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Date of Submission to Coordination Unit:

A. GENERAL INFORMATION

1. Activity NameBroadband Internet and ICT for Education Acceleration Project

2. Requestor Information Name: Mrs Kalthoum HAMZAOUI Title: Directeur Général de la Coopération Multilatérale

Organization and Address: Ministry of Development, Investment and International Cooperation, 98, avenue Mohamed V, 1002 Tunis, Tunisie

Telephone:+216-71798522 Email: [email protected]

3. Recipient Entity Name: Mr Nebil CHEMEK Title: Responsable du Project Management Office Digital

Tunisia

Organization and Address: Ministry of Communication Technologies and Digital Economy, 3 bis, rue d’Angleterre, 1000 Tunis, Tunisie

Telephone:+216-98319549 Email: [email protected]

4. ISA SC RepresentativeName: Carlo M. Rossotto Title: Senior ICT Policy Specialist

Organization and Address: The World Bank, 1818 H St NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA

Telephone: +1-202-473-73-54 Email: [email protected]

5. Type of Execution (check the applicable box)√ Type Endorsements Justification

Country-Execution Attach written endorsement from designated ISA

Joint Country/ISA-Execution

Attach written endorsement from designated ISA

X ISA-Execution for Country Attach written endorsement from designated ISA

It is proposed that the activities be Bank-executed to ensure that the Recipient benefits from global best practice in the strategic activities envisaged under the proposed project.

ISA-Execution for Parliaments

Attach written endorsements from designated Ministry and ISA

October 15 , 2018

mailto:[email protected]

6. Geographic FocusX Individual country (name of country): Tunisia

Regional or multiple countries (list countries):

7. Amount Requested (USD) Amount Requested for direct Project Activities:(of which Amount Requested for direct ISA-Executed Project Activities):

US$3,725,000 (US$3,725,000 – original:

US$3,225,000, AF: US$500,000)Amount Requested for ISA Indirect Costs:1 US$66,250 (original: US$60,750, AF:

US$5,500)Total Amount Requested: US$3,791,250 (original:

US$3,285,750, AF: US$505,500)

8. Expected Project Start, Closing and Final Disbursement DatesStart Date: 02/05/2016 Closing Date: 31/05/2020 End Disbursement

Date:30/09/2020

9. Pillar(s) to which Activity RespondsPillar Primary

(One only)Secondary(All that apply)

Pillar Primary(One only)

Secondary(All that apply)

Investing in Sustainable Growth. This could include such topics as innovation and technology policy, enhancing the business environment (including for small and medium-sized enterprises as well as for local and foreign investment promotion), competition policy, private sector development strategies, access to finance, addressing urban congestion and energy intensity.

X Enhancing Economic Governance. This could include areas such as transparency, anti-corruption and accountability policies, asset recovery, public financial management and oversight, public sector audit and evaluation, integrity, procurement reform, regulatory quality and administrative simplification, investor and consumer protection, access to economic data and information, management of environmental and social impacts, capacity building for local government and decentralization, support for the Open Government Partnership, creation of new and innovative government agencies related to new transitional reforms, reform of public service delivery in the social and infrastructure sectors, and sound banking systems.

Inclusive Development and Job Creation. This could include support of policies for integrating lagging regions, skills and labor market policies, increasing youth employability, enhancing female labor force participation, integrating people with disabilities, vocational training, pension reform, improving job conditions and regulations, financial inclusion, promoting equitable fiscal policies and

X Competitiveness and Integration. This could include such topics as logistics, behind-the-border regulatory convergence, trade strategy and negotiations, planning and facilitation of cross-border infrastructure, and promoting and facilitating infrastructure projects, particularly in the areas of urban infrastructure, transport, trade facilitation and private sector development.

X

1 ISA indirect costs are for grant preparation, administration, management (implementation support/supervision) including staff time, travel, consultant costs, etc.

social safety net reform.

B. STRATEGIC CONTEXT

10. Country and Sector Issues Political and economic life in Tunisia has been challenged by terrorist attacks, political unrest and growing social pressure and has not completely stabilized since the Arab Spring. Continued efforts to address the fundamental issues that triggered the uprising in 2011 are even more critical five years later. Economic growth has slowed, and unemployment remains high. The same disparities between coastal areas and the interior of the country that contributed to the revolutionary uprising are still affecting the socio-economic prospects of the country. The risk of radicalization affects large parts of the youth population, as key sectors of the economy, including tourism, have been affected by internal and external shocks. The return to a higher path of economic growth, while addressing the disparities among different areas of the country and socio-economic groups, is a top priority for this country in transition. For this reason, the Government of Tunisia intends to invest in key sectors that can increase competitiveness and strengthen the prospects of sustainable growth. The Government of Tunisia (GoT) plans to extend broadband or high-speed Internet infrastructure in the hope that investment in High speed Internet would stimulate the domestic economy, and counteract the negative economic dynamics at play. In addition, the provision of high speed Internet in disadvantaged areas of the country, and availability of digital tools to the technology savvy youth population may allow them to increase human capital, contributing to the competitiveness of the country, and to key government programs in health and education.

Tunisia spends close to 15% of the national budget on education, and has made significant investments in information and communication technologies for education (ICT4E). However, the level of integration of these new technologies in the daily pedagogic practice of teachers, the administration of schools by directors and by students in class remain limited (SNPT 2015, CNIPRE 2015). The proposed project would allow the evaluation of a select set of promising ICT4E initiatives and the micro-piloting of solutions to key roadblocks in the broader context of the GoT advancing its agenda to leverage the private sector for broadband and ultrafast broadband infrastructure expansion. This innovative proposed project would complement the Digital Tunisia Project currently under preparation by the GoT and the World Bank.

The GoT has acknowledged the critical role that Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) as a driver for economic development, economic diversification and inclusive information society, as included in the recently adopted ICT strategy. However, Tunisia’s potential to compete in international markets and to fully use ICT as a key accelerator of social and economic development remains hindered by low levels of competition in telecommunications and an unfinished reform agenda.

ICT for Education (ICT4E). The Government of Tunisia and the Ministry in charge of Education in particular have invested considerable resources in the initial design steps for an ICT for Education (ICT4E) strategy, including the development of a “Solution Numerique pour Tous” (May 2015, “SNTP”) strategic planning document, and an evaluation of prior ICT experience in Tunisia, “L’evaluation et le renforcement de l’integration des technologies de l’information et da la communication dans le systeme educatif,” among other key documents. The Ministry in charge of Education is ready to engage in the development of a detailed implementation strategy to address the specific challenges identified in the evaluation of prior ICT experience and the implementation of portions of the SNPT, with the overall goal of improving the quality of education and the employability of students.

In order to maximize the impact of the investment in broadband and ultrafast broadband infrastructure, connectivity to schools in rural and defavorized areas will be prioritized under this project. A project component managed by the Ministry in charge of Education will provide training to teachers and school administrators to purchase software and hardware to improve classroom pedagogy and school administration with the ultimate aim of improving student learning and system efficiency. Students will have access to high-speed internet connections on devices financed by the project that will enable them to benefit from a nearly unlimited set of informational resources, as well as instructional, research and assessment programs from both national and international providers. Learning assistance for students with special needs, particularly deaf and blind students, would be made available through this component.

Broadband and ultrafast broadband infrastructure. Demand for broadband Internet services in Tunisia, in particular in urban centers, has been growing rapidly as evidenced by the strong growth in the number of subscriptions in recent years. Tunisia has therefore focused on developing its telecommunications market for some time. Such infrastructure can significantly increase the production and use of digital content in the entire country, making knowledge and expertise available and connected with the region and international providers of jobs. Despite this record, access to affordable broadband Internet services whether it be mobile broadband services on Smartphones and tablet computers or FTTX (fibre to the home, schools etc.), remains an issue in Tunisia. As of December 2014, the penetration of mobile telephony is 130% but only 9% for mobile broadband and only 5% for fixed broadband. Broadband access is currently available only in the higher-income parts of Tunisia, and the current broadband prices are prohibitive for a large percentage of the population. A representative household in the lowest 40 percent income bracket of Tunisia would need to spend about 41 percent of its disposable income to afford fixed broadband services and about 44 percent to afford mobile broadband services.

The comparison with countries with similar indicators of Internet development a decade ago, shows that Tunisia has ample room for growth when it comes to development of High Speed Internet infrastructure.Countries like Romania, Bulgaria, which were broadly at the same level of Internet development as Tunisia ten years ago, started removing all entry barriers in this segment in the mid-2000. As a result of this difference:

The average speed of the Internet in Romania is higher than in France, while Tunisia is still struggling with poor DSL and 3G cards;

Whilst mobile broadband Internet penetration is booming in Bulgaria, Lithuania and Romania, in Tunisia it did not take off as fast, and is even lower than Morocco as highlighted in the graph below.

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 20120.0

10.020.030.040.050.060.070.080.0

TunisiaMoroccoRomaniaLithuaniaBulgaria

Mobile Broadband Penetration Rate (% of population)Source : TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database as of December 2013 - http://www.telegeography.com

Whilst fixed broadband Internet penetration is booming in Bulgaria, Lithuania and Romania in parallel to mobile broadband Internet, in Tunisia, growth slowed down.

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 20120

5

10

15

20

25

MoroccoTunisiaRomaniaBulgariaLithuania

Source : ITU: Fixed (wired)-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitant - http://www.itu.int/net4/itu-d/icteye/.

In addition to tackling the key regulatory and entry barriers in the broadband sector, the proposed project would support the design of a Public Private Partnership (PPP) that would maximize private participation and speed-up investments into the national backbone infrastructure taking into account the specific context of Tunisia’s existing telecommunications market. It is envisioned that the design of the PPP would be implemented under the Digital Tunisia Project which is currently under preparation.

11. Alignment with Transition Fund ObjectiveThe proposed project falls under two pillars of the Middle East and North Africa Transition Fund (in order of relevance to the proposed project):

Investing in Sustainable Growth. This project would support Ministry in charge of Digital Economy in developing both regulations in-line with international best practice to promote broadband Internet development. This project would also support the Ministry in charge of Education in developing an actionable roadmap for leveraging digital technologies in its national education system.

Competitiveness and Integration. This project would promote and facilitate private investments into the national fiber optic cable infrastructure.

Inclusive Development and Job Creation. The Tunisian education system’s support network for students with special needs, including visually and hearing impaired learners, would be strengthened by offering software specifically designed for these student’s needs and by facilitating communication between impaired students across the country.

12. Alignment with Country’s National StrategyBroadband and ultrafast broadband infrastructure. In June of 2014, Tunisia completed a consultative process to adopt its new ICT strategy called “Digital Tunisia 2018” which aims at transforming the country into an international digital best practice and to use digital technologies as a key accelerator of social and economic development. “Digital Tunisia 2018” follows an holistic approach structured around 6 strategic pillars: (1) improve the quality of life of the citizen through a better use of information and communications technologies (ICT); (2) Transform businesses through the use of ICT for greater competitiveness , productivity and integration; (3) Transform the administration by the use and adoption of ICT for better efficiency and transparency to the benefit of citizen and businesses; (4) Achieve Broadband Internet and knowledge for All and develop Ultra Fast Broadband (UFB); (5) be in the Top 3 offshoring leader in IT offshoring in Middle East Africa; (6) Make innovation a driving force in the digital industry through the development of creative solutions and functional support in all business sectors and entrepreneurship. “Digital Tunisia 2018” seeks to significantly improve the importance of the ICT sector in terms of economic, social and international competitiveness of Tunisia. By supporting the development of a competitive, sustainable and private sector led High Speed Internet infrastructure, the proposed project will be an

essential foundation to the main pillars of the country’s national strategy in the sector.

ICT for Education (ICT4E). Investments in digital learning are a key part of the “Digital Tunisia 2018” strategy and the National Strategic Plan as well as the Five-Year Development Plan 2020. A strategic overview, “Solution Numérique Pour Tous” was developed in May 2015 as a first stage toward implementing these strategic goals.

C. PROJECT DESCRIPTION

13. Project ObjectiveThe primary objective of the proposed project is to support the Government of Tunisia (GoT) in accelerating access to high speed internet in Tunisia and to improving service delivery in Tunisia’s education sector by the use of information and communications technologies (ICT). The five components will be implemented under the Digital Tunisia Project currently under preparation by the GoT and the World Bank.

More specifically, the project would result in an actionable plan and design, with full government ownership, on (1) deepening reforms on telecoms liberalization and broadband regulation ; (2) examining the strategic options for the state-owned incumbent telecoms operator in the context of the plan for overall sector liberalization ; (3) introducing new models of broadband infrastructure supply ; (4) testing and evaluation of promising approaches and drafting a detailed implementation strategy including policy reforms at the macro level and training and investments at the school and classroom level for ICT4E (ICT for Education) ; and (5) conducting an Impact Evaluation (IE) to ascertain the effects of broadband infrastructure and accompanying e-education program on the economic and social outcomes of beneficiaries. Component 3 will support Tunisia in setting up the enabling environment for broadband PPPs.

14. Project ComponentsComponent 1. Deepening reforms on telecoms liberalization and broadband regulation . The experience of the past decade has clearly shown that competition, and in particular facilities-based competition, is the most important driving force for accelerated and sustainable telecommunications market development together with the set-up of independent regulatory authorities. Competition enables private investment, incentivizes operators to be more efficient, and, as a result, ensures maximum benefits for end users both in terms of quality and prices. The activities in this component would support and enhance the capacity of the Tunisian public sector stakeholders involved in designing and implementing improvements in the policy and regulatory environment of broadband communications (Ministry in charge of Digital Economy, sector regulator INT, Competition Authority, Administrative Court). Improvements in primary legislation (revision of the Tunisian basic telecommunications Law – Code des Télécommunications), secondary legislation or decisions of the sectoral regulator INT would align with the following principles: (i) minimizing barriers to market entry in telecommunications, including for independent service providers ; (ii) promoting competition, with regulation that is sufficiently transparent, predictable, and stable to leverage private sector participation in broadband communications; (iii) expanding the frontier of commercial viability of broadband infrastructure through measures to decrease operators’ deployment costs ; and (iv) address underserved areas of the country through using the universal service fund for rural broadband network deployment. This US$645,000 component is ISA-executed to ensure that improvements in the policy and regulatory environment are in-line with global best practice.

Component 2. Examining the strategic options for the state-owned incumbent telecoms operator in the context of the plan for overall sector liberalization. Compared with benchmark countries such Chile or Eastern EU countries, Tunisia has only partially reformed the incumbent operator, Tunisie Telecom. Tunisie Telecom has a strong national backbone of 13,000 Km of fiber, and good engineers. It remains overstaffed and commercially

unable to face competition. The activities in this component would support the Government of Tunisia examining the strategic options for the state-owned incumbent telecoms operator in the context of the plan for overall sector liberalization. To be examined are in particular : reviewing the mandate, financial flows, product lines, structure and staffing of Tunisie Telecom in order to assess their sustainability, financial viability and impact on overall sector performance ; based on the review, a set of recommendations would be developed for Tunisie Telecom in terms of organization structure and strategic partnerships. This US$445,000 component be ISA-executed to ensure that recommendations are in-line with global best practice. In addition, the following activity are requested by the GoT:

A study to assess the future of the digital infrastructure in Tunisia. This study will be organized in 2 lots: (i) to provide a vision of the future of the digital infrastructure for 2020 and beyond to enable the Government of Tunisia to update its ICT strategy plan; and (ii) to study the possible strategic positioning for Tunisie Telecom in this context.

A study to help the Tunisian Government to (i) better understand the digital payments market in Tunisia and the respective roles and responsibilities of the various stakeholders in the ecosystem; (ii) provide a detailed study of the legal and regulatory framework to identify the main constraints; and (iii) make recommendations based on best practices in the legal and regulatory fields, public policies, consumer protection and the fight against fraud, thus promoting the development of digital payments in Tunisia.

An assessment of the business opportunities for Tunisia in certain emerging technological niches likely to create jobs and have a significant positive impact on the Tunisian economy. The following 3 technologies have been identified by the MTCEN as priorities for this assessment: (i) Artificial Intelligence / Big Data / Internet of Things; (ii) Cyber-Security; and (iii) Fintech / Cryptography / Blockchain.

It is proposed to fund the above mentioned new activities through a budget reallocation of US$ 600,000 from Component 3 and US$ 195,000 from Component 5.

Component 3. Introducing new models of broadband infrastructure supply. According to estimates of cost distribution per different broadband infrastructure layers, the passive infrastructure layer constitutes between 60 and 80 percent of all the investments needed (in developing countries like Tunisia, it is likely to be in the closer to 60 percent due to differential labor costs with developed countries) with a payback period of 15 years, which causes operators to increasingly look for opportunities to reduce network deployment costs. Deployment of new fiber infrastructure is a great investment challenge for operators all over the world, including in high-income economies. There is a strong rationale for public sector financing when the policy objective is to accelerate investment in the areas where financial viability can only be attained through collaborative deployment schemes of a shared fiber-based ultrafast broadband (FTTH) infrastructure. Traditionally, the bulk of network investment in telecommunications has been shouldered by vertically integrated operators and to some extent by alternative infrastructure providers (utilities) making excess capacity available. These operators typically use corporate financing for their infrastructure investments and up to this point mainly rely on retained earnings/cash flow from normal operations and complementary debt financing. While these observations continue to apply as a general rule, a number of alternative investors and investment models are emerging in the context of fiber-based ultrafast broadband networks when collaborative schemes are required. In these Public Private Partnership (PPP) models private partners are selected to design, build and operate networks on a wholesale-only basis to support improved retail offers by telecom operators and service providers. Private partners are entitled to the project revenues under a long-life concession contract plus potentially an up-front grant component which is necessary to ensure commercial viability. The activities under this component would support the Tunisian authorities in setting up an enabling environment for a PPP for ultrafast broadband networks, including through the design of ultrafast broadband PPP models based on best practices, frameworks for infrastructure sharing and infrastructure operators’ draft authorization/cahier des charge and through the strengthening of the capacity to monitor the performance of the selected private operator (best practice tools and procedures to monitor the execution of PPP contract as well as training of the Government officials tasked with overseeing the execution of broadband PPP contracts). This US$945,000 component is ISA-executed to ensure that recommendations are in-line with global best practice.Since a wholesale license has been awarded to Level 4, the GoT requested to cancel the support to a downstream PPP transaction under Component 3 and reallocate the remaining funds (US$ 600,000) to Component 2, in order to support the new activities requested in Component 2.

Component 4. Testing and evaluation of promising approaches and drafting a detailed implementation strategy including policy reforms at the macro level and training and investments at the school and classroom level for ICT4E (ICT for Education). The strategy would focus on the evaluation of existing information and communication technologies for education approaches in Tunisia and the testing of solutions for roadblocks related to teacher and school-director uptake of e-education tools. Current work by CNTE on school administration software platforms as well as digital content for hearing and vision impaired students would be the primary focus. Based on these evaluations and micro-solutions testing, a detailed strategy would be developed incorporating a broad-based consultative approach in line with best practices in Citizen Engagement and recent technical work in South Africa, Tanzania, Malaysia and the UK. Given the relatively advanced stage of development, namely the fact that the choice to focus on ICT4E has already been made specific in the GoT’s request, a combined Scoping and Big Fast Results Lab format would be adopted. This approach would bring together learners (students), teachers, school directors, union leadership, regional and national Ministry in charge of Education and private sector stakeholders in a five-day workshop to review and expand upon the challenges identified in the evaluation study and SNTP. Specific efforts would be made to include representatives from the hearing and sight-impaired communities, as well as representatives of students with learning-disabilities to ensure that the most vulnerable groups can benefit from the planned investment. Based on the challenges identified, a smaller group of stakeholders from these seven groups along with policy-makers and other key decision makers in the education sector would work together for an additional five days to conduct an “Implementation and Policy Lab” to develop specific solutions with detailed implementation timeframes and costs, with technical assistance from the World Bank and expert technical consultants and facilitators. The end result of this component would be a fully costed, time-bound roadmap of policy and program implementation that reflects the full scope of stakeholders in the education system of Tunisia and that has benefitted from direct participation by key decision and policy-makers in the sector. This plan would then be considered for financing by the World Bank and other donor partners, as well as the private sector and public funds, depending on the specific investments proposed. This US$495,000 component is ISA-executed to ensure that the implementation strategy is in-line with global best practice. In addition, the following activities are requested by the GoT:

An audit of the quality of services in national education. The World Bank has developed a dedicated methodology (SABER SDI - System Approach for Better Education Results - Service Delivery Indicators) to make a diagnosis in order to propose ways to improve governance and services in national education.

To strengthen the training of "Rapid Skills" in the field of ICT. Support the Digital Talents initiative launched on October 10th, 2017

The above mentioned new activities under Component 4 would require an additional funding of US$ 500,000.

Component 5. Conducting an Impact Evaluation (IE) to ascertain the effects of broadband infrastructure and accompanying e-education program on the economic and social outcomes of beneficiaries . The Digital Tunisia strategy is aiming at unleashing digital opportunities for inclusive development. Impact evaluations of ICTs on the economy and society remain however rare in developing countries. At the same time, evaluations conducted in developed countries are controversial, as they tend to focus on macroeconomic indicators whose links to the process of digitization are highly questionable. The GoT is therefore interested in an impact evaluation that could provide evidence on: Whether internet access is a real engine of socio-economic development and whether it helps the inclusion of remote populations to the digital world ; Whether the e-education program, especially in remote areas, facilitates access to knowledge, skills development and the socio-economic inclusion of marginalized young people and their families; and Whether ultrafast broadband internet access (through the provision of fiber access) are an accelerator of economic development by revitalizing existing economic activities and stimulating new activities in the areas they serve. The lessons learned from this impact evaluation would provide valuable information to decision-makers in the Tunisian government in the implementation of Digital Tunisia and are likely to inform large-scale ICT projects in other developing countries about proper design, sustainability and potential impact. The GoT and the World Bank have jointly submitted in September 2015 an expression of interest for the first Round of the new Impact Evaluation (IE) Program launched by the Transport and ICT Global Practice of the World Bank in partnership with DECIE. This study will use a randomized phase-in approach as the main identification strategy to ascertain the effects of ICT infrastructure and accompanying programs on the economic and social outcomes of beneficiaries for both broadband rollout in rural areas and ultrafast broadband in urban areas. The activities under this component would support the Tunisian authorities in the data collection for the

Impact Evaluation. This US$695,000 component is ISA-executed to ensure that data collection approaches are in-line with global best practice.As requested by the GoT, it is proposed to restructure Component 5 to reallocate US$ 195,000 (out of US$ 695,000) to Component 2 in order to support the new activities requested in Component 2.

15. Key Indicators Linked to Objectives Pillar Indicators of the proposed project would be:

Businesses, including MSMES, demonstrated increased performance after receipt of support/advisory services. These businesses are the private operators and service providers in the telecoms / broadband sector. This indicator refers outcome 1.1 of Pillar 1 and to corresponds to Component 1,2,3 and 5 of the project.

Programs and projects designed and implemented to promote more efficient and equitable allocation of government resources. This indicator refers to outcome 2.2 of Pillar 2 and corresponds to Component 4 of the project.

Key indicators of the proposed project would be: Adoption of key broadband-related regulations by the Government. Adoption of a strategic options for the state-owned incumbent telecoms operator by the Government. Adoption of the enabling environment for a PPP for ultrafast broadband networks by the Government. Adoption of the detailed implementation strategy for ICT4E by the Government. Implementation of Impact Evaluation (IE) for High-Speed Internet Access by the Government.

Given the technical assistance nature of the proposed project, the results framework is based on output rather than outcome. However, because of these outputs, the ultimate outcomes of the project will be increased broadband access, lower broadband prices, a more efficient legal and regulatory framework (enhanced private sector participation) and a better usage of ICT in education. The team will therefore also report on the evolution of the following indicators:

- Increase in access to Internet Services per 100 inhabitants

- Increase in access to ultra-fast broadband per 100 inhabitants

- Number of people having access to mobile broadband), including percentage of women

- Number of schools having access to broadband

- Retail price of internet services (per Mbit/s per Month, in US$)

- Average internet speed (in Mbit/s)

- Number of teachers trained on use of ICTs for classroom instruction

D. IMPLEMENTATION

16. Partnership Arrangements (if applicable)

N/A

17. Coordination with Country-led Mechanism/Donor Implemented Activities In March 2015, the GoT requested financing from the WB, the African Development Bank (AfDB), and the French AFD (Agence Francaise de Développement) to support the implementation of Digital Tunisia. The main reason for the GoT to reach out simultaneously to WB-AfDB-AFD, with the WB being the coordinating financier, is to achieve better coordination between donors’ efforts and ensure that sufficient funding is mobilized for GoT’s top priorities within Digital Tunisia, which are: (i) 2.7 million households with access to broadband Internet (defined as a minimum 4 Mbits); (ii) digital and connected schools (access devices, connectivity, educational content); and (iii) a paperless public service.

For the Expanding the coverage of ultra-fast broadband networks in selected areas of Tunisia, both the AfDB and the AFD have expressed a strong interest for co-financing with the WB the GoT’s contribution into the public-private partnership (PPP) for ultrafast broadband networks.

For the development of the e-education implementation plan, the AfDB has expressed a strong interest in financing e-education program components that the WB is unable to finance.

18. Institutional and Implementation Arrangements

Technical responsibilities. The Project will strengthen institutional capacity within the Ministry in charge of Digital Economy and the Ministry in charge of Education. The scope of technical assistance envisaged under Components 1 and 2 are designed to support development of telecommunications and broadband sector policy and regulation, in line with international best practice on telecommunications policy and regulation in a competitive broadband market environment. Component 1 will allow the Ministry in charge of Digital Economy to examine the existing market structure and to strategize the way forward to increase investments into the national broadband infrastructure through the design of a PPP. Component 3 would focus on building technical competencies of the Ministry in charge of Education while delivering a detailed implementation plan. Finally, Component 5 will allow both the Ministry in charge of Digital Economy and the Ministry in charge of Education to ascertain the effects of ICT infrastructure and accompanying programs on the economic and social outcomes of beneficiaries in Tunisia.

Project administration. The World Bank agrees to be the Implementing Support Agency (ISA) for Tunisia for this Project. The activities are expected to be implemented by a team of specialists with close collaboration with the counterparts in the Ministries of Telecommunications and Education in Tunisia. The program will be led by a TTL (Michel Rogy) who will manage the bulk of the technical activities and will be supported by Noah Farrow as co-TTL. The work plan is expected to be divided into several activities, which may be assigned to different task managers. Coordination mechanisms will be established at all levels with the GoT and involved stakeholders.

Trust Fund Arrangements. The Project will be bank-executed and the Middle East and North Africa Transition Fund (MENA TF) will enter into a Financial Procedures Agreement with the World Bank as the Implementing Support Agency (ISA). The program will follow the Bank-Executed Trust Fund arrangements as set in the World Bank Trust Funds Handbook with the policy and procedures set out in OP/BP 14.40.

19. Monitoring and Evaluation of Results

The world bank will be responsible for monitoring and evaluating the progress of the activities and will be responsible for collecting the required data. The World bank team will however work in close collaboration with the ministry in charge of Digital Economy, the ministry in charge of Education, sector regulator INT, telecommunications operators and internet service providers, and national entities to collect economic and

demographic data. The team will also be responsible for monitoring the development of key regulatory and strategic documents and ultimately their adoption. Additionally, the team plans to conduct an Impact Evaluation (IE) as part of the project activities, to ascertain the effects of broadband infrastructure along with the e-education program on the economic and social outcomes of beneficiaries.

E. PROJECT BUDGETING AND FINANCING

20. Project Financing (including ISA Direct Costs2)Cost by Component Original

Fund (USD)

Revised Transition

Fund(USD)

Country Co-

Financing (USD)

Other Co-Financing

(USD)

Total(USD)

Deepening reforms on telecoms liberalization and broadband regulation

645,000 645,000 645,000

Examining the strategic options for the state-owned incumbent telecoms operator in the context of the plan for overall sector liberalization

445,000 1,240,000 1,240,000

Introducing new models of broadband infrastructure supply

945,000 345,000 345,000

Testing and evaluation of promising approaches and drafting a detailed implementation strategy including policy reforms at the macro level and training and investments at the school and classroom level for ICT4E (ICT for Education)

495,000 995,000 (of which 500,000

from AF)

995,000

Conducting an Impact Evaluation (IE) to ascertain the effects of broadband infrastructure and accompanying e-education program on the economic and social outcomes of beneficiaries.

695,000 500,000 500,000

Total Project Cost 3,225,000 3,725,000 (of which 500,000

from AF)

3,725,000

21. Budget Breakdown of Indirect Costs Requested (USD) Description Amount (USD)

For grant preparation, administration and implementation support:Preparation (staff time and travel) 25,000Trust Fund Administration 41,250 (of which 5,500 from

AF)Total Indirect Costs 66,250 (of which 5,500 from

AF)

2 ISA direct costs are those costs related to the ISA’s direct provision of technical assistance within the project. Also see Paragraph 47 of the Operations Manual.

F. Results Framework and Monitoring

Project Development Objective (PDO): The primary objective of the proposed project is to support the Government of Tunisia (GoT) in accelerating access to high speed internet in Tunisia and to improving service delivery in Tunisia’s education sector by the use of information and communications technologies (ICT).

PDO Level Results Indicators*Unit of

MeasureBaseline

Cumulative Target Values**

FrequencyData Source/Methodology

Responsibility for Data

Collection

Description (indicator

definition etc.)Jan-Dec

2016

A

Jan-Dec

2017

A

Jan-Dec

2018

F

Jan –Dec

2019

F

Jan – May 2020

FFund-Level Indicators:

Businesses, including MSMEs, demonstrated increased performance after receipt of support/advisory services

document

No document

Increased private sector participation in the telecoms / broadband sector

Yearly Ministry in charge of Digital Economy / sector regulator INT

Ministry in charge of Digital Economy

Number and revenues of operators and service providers in the telecoms / broadband sector

Programs and projects designed and implemented to promote more efficient and equitable allocation of government resources

document

No document

Intervention drafted

Intervention design completed

Yearly Ministry in charge of Education records and World Bank records

Ministry in charge of Education and World Bank

Design of intervention to provide special needs students with appropriate learning software

Project-Level Indicators:

Indicator One: Adoption of key broadband-related regulations by the Government

document

Primary legislation (basic telecom Law - PPP), secondary telecom legislation and decisions of the sectoral regulator INT in need of revision

Revise the basic telecom law to introduce the notion of Dominant Operator and strengthen institutional framework for INT and for the universal access fund

Introduce full set of wholesale broabdand offers in line with best practice

Follow up with the writing of the corresponding decreed and regulatory texts

Jan-Dec 2017

A

Jan-Dec 2018

F

Jan –Dec 2019

F

Jan – May 2020

F

Indicator Two: Adoption of a strategic options for the state-owned incumbent telecoms operator by the Government

document

Absence of strategic options for the state-owned incumbent operator

GoT selects its preferred optionfor the

Launch of a new prospective study to

Prospective study available with option

Yearly Ministry in charge of Digital Economy


state-owned incumbent operator

help define the strategic option for Tunisie Telecom

for the positioning of Tunisie Telecom

Indicator Three: Adoption of the enabling environment for a PPP for ultrafast broadband networks by the Government

document

Absence of enabling environment for a PPP for ultrafast broadband networks

GoT selects design of ultrafast broadband PPP models based on best practices

Putting in place of adequate PPP legislation (if not already there)

License awarded to a new entrant, Level 4.



Indicator Four: Adoption of the detailed implementation strategy for ICT4E by the Government

document

No Digital Education Implementation Plan

Digital Implementation Plan finalized

Digital Implementation Plan adopted by Government

Yearly Ministry in charge of Education records and World Bank records

Ministry in charge of Education and World Bank

An implementation plan including policy work and training activities and connectivity for schools and software and

hardware investments

Indicator Five: Implementation of Impact Evaluation (IE) for High-Speed Internet Access by the Government

document

No Impact Evaluation (IE) available

Final Analysis Report Completed



Randomized Controlled Trial

INTERMEDIATE RESULTS

Intermediate Result (Deepening reforms on telecoms liberalization and broadband regulation):

Intermediate Result indicator One: Availability of key transparency of regulation instruments

document No mandatory public consultation process for the INT established following public consultation on the said process

Introduce a requirement for [all] decision of INT to be published as a draft for a period of 20 days, to give stakeholders the opportunity to comment before undert



aking final determinations

Intermediate Result indicator Two: Availability of key universal service fund regulatory instruments

document

Absence of universal service fund manual

Universal service fund manual available



Intermediate Result (Examining the strategic options for the state-owned incumbent telecoms operator in the context of the plan for overall sector liberalization): not applicable

Intermediate Result indicator One:

Document

Absence of a set of options for the state-owned incumbent operator

Availability of a set of option for the state-owned incumbent operator



Intermediate Result indicator Two:

Absence of preferred option for the state-owned incumbent operator

New prospective study launched to help select the best option for Tunisie Telecom

Prospective study available with option for the positioning of Tunisie Teleco



mIntermediate Result (Introducing new models of broadband infrastructure supply):

Intermediate Result indicator One: Existence of private operator for the ultrafast broadband PPP

Document

Absence of private operator for the ultrafast broadband PPP

Private operator for the ultrafast broadband PPP selected

Level 4 has been awarded a wholesale license



Intermediate Result indicator Two: GoT’s officials have enhanced capacity to monitor the execution of the ultrafast broadband PPP

document GoT’s officials have limited capacity to monitor the execution of the ultrafast broadband PPP

GoT’s officials trained on procedures and systems to monitor the execution of the ultrafast broadband PPP



Intermediate Result (Testing and evaluation of promising approaches and drafting a detailed implementation strategy including policy reforms at the macro level and training and investments at the school and classroom level for ICT4E (ICT for Education): Intermediate Result indicator One: Availability of Evaluations and solutions testing

document

Absence of Evaluations

and solutions

Evaluations and

solutio

Yearly Ministry of Education

Ministry Education and

World Bank

The interventions to

be examined and solutions to

testing ns testing completed on at least three intervention

s

be tested will focus on (i)

uptake of school administration tools by school directors and

content provision for (ii)

hearing impaired and

(iii) sight impaired students

Intermediate Result indicator Two: Availability of implementation plan

Document

Absence of Implementation plan

Implementa

tion plan draft

completed

Yearly Ministry in charge of Education

records and World Bank

records

Ministry in charge of

Education and World Bank

A full draft of the

implementation plan will be

completed in Y1

Intermediate Result (Conducting an Impact Evaluation (IE) to ascertain the effects of broadband infrastructure and accompanying e-education program on the economic and social outcomes of beneficiaries): Intermediate Result indicator One: Availability of Baseline Data

Data set

No Baseline Data

Collected

Baseline

Data Collect

ed

Yearly Ministry in charge of

Digital Economy

Ministry in charge of Digital

Economy


Intermediate Result indicator Two: Availability of Follow-up Data

Data set

No Follow-up Data

Collected

Follow-up

Data Collect

ed

Yearly Ministry in charge of

Digital Economy

Ministry in charge of Digital

Economy


draft operations manual - menatransitionfund.org€¦ · web viewthis could include areas such as...

Documents