Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority

Type:	Private
Founded:	2003
Headquarters:	Dar Es Salaam
Country:	Tanzania
Website:	tcra.go.tz
Facebook:	TCRA Facebook
Key People
Judge Buxton Chipeta, Chairman Dr. Vuai Iddi Lila, Vice Chairman Professor John S. Nkoma, Director General, Board Member Baruany Elijah Luhanga, Board Member Dr. Justinian Anatory, Board Member Goodluck Joseph Ole-Medeye, Dir. Corporate Resources Management James Kilaba - Deputy Director

TCRA or Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority is an organisation within the Republic of Tanzania that deals with postal service, broadcasting, and electronic communications issues.

The TCRA came into existence on November 1, 2003 with the help of both the Tanzania Communication Commission and Tanzania Broadcasting. It is headquartered in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. It is set up with the terms of TCRA Act No 12. The aim of the company is to improve the means of communication within the republic. The organisation is regulated by the government of Tanzania and answers to the Communication and Technology Ministry.

Its deputy director, James Kilaba, represents the country of Tanzania in ICANN's GAC.

Functions

A few of the functions performed by the TCRA are:

• Keep the interest of the clients intact
• Provide low cost services to low-income clients.
• Issue licenses to those companies that qualify for them.
• Cancel the license of a company that violates the terms.
• Keep tariff of various services in check and prevent them from rising.
• Take care of the activities that the Tanzania Communications Commission and Tanzania Broadcasting Commission were involved in.

Other Activities

The organisation is involved in various other activities other than developing communication systems in the country. For instance, they also focus on education, and they have ties to various education suppliers, government agencies, colleges and universities.

TCRA and ICANN

The ccTLD for the United Republic of Tanzania is .tz. It was originally delegated to Prof. Beda Mutagahwa of the Univeristy of Dar es Salaam and his colleagues in 1995. Given that there was no Internet access in the country at that time, the technical operations were internationally contracted.

In 2005, The TCRA formed a national coalition of ISPs, network operators, and representatives of the University. They were further aided by technical experts from neighboring countries. Later that year, the TCRA assumed control of the .tz domain space. A year later an internal report recommended that a non-profit limited company be established, with the sole purpose to “control, manage and operate” the .tz domain. Thus, in 2006 the Tanzania Network Information Centre Limited, "TZNIC", was incorporated. Membership within the group is restricted to individuals involved with either the TCRA or the Tanzania Internet Service Providers Association (TISPA).

On August 10th, 2009, TZNIC announced that they had transfered authority over the .tz domain space from the University to themselves. The transfer was technically unlawful as ICANN had yet to approve the transfer of the ccTLD. 3 months later, in October, they submitted to ICANN a formal application for the transfer.