Individual Consultant to provide Regulatory Capacity Building and Advisory Services to ATRA on issues including Spectrum Management

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST (reoi) 

AND THE TERMS OF REFERENCE (tor)

[CONSULTANCY SERVICES by Individual Consultant]

COUNTRY:                                       Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

IMPLEMENTING AGENCY:           Afghanistan Telecom Regulatory Authority (ATRA)

NAME OF THE PROJECT:                        Digital CASA Afghanistan

SECTOR:                                          Information and Communications Technology (ICT)

CONSULTING SERVICES:           Individual Consultant to provide Regulatory Capacity Building and Advisory Services to ATRA                                                          on issues including Spectrum Management

CONTRACT TYPE:                         Consultancy by anIndividual Consultant Contract-IC-Lump sum

DURATION OF ASSIGNMENT:     Sixmonths

DUTY STATION:                              Kabul, Afghanistan

CONTRACT REFERENCE NO:     PPG/DC/ATRA/IC-1

WORLD BANK GRANT NO:          PPG of Digital CASA Afghanistan Project

PROJECT ID NO:                            -----------------------------------------

Background:

The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT)/ATRA, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan has received Project Preparatory Grant/Fund from the World Bank to prepare for implementation of Digital CASA Afghanistan Project and intends to apply part of the proceeds to hire a qualified Individual Consultant to provide Regulatory Capacity Building and Advisory Services to ATRA on issues including Spectrum Management.

This Consultancy Support will be provided to ATRA at Kabul, under theProject Preparatory Fund of Digital CASA Afghanistan Project.

The aim of the Digital CASA Afghanistan Project is: (i) to expand and strengthen the Regional and National level broadband connectivity based on Optical Fiber Networks;(ii) to boost up digital society and economy through e-Governance initiatives and (iii) to prepare an enabling environment and Regulations for the growth of ICT Sector in Afghanistan.  The project will do so by: (a) expansion and strengthening of broadband connectivity in Central Asia and South Asia Regions; (b) expansion and strengthening of national broadband connectivity in Afghanistan; (c) Commissioning of a Network called “Govnet” to connect most of the Government Offices at Central and Provincial Government levels in Afghanistan; (d) Automation of citizen-centric services through e-Governance initiatives of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan; (e) framing up of Regulations, Policies, Strategies and Procedures for growth of ICT Sector of Afghanistan.

To contribute towards achievement of some of the above mentioned objectives of Digital CASA Afghanistan Project, ATRA has decided to avail the consultancy services of an Individual Consultant to provide Regulatory Capacity Building and Advisory Services to ATRA on issues including Spectrum Management.

Some of the components of the Digital CASA Afghanistan Project which are presumed to address under this TOR are:

-       To increase broadband penetration so as topromote competition in the sector.

-       To provide technical assistance for strengthening the enabling environment for the ICT sector, which includes supporting the implementation of the open access policy, including updates to regulatory and legal frameworks as well as strengthening institutional capacity of ATRA.

Objectives of the Consultancy Assignment by Resident Advisor (also called Consultant):

ATRA is going to provide required frequency bands to MNOs in order for 4G services. ATRA needs to review the spectrum usage and propose frequency bands to be used for 4G services. Then

Scope of Work and Tasks:

Scope of the Work and the Tasks of the consultant will be as under:-

Ø    Assessment of current spectrum usage, efficiency of current spectrum utilization by various operators.

Ø    Revision of spectrum bands allocation for broadband services/technologies with view to increase high speed broadband internet connectivity in urban, semi-urban and rural areas.

Ø    Propose frequency bands for 4G services.

Ø    Propose the 4G frequency assignments to be updated in National Frequency Allocation Table (NFAT).

Ø    Propose the allocation mechanism of 4G frequency bands to MNOs.

Ø    If allocation mechanism is benchmarking of price of the spectrum, then after taking into international trends and development in Afghanistan mobile sector, recommend benchmarking price for different benchmarking price for 4G frequency bands identified above.

Ø    Assessment of future spectrum needs and availability, technology trends based on international practices and projected growth of telecom and internet services in Afghanistan.

Ø    Various international practices should be taken into account for any of the activities.

Ø    While preparing the reports the consultant should take into account technological developments, proceedings of WRCs and various other international standards and practices.

Ø    All activities should be in consultancy with all related stakeholders including MNOs, ISPsand government and nongovernment agencies.

Ø    Provide enhanced training to ATRA staff both theoretically and practically on Spectrum Monitoring issues including technical report analysis.

The consultant will also be required to coordinate with other consultants working with the Digital CASA project.

Payment Structure and the Deliverables:

Payments will be made as per the following schedules:-

1-    20 % of the Contract Value will be paid after submission of Report-1, to be submitted by the consultant within 1.5 months of Contract Effective Date (Physical Reporting Date in ATRA at Kabul). This Report-1 should cover the following:-

Ø  Report on assessment of current spectrum usage, efficiency of current spectrum utilization by various operators.

Ø  Report on revision of spectrum bands allocation

2-    40 % of the Contract Value will be paid after submission of Report-2, to be submitted within 3 months of Contract Effective Date. This Report-2 should cover the following:-

Ø  Propose frequency bands for 4G services.

Ø  Propose the 4G frequency assignments to be updated in National Frequency Allocation Table (NFAT).

3-    20 % of the Contract Value will be paid after submission of Report-3, to be submitted within 4.5 months of Contract Effective Date. This Report-3 should cover the following:-

Ø  Propose the allocation mechanism of 4G frequency bands.

Ø  If allocation mechanism is benchmarking of price of the spectrum, then recommend benchmarking price for different benchmarking price for 4G frequency bands.

4-    20 % of the Contract Value will be paid after submission of Report-4, to be submitted within 6 months of Contract Effective Date. This Report-4 should cover the following:-

Ø  Assessment of future spectrum needs and availability, technology trends.

Ø  Finalized Report on all the Tasks as given in the Scope of Work for this Assignment;

Ø  Report on training provided to ATRA’s staff, both theoretical and practical training on Spectrum Management and Monitoring;

Other deliverables: These include weekly and monthly briefings to the Teams of ATRA and the World Bank at Kabul and in-depth Training of ATRA’sStaff.

All the reports as outlined above shall:

i)  be written such that they stand alone, without the reader needing to refer to other documents;

ii) shall include a dated cover letter with the distribution list and shall note key issues of interest in the report for management’s attention;

iii) All the Reports (03 Copies-printed and signed volumes +Soft Copies in CDs) should be submitted: One Set to the Chairman of ATRA; One set to the concerned Department in ATRA; and one Set to the Project Director of Digital CASA Afghanistan Project.

Qualification and Experience Requirements and the Short-listing Criteria:

i)  The consultant should have at least 15 years of experience in Telecom services;

ii) The consultant should have at least 10 years of experience in Spectrum Management, Regulations, Strategies, Policies and Procedures for ICT Sector;

iii) The consultant should have world class experience in preparation of Regulations, Strategies, Policies and Procedures for ICT Sector;

iv) The consultant should be willing to spend substantial periods of time in Kabul, Afghanistan in order to provide capacity building and technical advice to ATRA on a regular basis;

Milestones will be considered complete only upon the acceptance and formal approval of the designated ATRA’s Staff. All payments will be made to the consultant, within 30 days from date of formal approval by the Chairman of PICU of the Invoice, Activity Sheet and brief Report with each Invoice, all to be submitted in English language. Formats will be provided by the Project Director of Digital CASA Project of MCIT.

Facilities to be given by ATRA:

The following facilities and support will be provided to the consultant by the client (ATRA):

          A suitable working space with Internet connectivity for the consultant will be provided inside ATRA’s Main Building at Kabul;

          Facilitation of entry visa, if required;

          Relevant background documents;

          Facilitation and arrangement for meetings with relevant stakeholders and partners;

Request for Expressions of Interest (REOI) by MCIT:

The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) now invites eligible Consultancy Firms to indicate their interest in providing the services. Interested Consultancy Firms must provide information indicating that they are qualified to perform the services (Brochures, CVs, giving description of their Qualifications, Experience, similar assignments done earlier, experience in similar conditions and availability of appropriate skills etc.).

A Consultancy Firm will be selected in accordance with the procedures set out in the World Bank’s Guidelines: Selection and Employment of Consultants by World Bank Borrowers (January, 2011 edition).

To ensure impartiality, the consultant (including his home office, if any) must not, in any way, be affiliated with business entities that are currently providing or are seeking to provide goods or services to the project.

For further details, Interested Consultants are requested to obtain further information (if required) at the address given below, during office hours from 0800 to 1600 hours:

Procurement Department  (Attn: Ghulam Hussain Adil)

Head of Procurement Department ;

Procurement Department, Ministry of Communications and IT (MCIT)

Mohammad Jan Khan Watt; Kabul, Afghanistan

Phone: Office: +93 20 210 1201;

Email: procurement@mcit.gov.af

Web site: www.mcit.gov.af

Any queries on the position may also be addressed to the above mentioned email address (procurement@mcit.gov.af), with CC to:secretary@atra.gov.af; -- latest one week before the deadline for submission of expression of interest.

Expressions of interest (02 Sets of all the Documents) including detailed Brochures, Resumes and other related Documents must be delivered as signed and printed documents to the following Address by 10-March ,2018—before 2.00 PM Kabul time:

Procurement Department (Attn: Ghulam Hussain Adil)

Head of Procurement Department;

Procurement Department, Ministry of Communications and IT (MCIT)

Mohammad Jan Khan Watt; Kabul, Afghanistan

Phone: Office: +93 20 210 1201;

Email: procurement@mcit.gov.af

Web site: www.mcit.gov.af

EOIs and other related Documents of EOI from International Consultancy Firms will be provisionally accepted by MCIT if sent through E-Mails, only if the Printed and signed Copies of all such Documents are received within 07 days after the due date and time. MCIT will not be responsible for any Postal delays in this regard.

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