I3 3 The Communications Policy The Communications Policy addresses the institutional framework for the regulation of the communications sector, and establishes the policies that the Government will use to guide the development of the sector.1 The new policy provides the basis for the Communications Act, which will replace the LTA Act and the Post Office Act. The Communications Policy adopts an integrated regulatory regime governing the telecommunications, broadcasting, and postal sector (collectively, the Communications sector). The policy aims to achieve the following four goals. • Regulatory reform. The policy will strengthen the regulatory capacity of the Lesotho Communications Authority (LCA). • Convergence. The Policy will reflect and promote the convergence of services and networks based on the Internet. • Universal Service. The Policy will foster universal access to a diverse range of high-quality communications services at affordable prices, including advanced networks, in order to enable Lesotho to participate in the global information society. • Competition. The Policy will promote a competitive communications market. In particular, the policy will facilitate the cooperative deployment and sharing of infrastructure, thereby avoiding duplicative deployment of infrastructure while promoting service-based competition. Southern Africa Development Community Protocol on Transport, Communications, and Meteorology. The Communications Policy is consistent with the Southern African Development Community's Protocol on Transport, Communications, and Meteorology, to which Lesotho is a signatory. In particular, as required by the Protocol, the Government will: • establish a universal service policy that identifies specific services, establishes priorities, and measures progress; • promote a coordinated approach to the regulation of the telecommunications and broadcasting sector; • 1 encourage private sector investment in network infrastructure; In this Policy Statement, the term "communications" is used to refer collectively to telecommunications, broadcasting, and postal services.