development of a framework for mutual recognition of equipment type specification standards.
  • Conduct periodic review (research) of activities carried out by regional and international organizations such as Asia Pacific Telecommunity (APT) and International Telecommunications Union (ITU) in terms of creation, development and improvement of telecommunication and ICT equipment and network including formulation of various technical standards.

 

Licensing and Enforcement

  • Develop transparent licensing procedure for ICT and media sector for eliminating exclusivity and allowing for any number of entrants who satisfy the licensing criteria (with the exclusion of scarce resources, such as spectrum).
  • Periodically streamline the process to obtain licenses in terms of the application process as well as the time-frame to obtain a license.
  • Issue licence, certificate and permits and enforce the license terms and conditions.
  • Coordinate with other Divisions on the any issues arising out of the licensing procedure.
  • Conduct periodic monitoring for compliance by the licensees and take appropriate regulatory actions.

 

Economic Regulation

  • Determine tariff, rate, fees and charges for licensed services.
  • Determination of fees for the usage of spectrum.
  • Maintain and promote competition and take action to prohibit and prevent market abuse through tariff regulation.
  • Conduct periodic circulation audit of print media firms to determine their sustainability.
  • Ensure proper maintenance of accounting system by public ICT and Media service providers.
  • Conduct periodic review on the regional as well as international pricing for ICT services and benchmark such price towards ensuring effective ICT pricing in the country
  • Conduct research on the global technology development and the impact on the costing of its prices.
  • Develop tools for determining the cost based tariff for the ICT services based on evidenced based findings.
  • Develop information database and conduct field research for evidence based regulation and planning for ensuring affordability of ICT services.

As per the Bhutan Information, Communications and Media (BICM) Act 2018, the Division issues the following licences.  The application forms can be downloaded from the website.

  1. Cable Television Service
  2. ICT Service and ICT Facility

 

Universal Service Programme

  • Plan and manage universal service plan and universal service fund
  • Ensure universal access to all ICT services at affordable rate
  • Design the universal service programme as per the directive of the Royal Government based on the regional and international best practices.
  • Conduct periodical review/research on achieving universal and affordable ICT services and accordingly formulate action plans for achieving universal service programme.
  • Develop and maintain the database on the rural communication programmes implemented under the US Programme.
  • Collect and process information on the list of villages with no coverage as well as partial coverage of mobile services.
  • Periodically monitor the environmental impact of ICT services, without imposing environmental (green and health) measures on the industry.

For further information, you can contact the InfoComm and Infrastructure Division at iid@bicma.bt