URCA Publishes Outage Reporting and Mitigation Regulations for the ECS
The Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (“URCA”) is pleased to announce the
publication of the Statement of Results and Final Decision on the Outage Reporting and
Mitigation Regulations for the Electronic Communications Sector and the Outage Reporting and
Mitigation Regulations of the Electronic Communications Sector (“the Regulations”).
URCA’s public consultation on the Regulations commenced on 2 October 2023. The deadline for
responses was extended to 15 November 2023 to facilitate comprehensive feedback from
stakeholders.
URCA thanks Cable Bahamas Limited and Be Aliv Limited and The Bahamas Telecommunications
Company Limited for their respective responses. URCA has carefully considered all responses,
leading to informed final decisions that balance operational capabilities with the need to address
information adequacies and gaps in the Electronic Communications Sector regulatory
framework.
URCA is cognizant that consumers in The Bahamas are becoming increasingly dependent on
electronic communications services for both personal and business uses and as such require
access to reliable, high-quality services. With the publication of the Regulations, URCA has
completed Phase 1 of its Review of the Quality-of-Service Framework for the Electronic
Communications Sector in The Bahamas.
The Regulations apply to all URCA licensees that have established Public Electronic
Communications Networks and/or provide Public Electronic Communications Services
(“Licensees”).
The Regulations establish the regulatory framework to ensure timely and standardized
notification and reporting of major planned outages, major emergency planned outages and
major unplanned outages to URCA by Licensees and set out Licensees’ duties to implement
relevant industry best practices and standards to mitigate and remedy outages.
Additionally, URCA believes that the Regulations will provide URCA with valuable information to
assess Licensees’ compliance with their quality-of-service obligations and consumer protection
obligations and will facilitate data-driven regulatory decision-making by URCA aimed at
improving access to high quality networks and service in The Bahamas.
For further information and to access the full Statement of Results and Final Decision, please visit
www.urcabahamas.bs.
Media Contact:
Juan McCartney
Corporate and Consumer Relations Manager
Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority
jmccartney@urcabahamas.bs
1 (242) 396-5242
The Full document can be found HERE
