Key to the issue of regional infrastructure is an effective policy and legal structure that underpins the telecommunications and ICT market. Policy and legal structures are key because they contour national environments that are constituents of the "regional" and significantly define (un)acceptable behavior parameters for providers of ICT and telecommunication services (the operators).

 

From a regional perspective, and especially in nascent regional networks where national operators cannot function on a regional basis without some common legal and policy platforms, policy and regional structures are even more important.

 

This brief addresses the importance of the ECOWAS Supplementary Access in terms of regional telecommunications development and integration and its causal impact on economic development. The brief also provides a review of the six Acts and the current status of their national implementation.