TELECOM REGULATIONS AND TECHNOLOGY TRENDS 

     

 The new trends are expected to focus on digital technologies and deployment of infrastructure in rural and unserved areas of the globe, writes Sonny Aragba-Akpore 

·         How telecommunications regulations could readily catch up with technology trends was the fulcrum of the just concluded Global Symposium for Regulators(GSR). Hosted by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the symposium was seen as a clarion call to all regulators in the world to brace up if they must catch up with technology developments.

·         “Tech is moving fast and won’t wait for us to catch up,” said ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin. “The engagement and agreement on regulatory guidelines seen in the Global Symposium for Regulators platform show the way forward, ensuring technology can benefit all people and our planet.” 

·         “The ICT sector has come to the forefront of the sectors that drive the sustainable development movement,” according to Dr Amr Talaat, Minister of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), Egypt. “The importance of the Global Symposium for Regulators, which Egypt hosted this year, came as a platform for the exchange of expertise and experiences between decision-makers, telecommunications regulators, academic specialists, and industry pioneers in developing and developed countries alike.” 

·         In order to advance universal and meaningful connectivity, the practice guidelines focus on regulatory approaches for rural, unserved and underserved areas as well as emerging technologies. Since 2003, the GSR Best Practice Guidelines have captured established regulatory principles for a competitive, safe and inclusive enabling environment. 

·         “The 2023 Guidelines address and identify incentives that can be used to expand connectivity, and support access, adoption, and use. They also identify novel, innovative, ground-breaking, evidence-based cross-sector digital policy and regulatory principles to support a sustainable digital future for all people everywhere,” ITU documents explained.

·         “Based on contributions from national and regional policy-makers and regulators, regional and international organizations, civil society and the private sector, the guidelines identify collaborative approaches to encourage the development of investor-friendly markets that promote competition while stimulating innovation,” the documents further revealed.

·         The Best Practice Guidelines adopted at the International Telecommunication Union’s Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR-23) in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, define regulatory and economic incentives to stimulate the deployment of digital infrastructure for all people everywhere. 

·         The new guidelines are expected to focus on introducing emerging digital technologies and deploying digital infrastructure everywhere, particularly in rural, unserved and underserved areas of the globe.

·        ​“The true potential of emerging technologies lies in their ability to uplift and empower underserved communities, creating a more inclusive and equitable future,” said Hossam El-Gamal, Chair of GSR-23 and Executive President of Egypt’s National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA). “This new set of guidelines will facilitate the transition from disconnected to connected to productive users to ensure meaningful contributions to socio-economic development.”

·         At the three-day event, participants discussed the challenges facing regulators today while also planning for the future. 

·         “Dialogue among policymakers, regulators and industry is critical,” said Cosmas Zavazava, ITU’s Director of Telecommunication Development Bureau. “We each have a role to play in ensuring universal and meaningful connectivity, which, as we already know, has the potential to accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. The Best Practice Guidelines build on our collective knowledge and shared commitment to provide the tools we need to drive universal connectivity and sustainable digital transformation.” 

·         As prelude to GSR-23, Industry Advisory Group on Development Issues and Chief Regulatory Officers (IAGDI-CRO) engaged industry and private sector members to discuss and share perspectives on how they can contribute to achieving effective digital transformation. Discussions were reflected in an Outcome communique presented at the GSR-23 closing ceremony by Bocar Ba, IAGDI-CRO Chairman and CEO of Samena Telecommunications Council. The meeting reaffirmed the private sector’s commitment to supporting governments, particularly regulators, during today’s volatile and ever-changing environment, to achieve common goals both in the near and long term. 

·          Digital Regulation Network initiative was launched on June 5 at the Regional Regulatory Associations Meeting, a unique platform for regulatory associations to share experiences and knowledge and to discuss collaboration. 

·         The initiative is expected to help accelerate sustainable digital transformation by strengthening cooperation at the global and regional level to identify common approaches to collaborative digital policy, regulation and governance across economic sectors and across borders. The work will focus on three main building blocks: thought leadership, capacity development, and regulatory experimentation and innovation. 

·         New Collaboration Digital Regulation for Country Reviews for Brazil, Colombia, Egypt and Kenya were published during GSR-23. 

·         These reports, part of a series launched at the Global Symposium for Regulators in 2021, provide an authoritative analysis of the national regulatory landscape and outline a clear and practical direction for achieving G5 regulation and digital transformation. 

·         The GSR was attended by regulators from all 193 member states of ITU, global tech giants and industry players from around the globe.

·        ​​​​​​​​​Regulatory leaders from around the world agreed that these new set of guidelines are expected to secure an inclusive and sustainable digital future for all.

·         In general terms,5G technology will finally become mainstream, enable 5G monetization, and enter the first stage of use cases. That is already trending. The Internet of Things (IoT) will continue to grow rapidly, mainly because of 5G technology and Artificial intelligence (AI) will play a more significant role in telecommunications whereby Cloud computing will continue to dominate the market.

·         Side by side Cyber Security and resilience, it will be on everybody’s mind leading to complete digital transformation.

·         Aragba-Akpore is a member of THISDAY Editorial Board