• Telecommunication Regulatory Reform and the WTO Process (PDF)
• Exercise 1: Develop a GATS commitment schedule for hypothetical Southern African country, ‘Zimswana’ for progressive liberalisation of its telecommunication sector.(PDF)
• Background Reading:
  • Secretary-General’s report to the 2^nd World Telecommunication Policy Forum on "Trade in telecommunication services", 16-18 March 1998 including final Draft Opinions.(PDF)
  • Overview of 1996/97 ITU "World Telecommunication Development Report", on Trade in Telecommunication Services(PDF)
  • Annex from 1996/97 WTDR on GATS agreement (PDF)
  • South Africa’s GATS commitment schedule
  • For more information: http://www.itu.int/wtpf/trade/index.htm (Trade in Telecommunication Services) http://www.wto.org/wto/services/tel.htm (WTO Basic Telecoms Agreement)

• The reform of the accounting rate system(PDF)
• Exercise2: Develop a future strategy for settlement rate reductions for relations between South Africa and USA and Zimbabwe.(PDF)
  Background reading:
  • ITU Focus Group report on transition to cost-orientation beyond 1998 (PDF)
  • News Release on FCC benchmarks (August 1997) (PDF)
  • Is there life for the accounting rate system after 1998? Excerpt from TeleGeography, 1997/98 (PDF)
  • For more information: http://www.itu.int/intset/ (Reforming the international accounting rate system) http://www.itu.int/wtpf/cases/index.htm (Country case studies of the effects of reform)

  Background lecture: Introduction to the work of the ITU(PDF)
• The Internet changes everything(PDF)
• Exercise 3: The South African regulator (SATRA) has asked for advice on how IP Telephony should be regulated in South Africa. How do you respond? In three groups, representing SATRA, Telkom South Africa and an Internet Telephony Services Provider, you are asked to prepare arguments and to respond to SATRA’s questions.(PDF)

  Background reading:

  • "Summary" from ITU report "Challenges to the Network: Internet for Development", 1999.(PDF)
  • Speech entitled "The Internet is for everyone" given by Vint Cerf, Chair of Internet Society, at the Computers, Freedom and Privacy Conference, April 1999.(PDF)
  • "Internet and Global Information Infrastructure in Africa", article by Laura Mannisto, Ben Petrazzini and Tim Kelly.(PDF)

  Background information: http://www.oecd.org/dsti/sti/it/index.htm (OECD papers on the Internet), http://www.pulver.com/ (General source of information about IP Telephony)
• Universal Access: An international comparison.(PDF)
• Exercise 4: You have been asked by the regulator in Zimswana to help design a strategy for achieving Universal Service in the country within 20 years. How do you respond?(PDF)

  Background reading:

  • Summary from ITU "World Telecommunication Development Report 1998: Universal access".(PDF)
  • Chapter four from WTDR 98.(PDF)

  Background information: http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/univ_access/ (Pointers to resources on Universal Access and Rural Development, http://www.idrc.ca/acacia/engine/index.html (global case histories from the Telecentre movement, IDRC)

  Background lecture: The telecommunications sector in the year 2005.(PDF)

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