Bhutan InfoComm and Media Authority

The Bhutan InfoComm and Media Authority (BICMA) is the autonomous statutory regulator for the telecommunications, broadcasting, information technology, film and print-media sectors in Bhutan. It is established under the Information, Communications and Media Act of Bhutan 2018, which replaced the earlier Information, Communications and Media Act of 2006.^[1]

BICMA's regulatory mandate covers licensing of telecommunications and internet operators, allocation and management of spectrum, certification of films for public exhibition, registration of newspapers and online news outlets, and the setting and enforcement of content standards across these media. It is governed by a five-member board appointed by the government and is operationally independent of, but reports to, the parent ministry — historically the Ministry of Information and Communications, and after the 2022 government reorganisation now interfacing with both the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Employment and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport.^[2]

The Authority publishes its rules in the form of subordinate regulations issued under the 2018 Act, including the Rules and Regulations on Content (2019), the Telecommunications and Broadcasting Service Rules and the National Film Policy implementation guidelines.^[3]

Origins and Statutory Basis

BICMA traces its origins to the Bhutan Communications Authority created in the late 1990s to regulate the newly liberalised telecommunications market following the corporatisation of Bhutan Telecom. With the introduction of private broadcasting and a more diversified media sector after the 2006 Act, the regulator was reconstituted as the Bhutan InfoComm and Media Authority. The 2018 Act consolidated and updated this framework, extended jurisdiction over online content and over-the-top services, and clarified BICMA's powers of investigation and sanction.^[1]

Licensing and Spectrum

BICMA issues licences to telecommunications operators (including the two licensed mobile carriers, Bhutan Telecom and TashiCell), to internet service providers, and to broadcasters operating private FM radio and television channels. It is also responsible for the technical type-approval regime for telecommunications equipment imported into Bhutan, with conformity assessments handled either in-house or through accredited testing partners.^[4]

Film Certification

BICMA's National Film Review Board reviews all films submitted for public exhibition in Bhutan and issues certification under categories specified in the National Film Policy. The Authority's most internationally noted certification decision was its January 2017 refusal to grant a public-exhibition certificate to Hema Hema: Sing Me a Song While I Wait by Khyentse Norbu, on the grounds that the masks used in the film were "not in keeping with Bhutanese tradition and culture". The decision was challenged publicly by the film's producer Pawo Choyning Dorji and drew international press coverage.^[5]

Content Regulation and Press Freedom

BICMA's content rules apply to broadcast, online and print media, and have been the subject of recurring debate within Bhutan and in international press-freedom assessments. Reporters Without Borders and academic commentators have noted that the regulator's enforcement role, combined with the Bhutanese state's other levers — government advertising allocations, criminal-defamation provisions and the small media market — contribute to the high rate of journalist self-censorship recorded in Bhutan.^[6] A 2018 analysis published in The Diplomat argued that BICMA's content rules and the government's parallel use of social-media takedown requests narrowed practical space for online expression even where formal censorship was absent.^[7]

Governance

The Authority's governing board is appointed by the government in line with the 2018 Act and is composed of public-sector and industry representatives. The Authority is funded through licensing fees, a portion of spectrum revenues and a budget allocation from the consolidated fund, and publishes annual reports through its website at bicma.gov.bt.^[2]

References

1. Background — BICMA
2. Bhutan InfoComm and Media Authority — official site
3. Rules and Regulations on Content 2019 — BICMA
4. Type Approval for Market Access in Bhutan — IB Lenhardt
5. As Hema Hema producer challenges decision BICMA says they can appeal — The Bhutanese
6. Bhutan country profile — Reporters Without Borders
7. When Freedom of Expression Isn't Free — The Diplomat, August 2018