Ndukwe, global regulators, chart new formula for ICT growth

Bode Adewumi, Lagos

Engr. NdukweThe 8th annual Global Symposium for Regulators(GSR-08), ended in Pattaya, Thailand, at the eekend with the cream of telecoms regulators across the world exploring new regulatory measures aimed at encouraging investment and growth in information and communication technologies (ICT).

Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Engr. Ernest Ndukwe, who led the Nigerian delegation to the event, also joined in the interactive session of the Global Industry Leaders’ Forum (GILF) which provided proposals regarding key regulatory and policy issues affecting the ICT/telecommunications industry. The high-level platform for industry leaders led to an interactive exchange with regulators and policy-makers, covering issues related to universal access and rural connectivity, emergency telecommunications as well as stimulating business investment and expansion.

GSR-08 was organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in collaboration with the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT) and NTC of Thailand. Heads of national regulatory authorities and policy makers from both developed and developing countries focused on widespread and affordable broadband access at the forum with the theme - Six degrees of Sharing:

Innovative Infrastructure Sharing and Open Access Strategies to Promote Affordable Access. The theme emphasized on basic and passive infrastructure sharing; open access to international capacity; business-sharing; active infrastructure sharing; end-user sharing; and policy and regulatory harmonization.

In one of the special sessions tagged International Sharing: International gateway liberalization, moderated by Mr. Kevin Martin, Chairman, Federal Communications Commission (FCC), United States, Engr Ndukwe was joined by Muhd Hanafiah Abdul Rashid, Director of International, InfoComm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), Associate Professor Sudharma Yoonaidharma, Commissioner, National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), Thailand, John Omo, Commission Secretary, Communications Commission of Kenya, Rema Devi Nair, General Manager, TM International, Malaysia, Alonso Picazo Díaz, Executive Director of Regulatory and Legal Branch, Satélites Mexicanos , S.A. de C.V. Mexico to discuss the challenges of liberalizing the international gateway.

The panel also dicussed the of liberalixation on ICT markets and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and how to promote open access to submarine cable and satellite networks. The session also shared the Nigerian ezperience on infrastructure sharing from none about 2000, to the current full participation of all operators in Nigeria, and the regulation of this activity in Nigeria’s telecoms.

ITU Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun Touré in his remarks at the opening ceremony of GSE-08, said, "Sharing of views, experiences and best practices among regulators is the only way to address the challenges posed by today’s technological and market developments."

Looking ahead at the 2015 connectivity targets, which coincide with the Millennium Development Goals, Dr Touré added, "It is only by working together that smart policies and practices can be put into place to ensure that the target of connecting the world to ICT within the next seven years can be met." He emphasized that connecting the world would lead to sharing the benefits of the Information Society by all.

"This year’s GSR will explore how regulatory reform can reduce the high investment costs associated with the deployment of new technologies," Dr Touré said in his opening address. "We will examine a range of sharing strategies designed to cut the costs of network rollout, and each one has a role to play in ensuring that countries meet their development goals by 2015."

Referring to the objective of the World Summit on the Information Society of providing universal access to ICT for all the world’s citizens, the Director of ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau Mr Sami Al-Basheer pointed out that end user devices - mobile phones, laptops, multimedia gaming devices - are the ultimate sharing tools. "What is access, if not sharing?" he asked. "When people communicate over the phone, by email, or through video clips and social network sites, they do so to share information, views, business information and personal feelings."

General Choochart Promphrasid, Chairman of NTC and Chairman of GSR-08, explained that Six degrees of Sharing would help build an enabling environment through modern regulation and policy harmonization. He said, "This gathering of heads of national regulatory authorities from both developing and developed countries will foster the substantive sharing of views and experiences through an open dialogue between regulators."

Wrapping up the outcomes of the industry leaders’ meeting, Chairman of GILF Mr Sanjiv Ahuja, who is also Chairman of Orange U.K. and CEO of Augere, made a commitment on behalf of the ICT industry to do what is right. “We will serve our customers fairly, properly and with respect, and satisfy the needs of the local economy and the community that we function in,” said Mr Ahuja. “We will compete fairly, openly, fiercely and vigorously in every market in which we participate; in return we ask the Regulators to give us as much leeway as possible within the laws of the country.” He added that as “leaders of industry we have to balance our shareholder interests with consumer interests in the regulated business that we work in.” Addressing one of the key themes of GSR-08, he noted, “Network sharing is a potentially powerful tool operators can use to cost-effectively extend telecommunication services, including broadband connections to many millions of people.”