TCRA issues guidelines for innovators, researchers

DAR ES SALAAM: THE Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) has issued guidelines on the allocation of free communication resources to innovators, researchers and start-ups to test their projects before commercial deployment.

TCRA Director General Dr Jabiri Bakari said in Dar es Salaam yesterday that the initiative was part of fostering innovative solutions to community challenges.

It also aimed at promoting telecommunications, broadcasting, postal and courier services.

It was also designed to nurture Tanzania’s growing digital innovation ecosystem, ensuring start-ups have the tools and support needed to grow and contribute positively to society through technological advancement.

TCRA Vision is having “A society Empowered by Communication Services.” The communications resources are electronic numbering resources, radio frequency spectrum, .tz domain names and postcodes.

These are assigned temporarily and free of charge preferably for a period of three months. Numbering resources include short codes used in transactions.

The earmarked radio spectrum ranges from 3 kilohertz (kHz) to 3000 gigahertz (GHz).

This carries sound, images, video, data and short message service (SMS). Domain names are unique identifiers of internet resources such as websites registered in the country or global levels.

They are used or reserved for a country, for example, the .tz for Tanzania, as it appears in the TCRA website: HYPERLINK “http:// www.tcra.go.tz” \t “_blank” www.tcra.go.tz.

A postcode is a five-digit numeric set used to identify locations from zone to ward level. Postcodes facilitate the delivery of social services and enable electronic commerce through the physical delivery of items procured digitally.

TCRA partners with the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH) in this programme. Applicants are required to get the latter’s endorsement before presenting their project proposals to TCRA.

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The innovators programme is among TCRA’s initiatives to mainstream science and technology at all levels of education to keep Tanzania abreast of modern technologies.

The Authority promotes digital clubs in schools and facilitates innovation in information and communication technologies (ICTS).

This is part of TCRA’s contribution to the realisation of the objectives of the Tanzania Digital Economy Strategic Framework (2024-2034) and the Third Five-Year Development Plan (FYDP III).

The framework reiterates the need to raise awareness of subjects that promote science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) from lower education levels.

Dr Bakari stresses that a robust STEM foundation is essential for a prosperous and inclusive digital economy in Tanzania. It enables Tanzania to have a Tanzania driven by a digital economy