The Malta Communications Authority (MCA) is working on the final touches of a new e-commerce strategy and action plan in a bid to drive online commerce which so far has had mixed results in Malta.
Developed within the ambit of the recently-launched national ICT strategy called Digital Malta, the e-commerce strategy identifies a set of initiatives to be undertaken by the MCA and by the government with other stakeholders over the coming seven years.
“The strategy outlines a set of initiatives that are aimed at, on the one hand, driving the take up of e-commerce by Maltese businesses and, on the other hand, identifying opportunities for foreign e-commerce-related enterprises to locate their activities to Malta,” an MCA spokesman told i-Tech.
“It also includes measures that are aimed at ensuring that entrepreneurs are equipped with the necessary resources to capitalise on opportunities brought about by e-commerce. A number of other measures intended to enable specific industries to profit from e-commerce-based business models and achieve efficiencies through the implementation of supply-chain technologies are also outlined in the strategy.”
While 64% of companies have customers who prefer to walk into their premises to buy, only 13% of companies said internet is their main sales channel
Survey after survey by both the authority and the National Statistics Office have revealed an ever-increasing number of parcels coming from abroad which is much higher than the increase in local parcel post, meaning that the Maltese are buying from foreign online shops but not from local ones.
The latest e-ecommerce business survey commissioned by the MCA in 2013 revealed that while 64 per cent of companies have customers who prefer to walk into their premises to buy, only 13 per cent of companies said internet is their main sales channel. Furthermore, 31 per cent of businesses still don’t have a website. These are practically the same results as the ones registered in a similar survey the previous year, revealing stagnation in the development of e-commerce for Maltese business. On a more positive note, there was an increase in the use of digital marketing and social media, especially Facebook.
E-commerce is just one aspect in the remit of the MCA, which developed the Digital Malta strategy together with the Malta Information Technology Agency (MITA). This national strategy gives more responsibilities to the MCA and a long list of deliverables.
“Beyond its regulatory role related to the electronic communications sector, e-commerce and the postal sector and its mandate to implement national policy related to addressing the digital divide, internet safety and proliferating the use of ICTs, the authority’s role has been further strengthened via recent amendments to the Malta Communications Authority Act. It now has a key function in the planning and development of the communications industry and the infrastructure supporting this industry. Furthermore, the MCA has recently been mandated with the task of promoting and advancing Malta as a destination for high-value commercial users of communications services and of information communications technologies. This ensures that the MCA can contribute in a more holistic manner to the delivery of the objectives under the Digital Malta strategy,” the authority’s spokesman explained.
Digital Malta has actions pertaining to some of the most interesting developments in the telecommunications scene, namely next-generation mobile communication (4G and 5G) and national fibre-optic-based internet access, known as fibre-to-the-home (FTTH). The MCA has to take care of these and will also look at enabling and disruptive technologies such as cloud computing and digital media and particularly the impact these will have on our society.
A study on a new submarine cable link connecting Malta to other alternative locations in the continent will also be prepared.
“The MCA aims to ensure that ubiquitous broadband is universally available in Malta at affordable prices; provide an environment where mobile operators can continue to roll-out next-generation technologies in mobile broadband; and secure competitive offers to consumers that compare, as a minimum, to what is available to consumers in neighbouring EU member states.
The success of the telecom sector hinges on the presence of effective, proactive and future-looking regulatory management. The MCA considers its consumer function to be central to its activities as a telecoms regulator and new EU laws are expected to give it more powers in this respect. The authority is welcoming this development.
“Indeed, in a number of member states, the national regulator is entrusted with broader powers with respect to consumer protection than is the case in Malta, where the MCA is not empowered to enforce general consumer law. This creates a certain lack of transparency for consumers who are not expected to know which consumer rights emanate from which law and who therefore often resort to the wrong authority when seeking redress.
“Furthermore, the current lack of clarity and vague boundary lines between the roles of the MCA and the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority (MCCAA) make for inefficient administration and increased bureaucracy, with the two entities often dealing with the same issue concurrently. This also means that the industry players have to address two different authorities on the same issues. This situation has been brought to government’s attention,” revealed the spokesman.
Another front where intervention is needed is a section of the population who remain distant from online technology. A third of Maltese has still never used the internet and the MCA wants to bring this number down.
Goodbye and good luck
This is the last edition of i-Tech, the tech pages that for the last 10 years or so have brought the latest news and insights into the world of technology, especially its impact on Malta and the Maltese.
This publication would not have been possible without the collaboration and support of staff at Allied Newspapers Ltd and the various actors and stakeholders in the ICT industry, not least the readers who experienced the rapid rise of the Maltese information society while reading about it on these pages.
The best of luck goes to the new publication taking over from next week, The Business Observer.
Martin Debattista