Co-Task Team Leaders from the World Bank, Mr. Jerome Bezzina (Sr. Digital Development Specialist and Ms. Anna Metz (Sr. Digital Development Specialist) and Siew Sanz Ng (Young Professional) from the World Bank met with the Communications Authority of Maldives (CAM), represented by Mr. Ilyas Ahmed (Chief Executive), Ms. Zuleyha Ibrahim (Computer Programmer) and Ms. Fathimath Samha (Consultant). Dr. Ibrahim Waheed (Project Manager), along with Ahmed Haleem (Communications Specialist) and Ms. Fathimath Shafa Hussain (Project Officer), joined from the D’MADD PMU.

The meeting focused on the progress of Component 1 of the project, which supports the Communications Authority of the Maldives.  Officials from the CAM reported that the work was progressing well. According to the officials, the GAP identification process for a competitive broadband market has already been completed, along with the development of a quality of service data collection framework. Furthermore, the consultant’s team was currently completing the 3rd mission, which focused on providing a week-long capacity-building program for the CAM staff.

The World Bank team also discussed plans for the CAM, outlining how the recommendations will be implemented in the future.  The CAM’s Chief Executive assured us that actions will be taken on the recommendations. However, they may not be able to implement every recommendation word-for-word. They will proceed with immediate action on certain items, such as quality-of-service monitoring, and others will be implemented down the line.

During the meeting, the mission team inquired about the results framework indicators, one of which is the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI). HHI is a standard measure of market concentration used to assess market competitiveness. The measure was not well utilised in the Maldives, but considering the recent consultancy and capacity-building training through the project, the CAM acknowledged that they now have a better understanding of how to measure competitiveness. The next update of the HHI is due in May and will be shared in June. As for the second indicator, a proper measure of service quality can be taken when the CAM has access to the monitoring equipment acquired through the D’MADD project. However, they will have a rough measure of their progress with existing resources. The CAM acknowledges receipt of the technical specifications for the equipment from the ongoing consultancy.

Dr. Waheed also added that the current quality of service is baseline figures. He explained that the current work may not have a significant impact on the result indicators, as the ongoing work is primarily focused on assessing and developing the quality of service framework, as well as understanding the training requirements and the regulatory gap. Therefore, the real change in the indicator figures will be visible after the procurement of the equipment and once the regular field studies and surveys begin. Dr. Waheed anticipates improved ISP service once CAM begins independent monitoring and makes information public.  This will also serve as an incentive for the ISPs. Ilyas also highlighted that they will try to start the implementation from quarter 3.

The World Bank mission concluded, expressing satisfaction with the current progress of the component and will explore further avenues for funding requests forwarded by the CAM.

The meeting was part of the World Bank’s regular supervision and support mission, which will continue from April 10th to 17th, 2025.