Salience was engaged by CITC, to support the Commission into promoting fair competition in telecommunications services for companies and government agencies, increasing the transparency of pricing structures for services related to the business sector, effective regulation and setting regulatory control systems.
Accomplishments:
- Market Analysis
- Examination of the ex-ante and ex-post regulation
- Unified Enterprise Service Dictionary
- International Benchmarking for 15 worldwide jurisdictions
- Gap Analysis and Recommendations
- Tariff Approval Process
- Cost-study Guidelines
- CITC operational changes
- Price Benchmark
Salience provided forms and guidelines for assessing and approving business sector services.
Communications, Space & Technology Commission – regulating enterprise services
Salience Consulting in partnership with ITgma, were engaged by TRA to assist the Authority in carrying out IT System Audit to assess all IT systems deployed by BNET to operate a fully independent legally separated wholesale NBN provider.
Accomplishments:
- Benchmarking analysis
- Technical and process audit for BNET’s systems
- Recommendations for improvements
Salience and ITgma delivered independent expert opinion the state of BNET’s level of separation (from Batelco) and regulatory compliance of the BNET IT systems.
BNET information system and information technology systems separation and deployment audit
Salience supported one of the leading TowerCos in the Middle East with market assessment and identified potential investment opportunities across the Middle East, Africa and Europe. Salience conducted a comprehensive market analysis and identified potential tower deals supporting TowerCo’s international expansion strategy.
- Political and economical market assessment
- Telecom market assessment and development forecasts
- Locational analysis of the sites owned by local telecom providers
- Review of regulatory regime with emphasis on tower regulation
- Recommendations for market entry and key targets for potential site acquisition
- Financial and technical due diligence
Business development support to Middle-Eastern TowerCo
Salience supported NEOM in signing a $200m Join-Venture agreement with OneWeb for bringing the satellite connectivity across the Middle East and Africa. Salience executed a comprehensive demand analysis and business case creation for the satellite connectivity across Middle East and Africa.
- Bottom-up demand forecasts for satellite backhauling, enterprise and government institutions’ connectivity
- Satellite capacity pricing forecasting
- Competitor analysis of other existing or planned satellite initiatives, assessing the technology, use cases and business models
- Creation of a 10-year business case for satellite connectivity across Middle East
NEOM and OneWeb joint venture business case
Salience was engaged by the IFC to perform a Digital Assessment in the West Bank and Gaza to provide a comprehensive understanding of the market and to identify investment opportunities. The investments would contribute towards enabling the development of digital infrastructure in the country, help to increase competition and deepen the markets in broadband services. Salience evaluate the broadband market demand potential in West Bank and Gaza and identified potential investment opportunities for IFC.
- Market assessment of the whole broadband value chain
- Forecasting fixed and mobile market development and contribution to country’s GDP
- Fixed broadband market affordability-based demand analysis
- Regulatory assessment identifying the key broadband market bottlenecks
- Business case for the national broadband operator, focusing on evaluating the technical, legal and operational aspects and assessing potential synergies with existing networks
Analysis of the telecommunications market in West Bank & Gaza
Salience provided pilot project in Dushanbe and Khujand, network rollout supervision, advices on vendor selection and systems procurement and integration.
Salience supported Tcell in performing market plan and understand the cost and the revenue parts vs. its capability to progress further with the project.
• Market feasibility study and developed a business case
• Investment needs and what if analysis
• Implementation and resources planning
• Support services for a successful technical and commercial execution of FTTH pilot project in the city of Khujand.
• Strategic Advice for design, implementation, supervision of network rollout
• Support to establish customer care
• Commercial products test and operation procedures test
FTTH business case & network design support in Tajikistan
Salience’s work include comprehensive due diligence and deep audit on 14000 sites.
Salience in partnership with Al-Babtain LeBlanc, is conducting due diligence and a deep audit of Tawal’s infrastructure and consolidation of the audit data into a business intelligence platform.
• Comprehensive Site Asset Database and full data integration
• Back up data of all audited sites
• Reconciliation of physical assets to the fixed asset registry (FAR)
• Completion of tagging of all assets
• Comprehensive report on a status of all FAR’s assets
• Providing support for FAR reconciliation and asset verification with STC
• Full Due Diligence Project Management
• Project Reporting
• Production of different test manuals: batteries back-up autonomy test; ATS; tower verticality: etc.
Telecom infrastructure services in Saudi Arabia
Salience’s work include developing strategic recommendations for future deployments.
Development of giga projects is one of the initiatives to achieve the strategic objectives of the Government of Saudi Arabia. Salience has the role of Qiddiya’s technology advisor relating to ICT.
• Review of network design documentation for ICT and telecom network
• Strategy support with overview of the strategic options that need to be analysed, in terms of the ICT and Telecom network and recommendations that should be taken in consideration for future deployments.
• Selection of PPP partner support
Qiddiya infrastructure PPP
Salience provided an improved implementation plan for the network including transmission, handsets and data services.
The ministry of interior needed help deploying a national TETRA network was running behind schedule. The objective of the project was to identify the causes of delay, assess the quality of design and delivery by the vendors and to provide recommendations for immediate and long-term improvements for the deployment. At the same time the ministry was looking at understanding whether private fibre network build and managed by them is a better option then outsourced network.
- Strategic advice and business case for private national network
- Provided procurement and radio subject matter experts working on network and operational modernizations of the MOI.
- High level audit of the existing MOI TETRA network and systems and progress reporting and measures review, incl. across 800 towers.
- Contracts review to identify of the causes of delay with a focus on the payment milestone plans and a gaps between the existing contractual requirements and the current state of deployment.
- Detailed supply-chain analysis and technology assessment of the network design and handset specifications. Create new vendor management plan and procurement strategy.
- Detailed assessment of how the network architecture could be improved
Private national fiber network and TETRA strategic & technical analysis in Saudi Arabia
The World Bank Group has selected Salience Consulting to undertake a study on Telecommunications Sector Reform and Advancing Universal Broadband Access in Namibia. The objective of this assignment is to assess and propose clear and robust actions in order to address the market constraints to reaching universal access in Namibia and to ensure improvement in quality of service, internet access and affordability in the telecommunications market.
- Market Assessment of the current situation
- Study of the policy, regulatory and legislative environment
- Study of the demand-side
Provide set of recommendations in regards to:
- Market reforms for private sector to improve competition
- Better use of government demand for connectivity services
- Options to improve access to underserved and unserved areas
- Improvements in quality of services
- Policy and regulatory actions for improvement of affordability and internet access
Namibia telecommunications sector reform and advancing universal broadband access
Salience identified digital format of maps for current areas served and areas, to be served in the future along with a final recommendation of a business model that delivers the best economic and social return and one that best meets the goal of bridging the digital divide in Kenya. The outcome of the study is to provide a high-level implementation strategy and roadmap for options of upgrading the public components for connectivity.
- An in-depth review of the broadband connectivity infrastructure and services landscape (public and private) in Kenya;
- Supply Analysis of Public Digital Infrastructure and private digital infrastructure (where available):
- Demand Analysis focusing on key public sectors (Health and Education) and a study on connected vs unconnected;
- Options Assessment for upgrading and expansion of NOFBI and County Metro Network;
- Recommendations for best model to connect the key public facilities mapped and with a focus on using the PPP framework
- Infrastructure and provision of last-mile connectivity and LAN infrastructure and associated services to public institutions and access points.
Kenya public digital infrastructure options assessment and pre-feasibility study
Salience was asked to recommend a better option when choosing between the administrative efficiency of long-term purchase (IRUs etc.) in the African context, vs. the benefits of negotiating leased capacity pricing over shorter periods. The aim of the project was to encourage competitive pricing for internet and broadband through bulk purchases.
- Performed Market Intelligence and Background Analysis, Demand and Supply Analysis, Pricing and Purchasing Analysis
- Strategy and operational plan focused on an optimal solution, implementation and the development of tender
- Terms of Reference for the procurement of submarine and satellite internet/broadband bandwidth.
- Insights and advice for negotiating with providers
- Draft Agreements for use with the broadband providers and Draft Agreements for the use of member states and organizations who sign up for bulk purchase
Bulk purchase of capacity
Salience was engaged by the World Bank to perform a deep dive into NBI and to advise on the one particular aspect of the national broadband strategy. Salience identified what to do with the state-owned National Backbone Infrastructure (NBI), the management of which is currently outsourced to a private entity, and specifically provide opinion on the operating model of the infrastructure vis-a-vis similar arrangements in other countries.
- An in-Country data gathering wherein key stakeholders were met and relevant data to drill down on the network and its operational history that our experts used to do a detailed assessment of the Current Situation
- Study of the Uganda fixed broadband network providers and infrastructure available which helped us to curate an Options Analysis for effective expansion going forward.
- Final Recommendations for consideration of the World Bank and the regulator NITA-U
National BB infrastructure analysis in Uganda
Salience was engaged by the World Bank Group to conduct a comprehensive study examining the global best practices in terms of restructuring and repositioning of telecom state owned enterprises. The goal of the project is to recommend options in order to prepare Angola Telecom for value creation in an increasingly competitive broadband market.
- Fiscal impact assessment of restructuring of Angola Telecom,
- Commercial and financial assessment
- Technical assessment of Angola Telecom’s assets,
- Legal, regulatory and institutional assessment
- Market assessment to consider Angola Telecom’s future role in the evolving market
- Relevant benchmarking analysis to comparative countries and/or markets
Angola Telecom strategic options study
Salience supported Africa 50 with detailed due diligence and business case vetting for the new terrestrial cable venture in Africa. Salience executed a comprehensive financial, strategic, regulatory and technical due diligence exercise followed by the business case vetting for a new terrestrial cable venture.
- Assessment of the demand potential, cable route, key USPs and management team
- SWOT analysis on the investment and anchor tenants
- Regulatory and legal assessment
- Competitor analysis for other existing and planned terrestrial cable initiatives addressing the target market
- Assessment of the key business case assumptions including pricing, costs, timeframes and sales pipeline followed by a sensitivity analysis
New terrestrial cable in Africa venture due diligence
Salience supported Telekom Kenya’s management team with detailed due diligence of the Digital unit and developed a business plan to support fund raising. Salience executed a comprehensive financial, strategic, regulatory and technical due diligence exercise followed by a development of the 10- year business plan to support fund raising.
- Strategy and historical financial performance review and assessment
- Assets, liabilities and cost contracts review and mapping across different business units
- Manpower mapping across different business units and plan to support the growth opportunities
- Legal and regulatory due diligence
- Creation of a new Business Plan for the Digital unit
- Drafting agreements for Inter-Company transactions
Telkom Kenya digital due diligence
Salience provided IFC a deep dive analysis of the telecommunications market in Madagascar to assess necessary reforms required to advance inclusive digital development and quantified the cost and benefits of such reforms. Salience identified the demand and supply drivers of the digital adoption, highlighting trends across the broadband value chain and outlining the investment opportunities and risks.
- Market Assessment in Madagascar
- Overview of key legal, regulatory, and institutional considerations
- Assessment of the competitive landscape in each market segment
- Wholesale Market Supply & Demand Analysis
- Assessment of Ancillary Digital Infrastructure – Data Centers and Towers
- Last Mile Coverage, Affordability & Digital Inclusion
- Recommendations about potential approaches and expected impact of recommendations on the overall economy
Analysis of the telecommunications market in Madagascar
Salience provided options study that identifies and evaluates various scenarios that would lead to the optimization of national broadband network.
Salience has provided the Government of Rwanda with an options study that identifies and evaluates various scenarios that would lead to the optimization of national broadband network. Prefeasibility studies on the pricing structure for wholesale services, financial model, legal and regulatory framework, as well as technical and operational considerations were conducted to provide the necessary information to formulate a set of options from which the Government could select from.
- Assessment of the telecom sector in Rwanda and especially the role of the LTE wholesale network and roadmap towards 5G
- Technical due diligence and operational technical audit
- Legal and regulatory due diligence;
- Demand analysis and financial modelling
- Investment plan and assumption of the financial modelling
- Business cases for the options, international benchmarking and the implementation plan
National broadband strategy in Rwanda
Salience assisted EBRD evaluation process for Serbia rural broadband roll out tendering.
Accomplishments:
- Scope and Pricing analysis
- Review of the designs and the compliance with the Serbian construction legislation and the FIDIC General Conditions of Contract in accordance with the international good practice standards
- Assessment of the evaluation criteria, FIDIC, technical and financial criteria, scores, and results
Salience provided independent opinion on the compliance of the conducted evaluation process with the procedures stated in the Tender Documents and RFP.
Rural broadband lender’s monitoring advisory
Salience assisted the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications of Republic of Serbia in developing an optimal policy for universal service obligations with respect to fixed broadband services (FB USO).
Accomplishments:
- Identify required changes to legal and regulatory framework to accommodate best practice
- Proposed draft language for amending legal and regulatory framework for:
- Minimum requirements for FB USO
- Case studies for FB USO financing options
- Candidate areas that will benefit from FB USO
- Procedures and selection criteria for operators
Salience provided recommendations for the best approach for Serbia to achieve FB USO based on the common practice regarding the provision of FB USO identified in the EU and West Balkans countries.
Serbia fixed broadband universal service obligation
Salience delivered recommendations for effective enhancement of investment, competition and innovation in the sector.
Undertaking an assessment of digital infrastructure and policy, including broadband, Internet of Things, digital platforms, cloud and data infrastructure, to identify specific gaps pertaining to digital infrastructure, policies & regulations and investments. The objective includes assessment of the potential of emerging technologies in Croatia and analysis the opportunities to leverage available EU programs and resources.
- Reviewing the existing digital sector indicators for Croatia
- Comparing Croatia’s performance against EU benchmark countries
- Collecting data on sector structure and analysing the competition and liberalization of the various markets within the digital sector
- Reviewing the legal and regulatory framework for digital infrastructure
- Identifying key market inhibitors, including market barriers (if any) which may restrict entry, competition and growth of market players
- Identifying and assessing private as well as government, regulator and international agencies’ interventions in the market
- Identifying growth potential and opportunities such as emerging technology niches for Croatia
Comprehensive assessment of the digital market in Croatia
Salience has provided the technical and commercial feasibility, cost and revenue potential as well as PPP and PFI Public financing options for a national fiber-optic deployment focused on underserved areas of the country.
The Republic of Serbia has embarked on program of significantly expanding broadband infrastructure to reduce the broadband development gap between urban and rural areas.
- Identify different incentives for investment and growth of fibre and identifying government initiatives to promote use by SME and enterprises.
- Enabling infrastructure supply legalization and clarity in wholesale markets and developing a viable investment framework covering all areas including under-served and rural areas (white spots)
- Evaluating options for better use of available infrastructure and recommendation on a viable model for use of utility and municipality fibre networks
- Enable efficient sharing of all relevant infrastructure
- Develop and deliver a proof of concept plan to verify the assumptions behind the recommended concept
National broadband strategy in Serbia
Salience was selected to deliver the creation of a National Broadband Plan, consistent with the European Union’s Digital Agenda, including the design of the network, the business case based upon a detailed demand analysis, and to deliver recommendations for improvements in government policy.
Salience delivered a full and detailed assessment of the scope of work to create a permitting function, and delivered a detailed plan for implementing towers permitting:
• Identify different incentives for investment and growth of fiber and identifying government initiatives to promote use by SME and enterprises.
• Enabling infrastructure supply legalization and clarity in wholesale markets and developing a viable investment framework covering all areas including under-served and rural areas (white spots)
• Evaluating options for better use of available infrastructure and recommendation on a viable model for use of utility and municipality fiber networks
• Enable efficient sharing of all relevant infrastructure
• Develop and deliver a proof of concept plan to verify the assumptions behind the recommended concept
• Delivered financial analysis of the available options to determine on a detailed area by area basis exactly which fixed and mobile broadband technology to deploy to maximize the STC market coverage at the most efficient financial spend.
• Prepared detailed financial models to demonstrate the most effective roll-out strategy and the proper technology to use in a given scenario.
Reducing the broadband gap between urban and rural areas
Salience supported IFC with detailed due diligence and business case vetting for the new subsea cable venture. Salience executed a comprehensive financial, strategic, regulatory and technical due diligence exercise followed by the business case vetting for a new subsea venture.
- Assessment of the demand potential, cable route, key USPs and management team
- SWOT analysis on the investment, landing partners and anchor tenants
- PESTLE analysis for the new subsea cable
- Regulatory and legal assessment
- Competitor analysis for other existing and planned subsea cable initiatives addressing the target market
- Assessment of the key business case assumptions including pricing, costs, timeframes and sales pipeline followed by a sensitivity analysis
New subsea cable venture due diligence
Salience provided Country Engagement and Plan (CEAP) to help achieve specific national broadband and digital economy goals in EBRD region
The objective of the assignment was to design a comprehensive, integrated and coherent framework which EBRD can draw upon to engage with policy makers, regulatory authorities, investors and other sector stakeholders in the EBRD region. The framework provided evidence-based experience and accompanied by technical assistance which could help achieve specific national broadband and digital economy goals in EBRD countries.
Country Engagement and Plan (CEAP) consisting of:
• information and data to overview effective international practice, trends and common issues experienced internationally
• identification of the information to enable outline determination of current national market status for broadband and telecom sector generally
• identification of activities to overcome impediments and ensure effective planning and execution of a successful national broadband programme
• Activity Modules covering Telecom infrastructure, National Programmes, 5G policies and Emerging Technologies
• Workshop and presentation of overall findings and recommendations
Broadband competence development
Salience provided recommendations for 4 EBRD countries- Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Tunisia concerning the best privatisation method of the state-owned dominant incumbent.
The key objective of the assignment was to provide policy makers in the EBRD region an evidence-based guidance on how to successfully undertake privatisation of state-owned dominant incumbent in the telecommunications sector.
• Overview of the privatisation experiences around the world and quantitative data analysis on:
• service portfolio subject to privatization
• state of development of the broadband market before and after) the privatisation
• performance of incumbents before and after the privatisation experiences
• impact on the development of equity markets in the case of privatisation through IPO and SPO
• High-level review of broadband markets in selected countries
• Provide concrete recommendation for the privatisation method and likely experience for each
of the countries
• Workshop and presentation of overall findings and recommendations
Privatisation analysis for the EBRD region
The World Bank selected Salience and our partner TMG, to deliver an analysis of that will be used to help regulators implement better policy decisions to stimulate investment for rural internet access. This high-profile analysis will be published by the World Bank
Our analysis will help inform regulatory policy changes. The main objective of the publication is to help the World Bank make better investment decisions.
• Cross-border and national fiber-optic network business models are being created to show the economics of sharing national infrastructure across borders.
• Spectrum re-farming and the digital dividend will demonstrate the best way of re-using spectrum and allocation bands for rural coverage.
• Recommendations and guidelines are being prepared that will be used to help regulators around the world implement more effective spectrum policy.
• Landscape overview of relevant and emerging global trends on spectrum policy and planning to identify how spectrum allocation can be optimized for rural access.
