- Global ICT Regulatory Outlook 2017
The first of an annual series of reports tracking market and regulatory trends in the information and communication technologies (ICT) sector and their implications across the economy. It looks at how we got here, what here looks like now, and looks forward to the future.
Understanding current trends and challenges across ICT markets and regulatory frameworks can help address the gaps and capitalize on unexplored opportunities. This report provides useful insights and a clear, evidence-based perspective to do that.
Executive summary
The data behind the report was captured through the ICT Regulatory Tracker, an evidence-based tool which covers up to 189 countries and economies over the period
2007 – 2015.
- EUIPO-ITU Report: The economic cost of IPR Infringement in the Smartphones Sector
This new report was prepared by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). The Report aims to estimate the scale of the economic impact of counterfeiting in the legitimate sector of Smartphones devices. This sector was selected as it is one of the most Intellectual Property Right (IPR) intensive industries whose products are known or thought to be subject to counterfeiting.
- Maximising availability of international connectivity in developing countries: Strategies to ensure global digital inclusion
This report aims to build awareness of the challenges and strategies for improving international connectivity, and to consider some potential options for promoting increased local, regional and global collaboration to further this objective. In this respect, the report aims to inform the international development community as well as national policy makers, industry and civil society groups. Supported by data from case studies that were carried out to provide on the ground experience in international connectivity, the report discusses the technical, economic and policy or regulatory constraints that can prevent the maximal use of international communications infrastructure.
- International mobile roaming (IMR) strategic guidelines
The issue of high International Mobile Roaming (IMR) service prices at the national, regional and international level is recognized as an increasingly important issue, with national regulatory authorities (NRAs) and policy makers looking for appropriate regulatory and policy solutions. Discussions are not only focusing on just voice or data roaming, or on international trade-related principles (e.g. Most Favored Nation principles under the GATS Agreement), but also addressing changes in revenue streams, usage and traffic, new business models as well as new opportunities and innovative measures on roaming for Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications and the Internet of Things (IoT). The issue is still evolving and policy makers and regulators will continue to seek solutions.
This paper, as part of the ITU LET’S ROAM THE WORLD Initiative launched in 2015 by Mr. Brahima Sanou, BDT Director, presents the Building Blocks for IMR Strategic Guidelines. It contains the latest version of the draft IMR Strategic Guidelines prepared and consulted with Regulatory Regional Associations (RAs), International Organizations as well as Consumer and Private Sector Associations, and presented here as a discussion paper together with an overview of the key IMR regulatory issues to be considered and a summary of existing regional and international initiatives.
- The App economy series
While the development of information and communications technology is an ongoing process that has been in train for more than a century, the last decade has been unusually spectacular and disruptive. A series of papers was developed by ITU to track the evolution of the App Economy ecosystem. The last Paper on NO LONGER OVER THE TOP - Communications Regulation in the brave new world of the online service providers and the App Economy presents the actual situation of the App Economy focusing on the moving from legacy regulation to this new ecosystem. It also addresses the key regulatory issues that National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) should consider, as these changes pose significant challenges for policy and regulatory regime in all global markets. Last year, a discussion paper on The race for scale: market power, regulation and the App economy was presented during GSR-16. It looks at the economics of the app economy and come up with a qualitative and quantitative economic methodology to analyze the contribution of ICT digital services and apps to the economies of developed and developing countries. Trying to determine the economic benefits and regulatory directions of the App Economy, a paper on The App Economy in Africa illustrates the opportunities and challenges for the App Economy in Africa.
- Discussion paper on social and economic impact of digital transformation on the economy
(R.Katz) The purpose of this paper is to provide an understanding of the social and economic impact of automation and digital transformation, its potential
benefits, challenges and social and economic effects. In this context, it outlines policies aimed at maximizing benefits and controlling for negative outcomes associated with these changes. It conceptualizes the different digitization waves, their lengths to understand how much time current technological innovations, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, will take to have a significant and measurable social and economic impact. It further highlights policy instruments that could maximize its benefits, while limiting the disruption risks.
- Quality of Service (QoS) Regulation Manual
Citizens throughout the world rely on ICTs to conduct their everyday socio-economic activities which call upon quality of services. Ensuring QoS in this environment is therefore becoming critical.Telecommunication networks are interconnected on national, regional and global basis, and telecommunication services are global. Therefore, the quality of telecommunication services applied in one network or one country influences the end-to-end quality of that service, so the quality cannot be considered only at national or regional level, but also needs to be considered globally A harmonized and common approach to regulating QoS would enable greater quality prospects irrespective of the locations of the consumer and service provider.This manual refers to different standards and regulatory practices from various regions and countries worldwide noting that each region and each country has its own specificities. It is intended to be used as a guiding tool for telecommunication/ICT regulatory agencies or ICT Administration (e.g., ICT Ministry) in charge of Quality of service (QoS) and Quality of Experience (QoE) parameters and measurements, as defined by the ITU-T, as well as enforcement mechanisms.
