West Africa Telecommunications Regulators Assembly (Watra | Artao)

The West Africa Telecommunications Regulators Assembly (WATRA) is a consultative and collaborative body of Telecommunications Regulators in the West African sub-region. It was established in November 2002 with headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria, and was formed to aid and advance the development of telecommunications in the sub-region and ultimately in Africa. The Assembly is made up of independent National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) from member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) sub-region and Mauritania, with a total membership of sixteen (16) countries. WATRA’s primary aim is to foster liberalization and competition through the establishment of modern legal and regulatory structures for telecommunications delivery in West Africa towards a common, virile telecommunications market. It promotes this goal through capacity-building initiatives, information sharing, research, coordination, policy dialogues and recommendations, and partnerships with other regional and international agencies whose objectives include telecommunications development and service delivery. Ultimately, WATRA's goals for the sub-region are: - The harmonization of technical standards, - Establishing stronger connectivity with societies across borders, - Ensuring sound regulatory frameworks for telecommunications service delivery, - Ensuring increased focus on ICT as a tool for socio-economic development, and - Ensuring closer collaboration amongst member countries.