The Competition Guidelines set out URCA’s Competition Policy and are intended to assist
Licensees, and other interested persons, in understanding how the competition provisions would
apply in practice with regards to procedural and substantives aspects, and to determine if their
conduct are complying with these rules. They also provide guidance on how a competition
complaint may be submitted.
As part of this review, URCA has taken into account, amongst others, its experience from the
application of the Competition Guidelines to date, as the current state and foreseeable
developments in the ES and ECS, and competition guidelines adopted elsewhere. This is to ensure
that any insights gained from the practical applications of the Guidelines are taken into account
and that the converged Guidelines remain fit for purpose. Additionally, by reviewing competition
guidelines in other jurisdictions that share similar characteristics or with a well-established
Competition Law doctrine, URCA aims to align its Competition Guidelines with international best
practices.
The purpose of this consultation is to: (i) present URCA’s proposed revisions to the Competition
Guidelines; and to (ii) invite feedback from all relevant persons on the proposed revision.
The Competition Guidelines set out URCA’s Competition Policy and are intended to assist
Licensees, and other interested persons, in understanding how the competition provisions would
apply in practice with regards to procedural and substantives aspects, and to determine if their
conduct are complying with these rules. They also provide guidance on how a competition
complaint may be submitted.
The purpose of this consultation is to: (i) present URCA’s proposed revisions to the Competition
Guidelines; and to (ii) invite feedback from all relevant persons on the proposed revision.
Scope and Objectives
In the exercise of the powers conferred upon it by section 8(1)(d) of the Communications Act, 2009,the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (“URCA”) hereby issues these Regulations relating to the reporting and mitigation of Outages affecting Public Electronic Communications Networks and Public Electronic Communication Services in The Bahamas.
The objectives of these Regulations are as follows:
(a) to ensure that URCA is notified by Licensees of Major Planned Outages, Major Emergency
Planned Outages, and Major Unplanned Outages in a timely and standardized manner;
(b) to ensure that URCA receives necessary information from Licensees to assess the magnitude
and frequency of Major Planned Outages, Major Emergency Planned Outages, and Major
Unplanned Outages;
(c) to facilitate URCA’s monitoring of Licensees’ service restoration activities with respect to Major
Planned Outages, Major Emergency Planned Outages, and Major Unplanned Outages;
(d) to ensure that URCA receives necessary information from Licensees to identify common
recurrent issues adversely impacting the functioning of Public Electronic Communications
Networks and Services in The Bahamas;
(e) to ensure that Licensees conduct in-depth analysis of the root causes of Major Unplanned
Outages; and
(f) to clarify URCA’s powers to require a Licensee to commission and bear the cost of a Compliance
Audit to assess whether such Licensee has implemented and complied with relevant industry
best practices, standards, specifications, and/or recommendations, in compliance with its duty
to mitigate and remedy Outages.
The full PDF can be found HEREThe Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA) has today issued its 2024 Fee Schedule.
Publication of the Fee Schedule is in accordance with section 8(1)(e) of the Communications Act, 2009.
Persons may view the 2024 Fee Schedule here.
Invoices will be issued to licensees in the usual manner.
The Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (‘URCA’) issues this Statement of Results and Final Decision following the public consultation on its proposed revisions to the Consumer Protection Regulations for the Electronic Communications Sector (‘ECS’). URCA published the consultation on 18 September 2023.1 The original deadline for responses was 19 October 2023 however the deadline was extended to 30 October 2023 by request to allow for additional time to respond.
The Consumer Protection Regulations (‘Regulations’) were originally published on 30 December 2013 followed by a revised document referred to as Version 1.0.1 published on 7 February 2014.2 Due to the changes that have occurred in the sector and URCA’s experience with handling consumer complaints since the Regulations were first published, URCA found it necessary to update the Regulations to make them fit for purpose, clarify any ambiguity, and issue new measures in areas where consumers were not protected.
A copy of the full document may be downloaded below: ECS 02/2024 - Statement of Results and Final Decision - Revisions to the Consumer Protection Regulations for the Electronic Communications Sector