​The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) are jointly organizing the ITU-TRAI Training on Consumer Protection.

The training course aims at sharing real experiences, brainstorm on possible solutions to address existing as well as emerging challenges amongst telecommunication, broadcasting and converged ICT regulators in the area of protecting consumers in the digital age. The program is designed for middle and senior managers from governments across the Asia-Pacific region, and offers participants the opportunity to learn, discuss, debate and exchange ideas with communications experts and professionals from India and abroad.

The training course will be conducted in English only. Draft agenda will be available soon. Please register your interest as soon as possible but not later than 15th February 2015. Participants, who require assistance in attending the training, should contact Mr. Sameer Sharma (sameer.sharma@itu.int) at the ITU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific via telephone + 66 2 575 0055 or fax + 66 2 575 3507. Participants who require assistance in registering for the training should contact Ms. Sapna Sharma at email: sapna.sharma@trai.gov.in.

Brief Description:

Throughout the world, access to the broadband is increasingly being considered as an “essential service”. Whether this be through access to high-speed broadband or via a fixed or cellular mobile phone line, the need to be connected and “always on” impacts on the way in which business is transacted and the way in which consumers react. Being connected has become synonymous with access to markets, to information, to social networks and to education.

Rapid technological change and its impact on consumer behavior is taking place within an increasingly liberalized market place in which the global drive to compete brings new challenges to both existing and nascent regulatory authorities.

In order to ensure that consumers benefit fully from the services the Internet / broadband has to offer, regulators need to ensure that networks are efficient and reliable, widely accessible (including in remote rural areas) and affordable. In order to encourage private investment in the infrastructure needed to meet those objectives, regulators need to create an environment in which communications investment is commercially viable, whilst at the same time promoting competition to increase choice and drive down prices. The challenge for regulation is to promote favorable market conditions in which competition can flourish and foster innovation, whilst at the same time ensuring that consumers’ interests are protected.

ITU-TRAI Training on Consumer Protection aims at sharing real experiences, brainstorm on possible solutions to address existing as well as emerging challenges amongst telecommunication, broadcasting and converged ICT regulators in the area of protecting consumers in the digital age. The program is designed for middle and senior managers from governments across the Asia-Pacific region, and offers participants the opportunity to learn, discuss, debate and exchange ideas with communications experts and professionals from India and abroad.