Tanzania ed, approved and implemented to transform the media and how they operate. Broadcasting authority challenged over election reporting guidelines In May 2014, the broadcasting regulatory authority established, ‘Political Party Election Guidelines”, purposely for the coming general election coverage on October 2015. Critics and analyst challenged the move, saying the Media Council should issue ethical guidelines. ICT’s AND DEVELOPMENT ICTs more affordable and accessible Arguably, Tanzania has seen countrywide improvement in its information communication technology (ICT) development in 2014. Services have become more affordable and therefore more accessible to a greater proportion of the population. The transport and backhaul costs paid by operators for example, have decreased by 99 per cent from USD 20,000 to USD 160 per month per 2Mbps-E1carrier stream, according to reports by the Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority (TCRA). This places Tanzania as one of the countries in Africa with the most price-friendly internet access today, with the ICT infrastructure to sustain it in the long-term. “The successful installation and implementation of the TCRA’s Telecommunication Traffic Monitoring System (TTMS) is not only a revolution but also one of the greatest achievements to the country’s communication sector”, reads a line in one of TCRA’s reports. The TTMS is capable of detecting and tracking illegal communication operators stripping licensed communications services operators of their earnings. 74 So This is Democracy? 2014 The country’s communication sector has undergone exponential growth in recent years with the number of mobile phone subscriber identification module cards (SIM cards) sold increased from 2.1 million in 2004, to 17.6 million in 2009, to 28 million in 2014. On track to meet digital migration goals By the end of 2014, more than 14 regions in Tanzania had migrated from analogue to digital broadcasting since the Digital Terrestrial Television switchover commenced in 2012. The number of television stations on the digital platform stands at 16, leaving only five yet to convert, according to TCRA.