The Mexican government aims to promote high speed internet adoption in part by the sale of concessions which will allow the winning bidders to utilise state-owned fibre-optic lines and to build networks in those areas that currently do not have access to broadband services. According to Bloomberg, the initiative will see the government conduct auctions that will include contracts to use two fibre-optic lines from state-owned powerco Comision Federal de Electricidad (CFE), while bids will also be taken on the use of fibre links running on along the federal highway network

See Press Release
Source: TeleGeography

The global Internet is far less centered on the United States than it was 10 years ago. According to new data from TeleGeography’s Global Internet Geography study, the development of rich regional networks, coupled with a need for diversification, has reduced the share of international capacity connected to the U.S. for all regions except Latin America. Operators have also diversified the array of city-to-city connections used in global backbones to create additional routing options and improve resiliency. For example, the London-New York route’s share of total trans-Atlantic capacity has declined from 46 percent in 2005 to 30 percent in 2011 as ISPs have deployed more capacity on other routes across the Atlantic, such as Paris-Washington and Frankfurt-New York.

See Press Release
Source: Telegeography

WIPO’s top copyright negotiating body will recommend to the September session of the General Assembly to resume a Diplomatic Conference on the Protection of Audiovisual Performances after agreement on the last outstanding issue relating to the transfer of rights. The convening of a diplomatic conference signals entry into the final phase of treaty negotiations, with the objective of concluding a treaty that would shore up the rights of performers in their audiovisual performances. Progress was also made in talks relating to the protection of broadcasting organizations with agreement on a work plan aimed at advancing negotiations on an international instrument. Efforts to update the rights of broadcasters, which are currently dealt with by the 1961 Rome Convention, have grown in momentum over the past years in light of the advent of radically new types of content distribution over the Internet and growing signal piracy problems around the world. These triggered international discussions to review and update existing international standards and to ensure an appropriate balance between the different interests of all stakeholders and those of the general public.

See Press Release
Source: WIPO

ICANN's Board of Directors has approved a plan to usher in one of the biggest changes ever to the Internet's Domain Name System. The Board vote was 13 approving, 1 opposed, and 2 abstaining. During a special meeting, the Board approved a plan to dramatically increase the number of Internet domain name endings -- called generic top-level domains (gTLDs) -- from the current 22, which includes such familiar domains as .com, .org and .net. "ICANN has opened the Internet's naming system to unleash the global human imagination. Today's decision respects the rights of groups to create new Top Level Domains in any language or script. We hope this allows the domain name system to better serve all of mankind," said Rod Beckstrom, President and Chief Executive Officer of ICANN. New gTLDs will change the way people find information on the Internet and how businesses plan and structure their online presence. Internet address names will be able to end with almost any word in any language, offering organizations around the world the opportunity to market their brand, products, community or cause in new and innovative ways. "Today's decision will usher in a new Internet age," said Peter Dengate Thrush, Chairman of ICANN's Board of Directors. "We have provided a platform for the next generation of creativity and inspiration." The decision to proceed with the gTLD program follows many years of discussion, debate and deliberation with the Internet community, business groups and governments. The Applicant Guidebook, a rulebook explaining how to apply for a new gTLD, went through seven significant revisions to incorporate more than 1,000 comments from the public. Strong efforts were made to address the concerns of all interested parties, and to ensure that the security, stability and resiliency of the Internet are not compromised. ICANN will soon begin a global campaign to tell the world about this dramatic change in Internet names and to raise awareness of the opportunities afforded by new gTLDs. Applications for new gTLDs will be accepted from 12 January 2012 to 12 April 2012.

See Press Release
Source: ICANN

The European Commission has invited stakeholders' views on the forthcoming revision of EU rules on the public financing of broadband infrastructure. The current guidelines, adopted in September 2009 provide a comprehensive framework for furthering the deployment of high and very-high speed broadband in Europe. However, fast evolving markets and rapid technological progress may require adaptations. This is why the Commission has set up a questionnaire on relevant issues, such as the development of very high speed broadband technologies or how best to design the access conditions on subsidized next generation networks. Comments should be submitted by 31 August 2011. In light of the results, the Commission will decide whether a revision of the guidelines is indicated and, in the affirmative, put forward a proposal for discussion in early 2012.

 

See Press Release 
Source: Europe's Information Society

As part of the EU-US Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial in Gödöllo (Hungary), Neelie Kroes, European Commission Vice President for the Digital Agenda, EU Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström and Secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano reiterated their shared commitment to deepening cooperation to address the increasing threats to global internet and digital networks. They agreed to strengthen trans-Atlantic cooperation in cyber-security by defining the issues to be tackled by the EU-US Working Group on Cyber-Security and Cyber-Crime. This Working Group, established at the EU-US Summit in November 2010 is tasked with developing collaborative approaches to a wide range of cyber-security and cyber-crime issues.

 

See Press Release 
Source: Europe's Information Society

Geneva, 31 March 2011 – The 11th edition of ITU’s flagship ICT regulatory report Trends in Telecommunication Reform takes an in-depth look at one of the most significant social trends of the past ten years: the increasingly pervasive presence of ICTs in virtually every facet of modern life.

The report reveals an increasingly robust yet complex regulatory landscape which has emerged in response to the tremendous influence ICTs now have on the shape and growth of other economic sectors.

At the beginning of 2011, more than 80 per cent of markets worldwide have separate ICT regulatory agencies, making for a total of 158 ICT regulators worldwide – up from 106 just one decade ago.

Trends in Telecommunication Reform 2010-2011 confirms that ICT markets around the world are becoming more competitive in just about every respect, from international gateway services to wireless local loop and 3G. In 2010, more than 93 per cent of countries worldwide allowed competition in the provision of Internet services, and 90 per cent in the provision of mobile cellular services. A further 92 per cent have competitive 3G mobile broadband markets.

See Press Release 
Source: ITU

Neelie Kroes Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for Digital Agenda European stated that Cloud Computing Strategy needs to aim high and stress that at the edge of a computing era of unprecedented flexibility and economies of scale. That is the promise of the cloud: the chance to turn IT provision into a real utility. And what a big promise that is, given the track record of computing in delivering better and better value. While the opportunities are clear, there is much to be done to ensure that we will take them up and make the best use of them. As with the exploitation of any strategic resource, cloud computing too requires a strategy. It is going to take partnership between industry and government, and European leadership, to ensure that Europe is not merely open or just friendly to cloud providers, but that there is a European effort to actively create the best environment for all parties.

See Press Release 
Source: Europe's Information Society

On 8 September 2010 the Polish Sejm passed some amendments to the Polish Telecommunications Act to  address significant market position and focus on the conditions of their telecommunications activity. The changes aim to improve the competition on the market as well as aid the implementation of new telecommunications infrastructure. Under the new act, telecoms with a significant market position will be authorised to propose the conditions of their telecommunications activity to the President of the Office of Electronic Communication ("UKE") and negotiate these conditions with UKE. During the procedure, UKE will consider whether the proposition will have a positive impact on the competition on the market and whether it improves the quality of services for end users.

See Article
Source: Mondaq IT & Telecoms

Director General of the National Telecommunications Corporation (NTC), Dr. Kamel Ezzaddin Amin affirmed Sudan's intention to support and develop the Arab Telecommunications Regulators Network. Dr. Amin appreciated the efforts exerted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during its presidency of the Arab Telecommunications Regulators Network last year, referring to the tangible achievements in various fields of communications. It is to be noted that Sudan took over the Presidency of the Arab Telecommunications Regulators' network from Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

See article
Source: Sudan Vision Daily

 ITU and UNESCO  announced the establishment of a top level Broadband Commission for Digital Development which will define strategies for accelerating broadband rollout worldwide and examine applications that could see broadband networks improve the delivery of a huge range of social services, from healthcare to education, environmental management, safety and much more.

See Press Release

Source: ITU

Egyptian judges rejected France Telecom’s (FT’s) appeal against a ruling that declined its offer to acquire more shares in MobiNil.  Egypt’s Capital Market Authority (CMA) rejected three offers from FT claiming the bid price was too low.  Despite the rejection, the matter is not over as FT  plans to challenge this decision in the  Supreme Court.

See More

Source: Telegeography

The European Commission today closed three infringement proceedings against Poland after the country took steps at national level to correct the problems and bring Polish law into line with EU telecoms rules. The cases concern the independence of the Polish regulator, consumer contracts, and the obligation for operators to negotiate interconnection. The Commission is still analysing other parts of the amendments made by the Polish government to national telecoms laws.

See more
Source: Europa

The Commission  opened an infringement procedure against Germany because the country's national regulator − the Bundesnetzagentur − did not consult the Commission and other national regulators prior to deciding on new levels of mobile termination rates. Termination rates are wholesale fees charged by operators to connect calls from one network to another operator's network. Contrary to Germany's obligations under EU telecoms rules, the Bundesnetzagentur's final decisions on mobile termination rates were adopted on 31 March 2009 before the Commission and other national regulators had the possibility to comment on the level of these rates. This lack of transparency is a first in the application of EU telecoms rules in the 27 EU Member States. Without prior consultation of other regulators, there is an increased risk that the regulatory approach to termination rates will differ among Member States and distort competition in the EU's single telecoms market. Already today, termination rates, and the methodology used to set them, vary widely across the EU. The Commission has therefore called for them to be better coordinated.

See more
Source: Europa

It’s good news for locals making international calls as Swaziland Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (SPTC) has announced a discount rate of up to 50%.

International calls made from landlines in Swaziland to cellphones either to South Africa, or any other country in the world will also be discounted same as international calls made from one landline to another.

The discount rates, which will range from 35% to 50% will come into effect from the 1st of July.

See Press Release
Source: BalancingAct-Africa

The Romanian government's decision in 2008 first to remove the President of the national telecoms regulator and then, after a court ruling suspending this decision, to restructure and rename this authority represents, in the view of the European Commission, a serious violation of the regulator's independence. Following repeated warnings, the Commission today opened an infringement proceeding against Romania by sending a letter of formal notice under Article 226 of the EC Treaty to the Romanian government. EU Telecoms Commissioner Reding spoke yesterday morning on the phone with the recently appointed Romanian Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Mr. Gabriel Sandu, - who had inherited this issue from the previous government - to discuss how the current illegality of the legislation in Romania could be changed in conformity with the letter and the spirit of EU law.

See Press Release
Source: Europa

Information technology (IT) and broadband are major drivers of economic change, restructuring businesses, affecting skills and employment, and contributing to growth and consumer benefits. This volume describes recent market dynamics and trends in industries supplying IT goods and services and offers an overview of the globalisation of the information and communication technology (ICT) sector and the rise of ICT-enabled international sourcing.

It analyses the development and impact of the changing global distribution of services activities and the rise of China and India as significant suppliers of ICT-related goods and services. It also looks at the increasing importance of digital content in selected industries and how it is transforming value chains and business models. The potential of technological developments such as ubiquitous networks, location-based services, natural disaster warning systems, the participative web and the convergence of information technology with nanotechnology and biotechnology is also examined. This book includes StatLinks, URL's linking statistical graphs and tables to spreadsheets containing the underlying data.

See press release

Source: OECD

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, announced today that it will support the initial public offering of Onatel, Burkina Faso’s incumbent telecom operator. The IPO, which was launched on December 22, 2008 and will remain open January 31, 2009, is the first by a Burkinabe company. It will attract private investment to the country and develop domestic and regional capital markets. IFC plans to purchase up to a five percent stake in Onatel at the public offering price. The investment will come after IFC earlier this year committed a €7.5 million ($10.5 million equivalent) loan to support the upgrade of Onatel’s fixed and mobile networks. The investments are part of IFC’s commitment to help develop a competitive telecommunications market, increase connectivity, and improve business efficiency in Burkina Faso.  

See press release

Source: IFC

IST-Africa 2009 (6 May 2009 - 8 May 2009 Uganda)  is the fourth in a series of annual technology research conferences that bring together representatives from leading commercial, government and research organisations around the world to bridge the Digital Divide by sharing knowledge, experience, lessons learnt and good practice, and identify opportunities for international research collaboration between Europe and Africa under the ICT Theme and Research Infrastructures (Capacities Programme) of Framework Programme 7 (FP7). A Call for Papers on the following Thematic Priorities has been launched : eHealth - Health Information Systems, eInfrastructures, Technology Enhanced Learning and ICT Skills, Digital Libraries and Intelligent Content, Open Source Software - Applications, ICT for eInclusion and eAccessibility, ICT for Environmental Sustainability, RFID and Networked Enterprise, eGovernment - Services to Citizens & Business. Submission deadline is 9 November 2008

See Conference site
Source: Europa

The European Commission is publishing new legislative texts on the EU Telecoms Reform package to take account of the European Parliament vote of 24 September 2008 and the ongoing discussions in the Council. In November 2007, the Commission made proposals for the reform of the EU Telecoms rules, designed to create a Single EU Telecoms Market with improved rights for consumers and businesses, more competition and investment to boost the take-up of cross-border services and wireless high-speed broadband for all (IP/07/1677). The new texts presented by the Commission today will be discussed in the Council of Telecoms Ministers on 27 November. At the heart of the compromise texts is a new, small and independent office for Europe's telecoms regulators that should help the Commission to bring about more consistency to regulatory measures on Europe's telecoms markets. The new regulatory framework is expected to become law in all 27 EU Member States by 2010.

See Press release and documents
Source: Europa

The Telecommunications Regulatory Authorities of Bahrain and Hong Kong met last week to exchange views on the challenges for regulation and regulators. The two regulators were attending an annual conference organised by the International Institute of Communications; (IIC) addressing the subject of regulation and convergence in media and communications.

See Press Release
Source: Kingdom of Bahrain - TRA Telecommunications Regulatory Authority

The Commission today welcomed the Colombian national regulator's (the National Commission for Television CNTV) selection the European Digital Video Broadcasting standard (DVB-T) for the country's digital terrestrial TV. The terrestrial DVB standard, DVB-T, has already been adopted in Europe and by over 120 countries in Asia, Africa, Oceania and Latin America. The decision by the Colombian regulator will confirm the EU's commitment to working with Colombia and the rest of Latin America to better exploit the potential of ICT and media. Other Latin American countries (such as Peru, Venezuela, Argentina or Chile) are expected to decide soon about their digital TV standard. In August 2007, Uruguay was the first Latin American country to choose to use the DVB family of standards for its digital TV needs.

Source: Europa

The 2.5 billion text messages sent every year by roaming customers in the EU cost over 10 times more than domestic short messages (SMS), show figures released today by the European Commission. The average cost of a roaming text message in the EU between October 2007 and March 2008 was EUR 0.29 according to the European Regulators' Group (ERG), but can be as high as EUR 0.80 for travellers from Belgium. Calls on the industry for self-regulation and voluntary reductions of roaming prices for text messages have not been answered. The Commission will therefore start working on measures to ensure that consumers benefit from a truly single market for mobile text services. The Commission will also seek to put an end to "bill shocks" that can hit roaming customers using a mobile connection to surf the Internet. New measures could be proposed by the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council in early autumn.

See Press Release
Source: Europa
See also: FAQs - EU Roaming Regulation: Text Messages & Data Services

The European Commission  adopted two initiatives in the area of copyright. First, the Commission proposes to align the copyright term for performers with that applicable to authors, in this way bridging the income gap that performers face toward the end of their lives. Secondly, the Commission proposes to fully harmonise the copyright term that applies to co-written musical compositions. In parallel, the Commission also adopted a Green Paper on Copyright in the Knowledge Economy. The consultation document focuses on topics that appear relevant for the development of a modern economy, driven by the rapid dissemination of knowledge and information. Both of these initiatives comprise a unique mix of social, economic and cultural measures aimed at maintaining Europe as a prime location for cultural creators in the entertainment and knowledge sectors.

See press release
Source: Europa

The Commission will be represented by Viviane Reding, EU Telecoms Commissioner. The Ministers will discuss several significant Telecoms dossiers, including the EU Telecoms Reform and the mid-term review of the i2010 strategy. The Council is also expected to agree on a general approach for the extension of the mandate of the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA). Main items at this Telecom Council agenda:

    * EU Telecoms Reform: Progress report and exchange of views on the proposals to reform the EU's current Telecoms Rules.
    * European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA): General approach on the extension of the mandate of the Agency.
    * Digital Dividend: Adoption of Council conclusions on the Communication on making the most of the digital dividend in Europe.
    * i2010: Adoption of Council conclusions responding to the Commission Communication on the mid-term review of i2010, Europe's strategy for an Information Society for growth and jobs by 2010, published on 18 April 2008.
    * Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6): Presentation of Internet Action plan for the deployment of IPv6.
    * Mobile Satellite Services (MSS): Information from the Presidency.

See Press Release
Source: Europa

The European Commission  stepped up its efforts to promote the use of the charge-free European emergency number 112 in the EU. As of today, the new website ec.europa.eu/112 will tell citizens how to use 112 and what to expect from it, particularly when they travel within the EU. It also shows how 112 functions in each Member State: how quickly calls are answered and in which languages.

See Press Release and documents
Source: Europa

European Commission launches public consultation on the functioning and the effects of the EU Roaming Regulation
As of today, the European Commission invites feedback by industry, consumers and other interested stakeholders to review the functioning and effectiveness of the EU Roaming Regulation, which entered into force on 30 June 2007. According to the provisions of the Regulation, the Commission must report to the European Parliament and the Council in 2008 about the functioning of the new roaming rules and their effects. The public consultation aims to gather responses from mobile operators, businesses, consumer associations and any interested party by 2 July 2008.

See Press Release
Source: Europa

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) starts a new joint project with the European Community entitled “Support for the establishment of harmonized policies for the ICT market in the ACP”. This is a four-year project aiming at developing and promoting an harmonized approach to Information and Communication Technology ICT policies in the African, Caribbean and Pacific group of States (ACP), in close collaboration with the regional organizations, through the development of harmonized ICT policies, guidelines and regulations in the area concerned and at building institutional capacity in the field of ICT through a range of targeted training, education and knowledge sharing measures.

In order to customize the project to the specific needs of each region, the project is implemented via three sub-projects:

a) Support for Harmonization of the ICT Policies in Sub-Sahara Africa (HIPSSA),
b) Enhancing competitiveness in the Caribbean through the harmonization of ICT Policies, Legislation and Regulation Procedures (HIPCAR) and
c) Capacity Building and ICT Policy, Regulatory and Legislative Frameworks Support for Pacific Island States (ICB4PIS).

ITU seeks talented people to fill the following job opportunities related to the joint ITU-EC project:

• PPP1-2008 - P5 - Project Manager, Support for the establishment of harmonized policies for the ICT market in the African, Caribbean and Pacific group of States (ACP)
  Duty station: Geneva, Switzerland
• PPP2-2008 - P4 - Senior Project Coordinator, Support for harmonization of the ICT policies in Sub-Sahara Africa” (HIPSSA)
  Duty station: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 
• PPP3-2008 - P3 - Project Coordinator, Enhancing competitiveness in the Caribbean through the harmonization of ICT Policies, Legislation and Regulation Procedures (HIPCAR)
  Duty station: Trinidad

More information about these vacancies can be found in English at the ITU website.   

The deadline for applications is 28 April 2008.

The 8^th Global Symposium for Regulators took place from 11 to 13 March 2008 in Pattaya, Thailand. This major ITU event focused on best practices in regulatory measures to foster and encourage sharing of infrastructure resources as a means of stimulating investment and growth in the ICT sector.

Ten discussion papers were developed for this year's GSR:

1. What do we mean by 6 Degrees of Sharing?
2. Extending Open Access to National Fibre Backbones in Developing Countries
3. International Gateway Liberalization: the Singapore experience
4. Breaking Up is Hard to Do: The Emergence of Functional Separation as a Regulatory Remedy
5. Mobile Sharing
6. Spectrum Sharing
7. WRC-07 Results and Impact on Terrestrial Broadband Wireless Access Systems
8. End-User Sharing
9. International Mobile Roaming Regulation – An Incentive for Cooperation
10. IPTV and Mobile TV: New Challenges for Regulators

Comments are welcome by 13 April 2008 at: gsr08@itu.int.   

More information on the event as well as the presentations from the panel sessions can be found at the GSR 2008 website.

See: Press release 

Source: ITU

Director-General Pascal Lamy hailed liberalisation of trade in telecoms services as a vital tool in economic growth and development on the occasion of the WTO Symposium on Telecommunications organized in Geneva to commemorate the 10th anniversary of agreement among WTO members to open basic telecommunications services.

See Press Release
Source: WTO

The symposium organized by WTO on 20-21 February 2008 in Geneva commemorated the 10^th anniversary of the entry into force of the 4^th Protocol of the GATS, more commonly known as the Basic Telecommunications Agreement (BTA). The two day event highlights the transformation of telecommunications over the past decade and the regulatory challenges governments have faced. It also explores the broader implications for the ICT sector, trade, economic development and growth, and prospects for the future.

The ITU Secretary General Dr. Hamadoun Touré gave opening remarks at the first day of the symposium. Ms. Susan Schor of the Regulatory and Market Environment Division of ITU-BDT gave a presentation on 10 Years Regulatory Trends. Ms. Vanessa Gray from the Market Information and Statistics Division, ITU-BDT presented ICT Market Trends, which have swept the sector over the last decade. Dr. Tim Kelly from the Standardization Policy Division, ITU-TSB provided an overview of Past and future regulatory challenges and their relevance for trade negotiators.   

Source: WTO and ITU

ARCEP is opening today the 3G authorisation issuance procedure on a first-come-first-served basis in the 2.1 GHz band for Overseas départements and collectivities. It is also presenting the manner in which the authorisations will be allocated for projects meeting IMT-2000 standards.
The opening of this procedure follows interest expressed by several players in deploying 3G networks in the Overseas départements and collectivities, interest expressed through the public consultation regarding the introduction of third-generation mobile communication systems in these areas. A summary of this public consultation was published by ARCEP on 16th October 2007. The consultation confirmed the relevance of attributing authorisations through a first-come-first-served process, it showed that attributing a first 5-MHz carrier would appear to be sufficient to launch a 3G commercial activity, and also showed strong demand from players to fill frequency assignments.

see Press Release
Source: ARCEP

According to Reuters,  the European Commission is set to take Poland to the European Union's top court concerning national telecoms regulator's independance. Luxembourg will be sent an initial warning for not ensuring its domestic telecoms regulator is independent. Under EU rules, national telecoms watchdogs must be independent of governments to enforce competition and face down pressure from  incumbents or former state-owned national monopoly operators.

Source: Reuters

The ERG  published its first comprehensive data collection of international roaming since the implementation of the roaming Regulation. Data collected by the ERG shows a general trend of reduced roaming prices for consumers using their mobile abroad.  The report on the data collection can be found with the document title "ERG (07) 85 International Roaming Report".

The ERG also published  its final set of guidelines to providers which are complementary to the provisions set out in the Regulation.  This follows previous versions published in July and August 2007. The guidelines can be found with the document title "ERG (07) 86 International Roaming Regulation Guidelines".

See Press Release (January 17th)

Source: ERG

The European Commission has published a consultation paper on the future framework which will apply to State funding of public service broadcasting. This consultation gives Member States and stakeholders the opportunity to submit their views at an early stage, before any Commission proposal, on the possible revision of the Broadcasting Communication – first adopted in 2001 (see IP/01/1429). Comments should be submitted by 10 March 2008. The consultation documents include a questionnaire as well as an explanatory memorandum which gives an overview of the current rules, the relevant Commission decision-making practice and the possible scope for amendments. Key issues for discussion are the public service remit in the new media environment and control of overcompensation. Having reviewed the comments, the Commission may come forward later this year with a proposal for a revised Broadcasting Communication, with a view to its adoption in the first half of 2009.

See Press Release and documents
Source: Europa

Upon the invitation by the Mediterranean Network Regulatory Authorities, the Communications Regulatory Agency became a member of this renowned network at its 9th  session held on 29th and 30th November 2007, in Marrakesh, Morocco.

See Press Release
Source: RAK

Nairobi, November 26, 2007—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, the African Development Bank (AfDB), the European Investment Bank (EIB), Germany’s development bank (KfW), and the development bank of France (AFD) have signed agreements to invest in the East African Submarine Cable System, a landmark fiber-optic cable project that will connect 21 African countries to each other and the rest of the world with high-quality Internet and international communications services. The cable will transform the telecommunications landscape in the region as it improves access for 250 million Africans and substantially reduces costs for consumers and businesses. Construction will begin in mid-December, and the cable, known as EASSy, is expected to be fully operational in time for the 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa. The cable will run 10,000 kilometers from the continent’s southern tip to the African horn, connecting South Africa, Mozambique, Madagascar, Tanzania, Kenya, Somalia, Djibouti, and Sudan. Another 13 adjoining countries will also be linked to the system as terrestrial backbone networks are completed through a broader World Bank Group initiative: these include Botswana, Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Malawi, Rwanda, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. 

A short video (available in both English and French) on IFC and the World Bank’s efforts to connect East Africa can be found on www.worldbank.org/rcip/video.

A map showing the gap that the East African Submarine Cable System is filling can be downloaded at http://go.worldbank.org/GKHOFFDJB0.  Use of the map is free of charge.

See Press Release
Source: EASSY
 

Amidst the policy of liberalizing telecommunication services in Egypt and according to Egypt’s international commitments with the World Trade Organization (WTO) and based on Law no. 10 for the year 2003, which states that Telecom Egypt’s monopoly over international telephony services must end by the year 2005, the NTRA has agreed to offer the license to international telephony services to any mobile service company that is willing to offer these services only to its clients and customers. Telecom Egypt’s right to offer international telephony services via carrier selection will be maintained, according to its license.

See more

Source: NTRA Egypt

Vietnam will be accessible from the AT&T global network through collaboration with one of the leading local telecommunication carriers, Viettel Corporation. The collaboration with Viettel, sealed against the backdrop of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation CEO Summit 2006 in Hanoi, paves the way for AT&T to extend advanced information and communications support to its growing number of multinational enterprises customers with sites in Vietnam. AT&T currently serves customers with sites in Vietnam through interconnection agreements with domestic telecom carriers. Viettel will provide services within Vietnam, while AT&T will provide service outside Vietnam. However, through this collaboration, Viettel and AT&T will connect Vietnam into the AT&T Global network and offer multinational enterprise customers in the country advanced networking services through Viettel. Initial services will include Virtual Private Network and Frame Relay services. There are plans to add more services in the future.

See Press Release

Source : AT&T

The second meeting of the IGF was held in Rio de Janeiro on 12-15 November 2007. Transcripts of the following main sessions are available, click here. The third meeting of the IGF will be held on December 8th to 11th 2008  in New Delhi. A first preparatory meeting will be held in Geneva on February 26th, 2008. The meeting will be held in the form of consultations open to all stakeholders. Its main purpose will be to take stock of the 2007 IGF meeting and to discuss how to prepare the New Delhi meeting. More details will be made available on this blog in due course.

Source: Internet Governance Forum

See also: Chairman's summary of the meeting

Verizon Business will begin an aggressive rollout of its next-generation optical transport network in Europe next month. The first phase will include ultra long-haul (ULH) equipment deployed on the core backbone network routes between Verizon Business' main European network hubs in London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Paris and Brussels, providing the first 3,230 kilometers (2,007 miles) of ULH transport in the Verizon Business European network.

This next-generation technology, which will support speeds up to 40 gigabits per second (Gbps), will give Verizon Business customers in Europe an opportunity to use new high-bandwidth intensive services for years to come. The first phase of ULH deployment is scheduled to be completed during the first quarter of 2008.

Press Release

Source: Verizon

On 12 October 2007, the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications put forward a proposal on changes in the Norwegian Telecommunication Act. A new § 4-14 on international mobile roaming is proposed, implementing the Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 2007 on roaming on public mobile telephone networks.

See More

Source : Norwegian Post and Telecommunications Authority

The proposed European Telecom Market Authority is designed to "support the Commission and national telecoms regulators" in EU27, the Commission said. Its function will be to ensure that regulation is applied "consistently, independently and without protectionism" across the EU.

See also Background Factsheet: European Telecom Market Authority.

Source: European Commission (IP/07/1677)

As part of its package of telecom reform proposals presented today (see IP/07/1677), the European Commission has adopted a new Recommendation on the markets where telecom-specific regulation should take place. The original 2003 version of this Recommendation listed 18 retail and wholesale markets where the Commission considers that specific ex ante regulation is required by national telecoms regulators to deal with competition problems. To reflect the progress made in the past years in most EU Member States in terms of competition and consumer choice, the Commission concluded that in principle there is no need for regulators to intervene in half of these markets. At the same time, this move will allow regulation to better focus on the main bottlenecks in the telecoms sector.

See Press Release and Ten Background Factsheets

Source: Europa

Over the next several months, 12 mobile operators will run trials of contactless mobile payment services in Australia, France, Ireland, Korea, Malaysia, Norway, The Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Turkey and the U.S. as a precursor to commercial launches. The trials form part of the GSMA’s Pay-Buy-Mobile initiative, which is designed to provide a single global approach to enabling contactless payments using a mobile phone. Consumers will be able to use their handsets to quickly, easily and securely pay for goods and services in shops, restaurants and train stations.

Press Release

Source: GSMA

Starting this month, the OECD will compare broadband use, coverage, prices, and services and speeds in addition to adoption. The move is expected to provide a fuller picture of broadband services in member nations. The organization also launched a broadband statistics portal.

See Press Release concerning Portal

Source: OECD

Despite all of the very interesting speculation over the last few months, Google dis not announce a Gphone but a Open Handset Alliance and Android. This is more significant and ambitious than a single phone. Through the joint efforts of the members of the Open Handset Alliance, Google hope Android will be the foundation for many new phones and will create an entirely new mobile experience for users, with new applications and new capabilities we can’t imagine today.

See Press Release

Source: Google

Nigeria’s Minister of Commerce and Industry has called for the integration of Cetlel’s mobile networks in Nigeria and in Niger. The  integration of infrastructure is expected to boost trade between the two countries and benefit Celtel users in the two countries.

Source: Telegeography

French-US Alcatel-Lucent has signed contracts with Vietnam Post and Telecoms (VNPT) and its cellular subsidiary MobiFone. MobiFone has engaged the vendor to provide GSM/GPRS/EDGE base stations to improve  coverage and capacity of network. The pair have also agreed to cooperate in a  IP Excellence Centre to support the deployment of broadband networks .

See more

Source: Telegeography

(PRENSA CONATEL /Leonardo Azarak) El Ministro del Poder Popular para las Telecomunicaciones y la Informática, Jesse Chacón se reunió con las delegaciones de Siria, Nigeria y Rusia, para compartir los adelantos del proyecto Satélite Simón Bolívar, dando cumplimiento a la agenda venezolana en la Conferencia Mundial de Radiocomunicaciones en Suiza.

Nabil Kisrawi, delegado de la comisión siria, con gran trayectoria en la Unión Internacional de Telecomunicaciones (UIT), se mostró complacido con los avances en la construcción del satélite y comentó que la administración siria apoyará el proyecto y dará a conocer con otros países árabes los beneficios de la iniciativa venezolano – uruguaya. Full press release

Source: CONATEL, Venezuela

On 4 September 2007 ITU has released a major publication, Trends in Telecommunication Reform: the Road to NGN. This is the 8^th of a series of reports focusing on the ongoing transformation in the telecom/ICT sector to inform regulators and policy makers around the world.

During the past week, the report got news coverage by numerous leading national and international media, witnessing the interest of the ten chapters of research and analysis dedicated to issues related to the transition towards Next Generation Networks (NGN). You can find links to some of the news reports in the attached document.

More information about the 2007 report is available at the “On the Road to NGN” website.

The publication is available for sale at the ITU bookshop.

eLAC 2007 reveals a Plan of Action for the Informations Society in Latin America.

See  presentation of the document

Source: CEPAL

The Information and Communication Technologies Authority (ICT Authority) has released the approval of a decrease in the tariffs of the Half-Circuit International Private Lease Circuits, (IPLC), of Mauritius Telecom by 20%. The ICT Authority’s decision is pursuant to the powers conferred upon the national regulator under Section 31 of the ICT Act 2001 and follows an application by Mauritius Telecom Ltd.

See the Press Release

Source: ICTA

Geneva, 4 September 2007 — ITU has released a major publication, Trends in Telecommunication Reform: the Road to NGN. In its 8th edition, Trends reports on the evolution of circuit-switched telecommunication into "next-generation" networks, as operators around the world fight to remain competitive. The Report aims at enabling regulators and policy-makers in developing countries to better understand the changes transforming the ICT sector so they can evolve their policy and regulatory frameworks to leverage today’s technological and market developments.

What does NGN mean for regulators? They have many choices to make. Some view NGN as the intersection of the telecom and Internet worlds. If so, which regulatory regime should apply? The current heavily-regulated telecom regulatory model? The lightly-regulated Internet model? Or some new hybrid model? The migration to NGN affords an opportunity for regulators to analyze current practices and revise them in light of what makes sense going forward. This Trends report offers a detailed discussion of the kinds of measures that are needed to ensure that regulation keeps pace with technological and market developments so that the best of NGN is available to all of the world’s people.

The ITU press release is available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.

More information about the content of the 2007 report is available at the “On the Road to NGN” website.

The publication is available for sale at the ITU bookshop.

OECD Ministerial Meeting -- The Future of the Internet Economy, Seoul, Korea, 17-18 June 2008

The Internet is increasingly critical to our economies and societies – with implications for all policy domains.
Only now is the world beginning to grasp the Internet’s potential as a powerful driver of innovation, sustainable economic growth and social well-being. It is timely for Ministers, CEOs and Internet experts to forge broad principles that will guide the next decade of the Internet economy.
In preparation for this event, the OECD is inviting public comment on issues to be discussed at that meeting. Such issues include enhancing the participatory web, protecting consumers, and battling malware.  You can provide your comments by filling out an online questionnaire.  The public consultation will be open until Friday, September 14, 2007.

See more

Source: OECD

The ERG has published today the second release of its guidelines on roaming, covering charges, welcome SMS and other provisions.   The guidelines are effective from today, but the ERG invites comments on this second release until 5 September.  Comments can be sent to the ERG Secretariat at erg@ec.europa.eu with the wording "Comments 2nd Roaming Guidelines" in the subject header.

See more

Source: ERG

World Intellectual Property Organization members on Friday recommended to move talks on a proposed broadcasters’ and cablecasters’ treaty back to committee level for further consideration, a day after rejecting a proposal to elevate the issue to formal treaty negotiations. The move could signify a shelving of the issue, some nine years after discussions first began. The issue of updating the 1961 Rome Treaty on broadcasters’ rights was addressed in the 18-22 June meeting of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights.

Link to the article by William New

Source: IPW

72 per cent of board directors believe BRICS businesses are less advanced in terms of technology

 

A major new international study by BT has revealed that Western business is not fully prepared for the imminent impact of emerging markets.  While more than six out of ten (64 per cent) directors of large American, British, French and German corporations accept that emerging economies will “reshape” the global business landscape, many seem to have only a rudimentary knowledge of their business environments.

Even though a clear majority (61 per cent) of respondents admit it is “crucial” their business is able to work with the economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – the so-called ‘BRICS’ nations – to succeed in the long term, many of them demonstrate worrying ignorance of the realities of those countries: almost nine out of ten directors (88 per cent) could not name the currency of Brazil and 14 per cent believe that vodka is the main product of Russia, for example.µ

BT commissioned Datamonitor to undertake the study of 800 senior executives in the US, UK, France and Germany for its study, “Building Business With BRICS.”  The study discovered that more than seven out of ten (72 per cent) Western directors believe that organisations in the ‘developed’ world are better equipped technologically to work internationally than those in BRICS. 

Francois Barrault, CEO, BT Global Services, said: “This is a troubling finding.  The message hasn’t filtered through yet that these nations are already equipped to make an impact on the global stage.  They have shown remarkable agility and speed at adopting new collaborative tools and technologies – quicker, in many cases, than in the US or Europe.  Western organisations need to increase collaboration in and with BRICS businesses or risk being left behind. Western executives have the systems in place to work with BRICS. In terms of the technology that enables collaboration between organisations and countries, there is an effective global network in place. But Western businesses need to do more to fully engage with BRICS countries. Successful collaboration between organisations in the West and those in BRICS will be a sign that globalisation has come of age. ”

According to the study, four in five (80 per cent) of directors realise that the necessary information and communication technology is readily available to allow their businesses to work effectively with those in BRICS.  Despite this, the study found that directors perceive data security to be the main barrier to effective collaboration with international businesses, followed by different legislation and/or regulations and political interference. 

The full report, “Building Business With BRICS”, can be downloaded from www.bt.com/global/collaboration/BRICS/.  Other findings include:

• 35 per cent of directors do not know the currency of Russia, 55 per cent do not know the currency of India and 65 per cent do not know the currency of South Africa

• India is perceived as the most comfortable BRICS economy in which to do business, significantly more than China, which was rated second (30 per cent to 23 per cent)

• Russia is perceived as the least comfortable BRICS economy in which to do business (24 per cent)

• Businesses in the manufacturing industry are the most active in the BRICS economies; 82 per cent of respondents said that their company was already working with other businesses within BRICS

• 51 per cent of companies within the financial and professional services sectors are active in the regions. The BRICS economies are an opportunity for these companies to apply their specialised knowledge to a rapidly developing economic model

• Few government & non-profit and education & healthcare companies are active; such companies are generally prohibited in their expansion overseas

• Companies with revenues in excess of $1 billion are currently the most active within the BRICS economies. The increasing trend towards globalisation has a wider effect on such firms who must look to developing economies to enhance sales, diversify their geographical portfolios and minimize costs through low-cost labour and energy

 

Notes to editors

About the research
BT commissioned Datamonitor to undertake the study of 800 senior executives in companies from a range of sectors, with turnovers from $10 million to over $1 billion, in the US, UK, France and Germany for its study.  The full report, “Building Business With BRICS,” can be downloaded from www.bt.com/global/collaboration/BRICS/

A major new study has found that current regulation of electronic communications services in Europe is failing to meet the needs of busines

As EU ministers meet this week for the Telecoms Council, the  report highlights that the quality, range and accessibility of telecoms inputs for electronic communications for businesses across the EU is completely fragmented.

The consequences are serious according to Professor Martin Cave of Warwick Business School. “The difficulties of piecing together a seamless offering for corporate clients has led to the pan-European market for corporate services being underdeveloped.”

The study calls on the European Commission to lay the foundations for an innovative pan European market in telecommunications services and applications. “The current review of the EU regulatory framework is a golden opportunity to ensure that the needs of business are met” said Luis Alvarez, President for EMEA of BT Global Services. “This study shows that we have the chance to improve European business competitiveness with a few simple measures”.

Drawing on the experiences of major companies operating in Europe, via a series of interviews conducted by the International Telecommunications User Group (INTUG) and the Enterprise Virtual Network User Association (EVUA), the study is intended to make an important contribution to the current Commission review of the regulatory framework.

“If we can’t get the communications infrastructure right then the outlook for European business competitiveness is bleak” said Nick White of INTUG. “Member States want businesses to adopt advanced ICT to improve EU productivity and growth. At the same time they have created a system of 27 different telecoms regulatory regimes, some of which are at best half-serious about requiring incumbents to provide access services”.      

The Commission’s proposals on new legislation will likely give them the ability to review national regulation. Yet some national regulators claim that cross-border services in telecoms do not exist and that therefore there is no role for the Commission.

According to the study, however, businesses operating at Pan-European level require cross border services “We want only one or two suppliers across the whole of Europe” said Massimiliano Leccà, Fiat’s ICT Corporate Governance Services Outsourcing Manager. “A high degree of diversification of transport networks has proved to be inefficient in terms of governance, service continuity, performance management and maintenance cost” he added.

The study, “The Economic Benefits from Providing Businesses with Competitive Electronic Communications Services”, is written by a group of leading academics and communications consultants and backed by INTUG, EVUA and BT plc.

The full study is available on the following websites:

http://www.btplc.com/Thegroup/Regulatoryinformation/Consultativeresponses/BTdiscussionpapers/Electronic/index.htm

http://www.evua.org

http://www.intug.org/download/algemeen/Barrett%20Final.pdf

 

World Intellectual Property Organization members are engaged in a critical weeklong meeting that will determine the fate of a proposed WIPO treaty on broadcasters’ rights. At the end of a second slow day, it was unclear which way it will go, according to participants, but things are intensifying and WIPO is watching closely, they said. “This meeting is absolutely crucial,” WIPO Deputy Director General Michael Keplinger told Intellectual Property Watch. “It is necessary that we achieve some consensus.�

Link to the complete article by William New
http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/index_test.php?p=661

Source: IPW

The study aims to give an overview of the development of telecommunications and the information society in eight countries : Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Moldova. These countries have engaged in varying policies with regard to electronic communications and the information society, producing markets that, while similar, have fundamental differences. These differences include the level of competition in the telecommunications market, the degree of privatisation, and the extent to which online retail and service provision are supported by a comprehensive legislative framework.

The study covers a geographically and politically diverse set of countries that share a common history as former members of the Soviet Union. The roll-out of information society services is made difficult by low income levels, which puts both equipment and services beyond the reach of many citizens. These difficulties are further exacerbated by weak fixed line infrastructure and low levels of access (particularly in rural areas) to fixed line networks.

The study looks at the electronic communications and information society sector in the eight countries from three key angles :

1. The electronic communications sector (looking in particular at the regulatory framework supporting competition in the sector, as well as market development), and the legislative framework surrounding electronic service provision.
2. The services available, both commercial and governmental, which give an indication both of the development of the market and the extent to which citizens have compelling reasons to become “connected” to the information society.
3. The level of use of available services.

Political Intelligence reports

Celtel International announced on 6 June 2007, that it is expanding its One Network service to more than 160 million people in six African countries, as part of its roll-out plan targeting the entire African continent.

In September 2006, Celtel was the first mobile operator worldwide to offer its customers in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda the opportunity to move freely across geographical borders without roaming call surcharges. Since, Celtel offers its customers the same services abroad that they could access in their home country such as airtime transfer from friends, voicemail and customer service in their local languages.

The One Network service is now available in the Republic of Congo, Gabon and Democratic Republic of Congo. The extension of the service from East Africa into Central Africa, means post- and pre-paid Celtel subscribers within the six countries, will be able to make calls at local rates, receive incoming calls free of charge and top-up their pre-paid phones with locally bought airtime cards.

Source: Celtel International, 6 June 2007

Last Friday a high level delegation headed by his Excellency Minister Tarek Kamel minister of communications and information technology left Cairo on an official high level visit to Canada and the United States of America staying from the 9th till the 17th of June 2007.

The main purpose of this delegation is to further enhance areas of cooperation as well as to create a positive environment to increase foreign direct investment in Egypt especially in the Telecom sector.

Kamel is presiding the Canadian-Egyptian Business Council (CEBC) delegation that encompasses over 75 prominent Egyptian entrepreneurs, bank officials as well as top officials from the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA), Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) and the Egyptian National Postal Organization (ENPO).

Dr Amr Badawi the Executive Director of the National Telecom Regulatory Authority will join the official mission as a member of the delegation. His presence in the delegation will add more value to its purposes as he will research further chances for mutual international cooperation in the area of regulation and new communication technologies. During his visit he will be conducting several meetings with a number of international companies such as Cisco and Intel- QUALACOMM.

Kamel and his accompanying delegation will explore venues of collaboration with the Canadian federal government in the area of ICT and technology development.  The minister’s schedule will include meetings with Canadian Parliamentary members, representatives of the Canadian ministries of Economic Development and Trade and Industry as well as key figures from multinational corporations with the objective of opening new markets in Egypt.

Kamel’s agenda includes holding meetings with the Egyptian expatriate community in Canada spread throughout three main Canadian cities namely Ottawa, the capital, Toronto considered the country’s largest city and Montreal in the Quebec province.  The Egyptian delegation aims at attracting investors interested in the field of ICT through opening collaboration venues in the activities of Nile University, one of Egypt’s promising academic institutions in the field of ICT.

Minister’s Kamel visit to the State likewise intends to highlight Egypt focal role in ICT investment which in turn indicates how the country could become a hub for ICT activities.  His Excellency is scheduled to hold talks with US Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs C. David Welch  and US Assistant Secretary General for Internet Affairs Levy Grooth. 

The Egyptian Minister will also convene with U.S. Commercial Representative to discuss possibilities of liberalizing communications services. Another meeting  with World Bank’s representatives as well as 250 American businessmen will be convened in the context of the delegation’s meeting with members of American Chamber of Commerce. 
The meeting will include a brief on Egypt’s strategic position in providing offshore outsourcing services by AT Kearney Chairman Paul Laudicina. 

The mission will witness the inking of a number of cooperation agreements concerning Nile University, Telecom Egypt and a number of Egyptian companies operating in the ICT sector.

In the context of meetings convened with Egyptian expatriate community, Kamel and the accompanying delegation will be briefing the expats on the latest developments in Egypt’s ICT sector, besides presenting possible opportunities to invest in the sector, namely in the fields of Research and Development, Egyptian external labor markets, regulating frameworks for e-signature technology, Nile University and technology incubators project.

The mission is a byproduct of U.S. and Canadian growing interest to invest in Egypt’s promising ICT sector, together with the Egypt’s keenness to expand the scope of possible joint cooperation.

Source: NTRA

World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) members this week are engaged in intensive negotiations on proposals to change WIPO’s activities and mandate to include more development issues. The Group B developed countries, particularly the United States, has taken a hard line against proposals relating to flexibilities in World Trade Organization intellectual property law, and WIPO rulemaking related to genetic resources, traditional knowledge, the public domain, and access to knowledge, according to officials.

Link to the complete article by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen : http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/index_test.php?p=652

Source: IPW

Note: For visitors of your site, this entry is only displayed for users with the preselected language English (United States)/English (United States) (en-US)

New Delhi, 07 June, 2007- Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released Regulation on " International Telecommunication Access to Essential Facilities at Cable Landing Stations Regulations, 2007" which provides for the non-discriminatory, fair and open access at the cable landing stations.

A number of submarine cables are landing or terminating in India. These submarine cables terminate at cable landing stations operated and managed by few ILDOs. As such the facilities are predominantly owned by limited number of ILDOs. TRAI considers that access to these cable landing stations by other licensees is necessary for creating a conducive environment and boosting competition in the international bandwidth connectivity / leased circuits segment.

Access to submarine Cable Landing Stations (CLS) is considered an essential input for many telecom services needing international connectivity. Any access barriers to such facility can constrain the competitiveness of telecom operators and become detrimental to healthy growth of international telecom market. Thus for the CLS, which are considered to be essential and critical telecom facilities, it needs to be ensured that any restriction on such facilities should not become a ‘bottleneck’ to international telecom services provision. In pursuance of the recommendations on "Measures to promote competition in International Private Leased Circuits (IPLC) in India", the Department of Telecommunications, after accepting the recommendations, has also amended the relevant clauses in International Long Distance (ILD) Service Licence to ensure efficient, transparent and non-discriminatory access facilities for submarine cables at Cable Landing Stations.

International leased circuits are used by exporters, BPO units/ Call centers, banks, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), ISPs and other information technology enabled service providers. In addition, ILDOs also require international bandwidth connectivity for carrying international voice calls. The Regulation would facilitate:

• provisioning of bandwidth to end consumers at competitive rates;

• boosting of competition and therefore reduction in the price of international private leased circuits (IPLCs);

• availability of International bandwidth at competitive price to ISPs for rapid growth of Broadband Service;

• options to ILDOs to purchase International bandwidth at competitive prices on a range of diversified submarine cables;

• carriage of voice/data at a competitive cost.

The owners of Cable Landing Stations are mandated, from the date of commencement of the Regulation, to submit "Cable Landing Station – Reference Interconnect Offer (CLS-RIO)" containing the terms and conditions of Access Facilitation and Co-location facilities including landing facilities at cable landing stations for International submarine cable capacity in accordance with the specified schedule and provisions in the Regulation within 30 days to the Authority for its approval. The Authority shall approve the CLS – RIO within 60 days. However, if it requires modifications so as to protect the interests of service providers or consumers or to promote orderly growth of the telecom, the Authority will give an opportunity to the owner of Cable Landing Station (CLS) to make necessary modifications and submit within 15 days of receipt of requirement for such modifications in the CLS-RIO for the approval. The owner of CLS shall publish the approved CLS-RIO within 15 days from the date of approval by the Authority. The Regulation would enable the timely provision of International bandwidth connectivity at cable landing stations in a fair, equitable, transparent and non discriminatory manner to eligible International Telecommunication Entities i.e. International Long Distance Operators (ILDOs) and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) with International Gateway permission.

The Regulation provides the time limits for owner of Cable Landing Station for various activities in access facilitation including the provision for co-location facility and the Regulation also provides the time limits for eligible Indian International Telecom Entity to enter into agreement, make payments and arrange backhaul circuits to its premises from Cable Landing Station. The Regulation has a provision for a minimum commitment period of three years for Co-location facility and its renewal till the term of lease of International capacity on submarine cable at cable landing station subject to no default and breach by eligible Indian International Telecom Entity.

The Authority is of the view that there is a need for standard/published access facilitation agreement, which the new service providers can make use of for availing of access to international submarine cable capacity. In the absence of such regulation, there is a scope for delay, in provisioning of access to the capacity acquired by the competing operators, from incumbent International Long Distance Operator (ILDO) and other ILDOs with Significant Market Power (SMP) who own cable landing stations. The Authority also noted that problems have been faced by

some of the ILDOs, who had acquired capacity in a submarine cable system from foreign carriers or International Telecom carriers, desired to access such capacity at the cable landing station of an existing operator.

The highlights of Regulation are:

(a) new service providers have access to the International bandwidth capacity in the same way as the consortium members;

(b) access facilitation is not unduly delayed by consortium members having control over CLS;

(c) transparent and non-discriminatory access at cable landing stations;

(d) well defined responsibilities in terms of functioning;

(e) transparent charges for access, Co-location and landing facilities;

(f) time limit for provision of access, Co-location and landing facilities.

Full text of the "International Telecommunication Access to Essential Facilities at Cable Landing Stations Regulations, 2007 (5 of 2007)" is available on TRAI’s website: www.trai.gov.in

Source: TRAI, India

Washington DC – The United States and Korea have simultaneously released the full draft text of the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement (“KORUS FTA”).  Negotiations on the agreement were completed on April 1.  U.S. Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab issued the following statement:

“As we have underscored since we completed negotiations on the Agreement, the KORUS FTA is a strong, comprehensive deal that will bring concrete benefits to U.S. manufacturers, services providers, farmers, ranchers, and workers, as well as the people of Korea.  The text lays out the details of this historic Agreement between two large countries with complex, modern economies,” said Ambassador Schwab.  “The agreement will advance U.S. efforts to deepen and strengthen its trade and investment ties in a strategically significant part of the world.”

The Agreement contains 24 chapters, which provide for significant reductions in tariffs on industrial and agriculture products, and include state-of-the-art commitments in competition policy, e- commerce, transparency, pharmaceuticals/medical devices, intellectual property rights (IPR), investment, and services.  The Agreement also includes an unprecedented and strong package of automotive provisions, which will level the playing field in this important sector.  The automotive provisions are found throughout the text, including in the chapters on market access and national treatment for goods, technical barriers to trade, and dispute settlement. 

This draft text does not yet include provisions that reflect the recently-concluded agreement between Congress and the Administration on labor rights, environmental safeguards and other issues that have created a new, bipartisan path forward on trade.   The Administration and Congress are still in the process of converting this agreement into formal text.  When that process is complete, the United States looks forward to working together with Korea to reflect that agreement. 

The draft KORUS FTA text is available on the USTR website at http://www.ustr.gov/.  As is the case with all FTAs, the draft text is subject to legal review for accuracy, clarity, and consistency. 

See also :

Strong Support for the U.S.-Korea (KORUS) Free Trade Agreement


Source: USTR

				23 top-level executives from around the world signed the letter

The leaders of the G8 must take bigger, bolder steps to beat back counterfeiting and piracy, the International Chamber of Commerce said today in a letter sent to G8 leaders in advance of their Summit Meeting in Heiligendamm, Germany.  The ICC letter, signed by 23 CEOs and senior business executives, included recommendations for immediate actions to be taken by G8 countries.

 

“ICC welcomes the importance the G8 has placed on this critical global issue, by keeping counterfeiting and piracy on the agenda for the past four summits and by setting up a working group on intellectual property rights,” said Jean-René Fourtou, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Vivendi and Co-Chair of ICC’s Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy (BASCAP) initiative. “It is now critical, however, that the words be turned to concrete actions by G8 governments to bring an end to the increasing damage being done by this illegal activity. Other government leaders watch the actions being taken by G8 countries, and we are asking the leaders of the G8 governments to take immediate steps to demonstrate their commitment to stop counterfeiting and piracy and to urgently take tougher measures that will serve as an example to the rest of the world.”

 

Counterfeiting and piracy are growing at an alarming rate. ICC estimates that businesses lose a total of US$ 600 billion to counterfeiters each year, including fake products moving across borders as well as those produced and sold domestically and those traded on the Internet. In addition, this illegal activity generates enormous costs to the global economy, in areas such as employment, consumer health and safety, technology transfer, tax revenues and public finance and law enforcement.  Moreover, the hefty profits these phony goods bring has attracted organized crime, and caused the attendant social ills these actors bring.

 

BASCAP unites the global business community to more effectively identify and address intellectual property rights issues and petition for greater commitments by local, national and international officials in the enforcement and protection of IPR.

 

“The magnitude of the costs and risks associated with counterfeiting and piracy can not be ignored, and the scope and scale of this global problem demands that governments view this as a priority and take decisive and ongoing actions,” said Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, CEO of Nestlé. “There are many steps that can be taken immediately that will have an impact and demonstrate resolve to stop this problem, and the business leaders involved in BASCAP stand ready to assist in any way we can in working with government leaders on these actions.”

 

The specific steps recommended by the global business leaders through BASCAP include: 

-         Abolish all known counterfeit and pirate markets in G8 countries, including Internet sites

-         Prohibit transshipment of counterfeits through free trade zones

-         Take the lead by endorsing World Customs Organization standards that set minimum performance standards, harmonize customs procedures and deter pirates from moving fake merchandise through countries with weak detection systems

-         Take stock of  funding, other resources, and capabilities to fight this scourge in G8 countries

-         Strictly enforce laws against counterfeiting and adopt tough criminal sanctions and penalties that deter intellectual property theft

 

The  23 top-level executives from around the world who signed the letter, in their capacity as members of BASCAP’s Global Leadership Group include: Paul Adams, CEO of British American Tobacco; Bernard Arnault, Chairman and CEO of LVMH; Steven  Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft; Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, Chairman and CEO of Nestlé; David Brennan, CEO of Astra Zeneca; Patrick Cescau, CEO of Unilever; Jean-Francois Dehecq, CEO of Sanofi Aventis; Jean-René Fourtou, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Vivendi; David Iakobachvili, Chairman of Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods; Afaque Ahmed Khan, CEO of Hobo Collections, UAE; Hiroshi Kimura, CEO of Japan Tobacco Inc.; Robert McDonald, Chief Operating Officer of Proctor & Gamble; Eric Nicoli, CEO of EMI; Tariq Rangoonwala, Chairman of Forhans, Pakistan; Sidney Taurel, Chairman and CEO of Eli Lilly; Marcus Wallenberg, Chairman of SEB; Gerd Becht, Vice President of DaimlerChrysler; Andreas Fibig, President of Pfizer; Raaja Kanwar, Vice Chairman of UFO Moviez, India; Adriaan Nühn, Executive Vice President of Sara Lee; Randy Pond, Senior Vice President of Cisco Systems; Bob Wright, Vice Chairman of General Electric and Guy Sebban, Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerce.

 

To read a copy of the letter and G8 statement, please  click here  

 

For more information about BASCAP please click here

 

 

For further information, please contact :

Dawn Chardonnal Communications Manager Tel: +33 1 49 53 29 0 Source: ICC

 

Child pornography, international terrorism and cross-border organised crime – these were three of the main topics on the agenda of the meeting of G8 ministers of justice and home affairs in Munich. The protection of intellectual property rights too is to be strengthened.

(...)

Fighting product piracy

DS285: US — Measures affecting the cross-border supply of gambling and betting services: recourse to article 21.5 of the DSU by Antigua and Barbuda

The DSB adopted the compliance panel report.

While welcoming the results of the report, Antigua expressed concerns on recent developments overshadowing the report conclusions Antigua referred to the announcement made by the US on 4 May 2007 about its intention to modify its services concessions and exclude gambling and betting from its initial agreement (see GATS article XXI and S/L/80). Antigua argued this was not a suitable tactic in dispute resolution. Antigua encouraged other WTO members to press claims for compensation to make the process as difficult as possible for the US.

The US confirmed it initiated a procedure to bring the US GATS obligations into conformity with its public policy on gambling. The US explained that gambling was viewed as a public order and public morals issue and was therefore regulated. The US said this was the reason it never intended to cover gambling in its schedule which was insufficiently clear.

Brazil and India expressed systemic concerns about the implications for the dispute settlement system of the GATS Article XXI process as initiated by the US. They did not question the right of the US under this provision, but emphasised that the solution preferred by the DSU was the removal of the measure which had been found to be WTO-inconsistent. A successful result of the Article XXI process, according to Brazil and India, would depend on the US ability to contemplate other members' right to compensation.

The EC stated that given the US was not willing to bring its legislation in line with its GATS commitments, the use of GATS article XXI was the right procedure.

Source : WTO

On April 23, an IT Ministerial Meeting was held between Minister Rho Jun-Hyong of Information and Communication and Minister Ali Abbasov of Communications and Information Technologies of the Azerbaijan Republic, who is accompanying President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev on his state visit to Korea. The two Ministers discussed ways to cooperate in the field of IT.

Areas of IT cooperation took shape as the two IT Ministers signed an MOU to cooperate in the field of e-Government formulation in the presence of President Roh Moo-Hyun and President Ilham Aliyev, following the summit meeting.

The conclusion of the MOU is expected to spur active exchanges and cooperation between Korea and Azerbaijan through the formation of an inter-governmental working level committee to collaborate in areas which include e-Government formulation, maintenance, and development; standardization and certification in the field of e-Government; information security and Public Key Infrastructure(PKI); and national identification system, as well as by promoting exchange visits of experts, and jointly holding technical exhibitions, seminars, and symposia.

Meanwhile, with an aim to assist the Azerbaijan government’s e-Government project and to facilitate the efforts of Korean IT service firms to enter the Central Asian market, in December of last year, Korea completed supporting a pre-feasibility test on Azerbaijan’s e-Government formulation project, which includes areas such as national identification system, digital signature, and e-Customs.

Source: MIC, Korea

The report of the 7th annual Global Symposium for Regulators is now available. ITU’s 7th annual Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR), held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates from 5-7 February 2007, attracted 471 participants, bringing together regulators, policy makers and service providers from 111 countries to identify best practice guidelines that promote regulatory frameworks that foster innovation, investment and affordable access to Next-Generation Networks (NGN) and that facilitate the migration to NGN. The GSR, organized by ITU in collaboration with the Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (TRA) of the United Arab Emirates, was chaired by Mr Al Ghanim, Director General of the TRA. The focus of this year’s meeting was the road to next-generation networks: can regulators promote investment and achieve open access? The meeting examined pressing regulatory issues such as NGN investment, competition, interconnection, consumer protection, universal access and international internet interconnection. The first day was open to regulators, policy makers, ITU-D Sector Members and other invited guests. The second and third day was reserved for regulators and policy makers. The 2007 GSR also introduced a new feature, Speed Exchanges, to provide additional opportunities for participants to meet informally and exchange views. A series of nine informal, moderated roundtable discussions was offered, each on a different issue, and participants were invited to spend twenty minutes at the table of their choice before moving to another roundtable discussion. As in the previous GSRs, consensus was reached on an output document, the Best Practice Guidelines for Next-Generation Network (NGNs) Migration. The document was widely consulted and expresses the view of the National Regulatory Authorities (NRA) participating in the GSR that an enabling regulatory regime can foster innovation, investment and affordable access to NGNs and facilitate migration to NGNs. This enabling regime includes, inter alia: • the establishment of an effective regulator separated from the operator; • the adoption of clear and transparent regulatory processes; • regulatory flexibility and technology neutrality to permit technological innovation; • the creation of regulatory certainty for both incumbent and competing/alternative providers in order not to stifle innovation; and • regular reassessments of the framework in order to remove undue regulatory barriers to competition and innovation as well as to allow the framework to evolve with the objective of enabling users and providers to migrate to succeeding generations of networks when the market dictates. Regulators are also urged to adopt investment friendly regulation considered of paramount importance for the success of NGN deployment, while maintaining a level playing field and protecting consumer interests. Because the deployment of NGN will not happen overnight, the best practices encourage regulators to define policies that allow for the co-existence of legacy and IP networks, alternative voice services such as VoIP, and bundled services that provide voice together with TV and Internet access (also called triple play). In doing so, regulators are to consider applying the same rules to all operators and providers of telephony services irrespective of how they are delivered to consumers, under the symmetrical regulatory approach. The best practice guidelines cover all aspects of service provision including authorization, access, interconnection and interoperability, numbering and NGN identification systems, universal access, quality of service, consumer awareness, security and protection. The full report is available here:http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/treg/Events/Seminars/GSR/GSR07/index.html/

Bringing together regulatory authorities from all around the world, the 7th Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR) has identified best practice guidelines needed to facilitate the migration of Next Generation Networks (NGN). The 38-point roadmap is designed to encourage regulatory frameworks that foster innovation, investment and affordable access to NGN. "Our goal is to encourage the design of regulatory frameworks that foster innovation, investment and affordable access to NGNs and that facilitate the migration to NGN and ultimately lead to bridging the digital divide," said Dr Hamadoun I. Touré, ITU Secretary-General. "We believe the best practices adopted at this meeting will ultimately offer the possibility of delivering real benefits to providers and consumers, through cost reduction as well as offering innovative new services". The best practice guidelines underscore the importance of embracing the principles of a clear and transparent regulatory process including the adoption and enforcement of rules; technology-neutral and competitive network provision under a coherent approach that address the issues raised by convergence. The guidelines also call on regulators to adopt forward-looking regimes subjected to regular reassessments to ensure that undue regulatory barriers to competition and innovation are removed. This on-going monitoring would also ensure that users and providers are able to migrate to future networks whenever market conditions are met. Mohamed Al Ghanim, Director General of the TRA of the UAE and Chairman of GSR 2007 said, "GSR is the industry’s premiere symposium for ICT regulators and we are delighted that it has concluded on such a high note. We at the TRA of the United Arab Emirates are firmly committed to adopting the best practices identified at this symposium and tailor them for the UAE market", Al Ghanim added. "We encourage all to reap the benefits of these guidelines in order to collectively raise the standards of the telecommunications industry." Regulators are also urged to adopt investment friendly regulation considered as of paramount importance for the success of NGN network deployment, while maintaining a level playing field and protecting consumer interests. The adoption of flexible but accurate interconnection models are also encouraged to allow smooth transitioning to NGNs. In particular, participants agreed that regulators should take steps to ensure that the market suffers no undue distortion of competitiveness. In view of the high level of convergence both at the transport and service level, participants felt that there was a risk that NGN providers and operators could be in a position to restrict service level competition to their own advantage. There was therefore agreement that regulators should be vigilant and monitor any incident that could require a regulatory response in a way that would not act as a deterrent for NGN service providers and operators. Regulators are also asked to keep in mind the need to create regulatory certainty for both incumbent and competing or alternative providers. "NGN is seen as somewhere between the telecom and Internet worlds, creating a whole new range of issues to be tackled by regulators," said Mr Sami Al-Basheer Al-Morshid, Director of ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT)". "The best practice guidelines endorsed by over 100 CEOs and board members of national regulatory authorities come a long way in addressing the issues and provide the way forward for all regulators around the world," he added. Because the deployment of NGN will not happen overnight, the best practices encourage regulators to define policies that allow for the co-existence of legacy and IP networks, alternative voice services such as VoIP or bundled services that can offer voice together with TV and Internet also called triple play. In doing so, regulators are to consider applying the same obligations to all operators and providers of telephony services whether traditional irrespective of how they are delivered to consumers, under the symmetrical regulatory approach. Commenting on the success of the Symposium, Professor Ibrahim Kadi, Senior Advisor of the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) of Saudi Arabia said, "GSR 2007 met its set objectives of providing networking opportunities and the symposium format facilitated the sharing of knowledge and experiences amongst regulators from all over the world." The best practice guidelines cover all aspects of service provision including authorization, access, interconnection and interoperability, numbering and NGN identification systems, universal access, quality of service, consumer awareness, security and protection. This year’s event introduced a new feature, Speed Exchanges, to provide additional opportunities for participants to meet informally and exchange views. Topics discussed in the Speed Exchanges included interconnection, the enabling environment, consumer protection, quality of service, regulatory implications of VoIP, why holding public consultation on NGN, international roaming, regulatory issues for convergence and what to do with regulatory bottlenecks. Speed Exchanges were also held on building confidence and security in the use of ICT as called for by the Action Plan of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and on the next steps in the negotiations of the World Trade Organization (WTO). "The Speed Exchanges proved extremely useful and came at the right time," expressed Roxanne Maria McElvane, Senior Counselor of International Development at the US Federal Communications Commission International Bureau. "After two days of high-level presentations and discussions, the exchanges allowed us to address specific topics and areas of interest with other regulators from around the world providing greater interaction and networking opportunities." The Symposium was organized by ITU and hosted by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of the United Arab Emirates (TRA). More than 470 participants took part in the Symposium, with Heads and Board Members from 100 national regulatory authorities as well as private sector representatives and international organizations. http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/treg/Events/Seminars/GSR/GSR07/index.html

The three-day meeting (5-7 February) will bring together Heads of national regulatory authorities from both developed and developing countries to achieve consensus on the best ways to address the challenges brought about by the migration to NGN networks. 60 heads of regulatory authorities, together with 50 of their commissioners and board members are slated to attend. By 2008, at least 50% of all international telecommunication traffic is expected to be carried on IP networks. IP provides a common language in which different networks (for instance fixed and mobile; local and wide-area) can communicate together. Thus, IP is the touchstone for convergence and a common platform for NGN, while network capacity increases every month. In order to remain strategically competitive in an increasingly converged world of services and content where voice is no longer the sole source of revenue, operators and carriers are migrating from circuit-switched to Internet-Protocol (IP) networks and from there to Next-Generation Networks or NGN, which allow for decoupling the network’s transport and service layers. NGN networks promise to offer full and true convergence of fixed and mobile, voice and data, data and video and IT, telecoms and broadcast sectors. This means that the choice of technology used for infrastructure will no longer have an impact on the kinds and variety of services delivered over that infrastructure. The deployment of NGN networks will also offer ubiquitous access for users of these networks as well as for competing service providers. This shift, while taking place gradually, is already happening in several parts of the world. NGN presents many opportunities but also many complexities and challenges and requires new regulatory thinking to promote investment and ensure that carriers can remain competitive in this new environment while ensuring open access. For more information see: http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/treg/Events/Seminars/GSR/GSR07/

The Australian Communications and Media Authority is seeking comments on enhanced call handling features in relation to the Telecommunications (Customer Service Guarantee) Standard 2000 (No.2) (CSG Standard).

ACMA is carrying out the consultation at the request of the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator the Hon Helen Coonan as a result of a report released in April 2006 titled Rethinking Regulation: Report of the Taskforce on Reducing Regulatory Burdens on Business.

The report reviewed various areas of regulation, including social and environmental regulation. Consumer related regulation and the specific review of the Customer Service Guarantee were issues raised in the report.

The report made a recommendation that:

ACMA should consult with all telecommunications providers as part of a review of the need for regulation of connections to specified services, in the context of wider development of the market for these services.

The government agreed to this recommendation in principle, noting that it considers no requirement for change in the current arrangements relating to connection times is needed. However, the government agreed that, in relation to enhanced call handling features, it will ask ACMA to consult with carriage service providers (CSPs) on this aspect of the CSG Standard and report to the government.

Source: ACMA, Australia

Nera Networks, the Norwegian maker of wireless telecommunication equipment, will develop a pilot project for a telecommunications system for the needs of the Bulgarian interior ministry. Bulgarian interior minister Rumen Petkov and Nera president Lars Yervan Tuesday signed a co-operation protocol for the purposes of the project which includes the assembly and maintenance of a telecom system for border control.

Nera and its local partner Elco Star will not receive any financial assistance from the Bulgarian government. In addition to its co-operation with the interior ministry, Nera is also interested in joint projects with the defence ministry. Nera officially opened a regional know-how and technical assistance center in Sofia on Tuesday. Earlier this year, the Norwegian company said it planned to invest here 3.8 mln euro over the next 1 to 3 years.

Source: DNEVNIK News, Bulgaria

Rho Jun-hyong, Minister of Information and Communication attended the Korea-Australia Summit Meeting accompanying President Roh Moo-hyun on his visit to Australia. The following day, Minister Rho also attended the Korea-Austria-New Zealand Broadband Summit(KANZ) and promoted Korea's IT while holding the IT Ministers Meeting with Australia.

Along with Minister Rho of Korea, Helen Coonan Minister of Communications, Information and Culture of Australia and David Cunliffe Minister of Economic Development of New Zealand, about 150 IT entrepreneurs and researchers from the three countries related to digital contents, DMB, WiBro, Home Networking and Telematics took part in the event.

In his keynote speech, Minister Rho said that through the two KANZ Summits, Korea, Australia and New Zealand have set up a basic framework for IT cooperation within a short period of time, and suggested that the three countries form a Director-General level meeting to maintain close cooperative relationships.

Also, Minister Rho proposed that Korea, Australia and New Zealand, which are the leading countries in IT infrastructure and technology as well as digital contents, should mutually complement each other and promote joint cooperation projects in the digital contents sector. Minister Rho proposed that the main agenda of the fourth meeting shall be the SW sector, in order to create a synergy effect in the SW sector of which all three countries have great cooperation potential.

In the meanwhile, Minister Rho held a bilateral meeting with Minister Coonan and discussed cooperation between the two countries in the field of digital video and also asked for the support and interest of the Australian government with regard to Korea's terrestrial DMB, currently being commercially serviced for the first time in the world.

It is expected that the event will enhance IT cooperation between the three countries and expand opportunities for Korean companies to advance to Oceania. The fourth KANZ Broadband Summit will take place in New Zealand.

Source: MIC, Republic of Korea

Hong Kong’s telecoms regulator OFTA has awarded Tricom Asia an External Fixed Telecommunications Network Services (EFTNS) licence, giving it the right to operate international facilities-based telecoms services via its 1,050km undersea fibre-optic cable, VN-HK, linking Hong Kong and Vietnam, which is currently under construction. According to the carrier, it is the sole new EFTNS licensee in Hong Kong since China Telecom won a concession in 2005. Operating via three offices in Stockholm, Hong Kong and Hanoi, Tricom Asia is focused on investing in telecommunication solutions in emerging markets in the Asia Pacific regionl; it established its Hong Kong division in 2003.

Source: Telegeography

Responding to the urgent need for reliable and interoperable communications in the U.S.-Mexico border area, senior telecommunications officials of both countries recently signed a spectrum sharing agreement to support first responders and other state and local public safety organizations. The agreement also supports the operations of commercial entrepreneurs who are expected to deploy advanced wireless services along the border.

For public safety licensees in the U.S., the agreement provides access to twelve megahertz of primary spectrum in the border area. For commercial services, the agreement provides certainty regarding network operations for new broadband wireless service providers once broadcasters complete their conversion from analog to digital television (DTV) in spectrum now used for TV channels 52 to 69. A portion of the commercial spectrum is already in the hands of commercial licensees awaiting the completion of the DTV transition. The remainder will be auctioned by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to meet a congressionally mandated deadline of January 28, 2008. With the agreement, these wireless broadband service providers will have more certainty for deploying their networks near the Mexico border.

The agreement became effective on November 8, when it was signed by Ambassador David A. Gross, U.S. Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, while attending a meeting with Mexican officials in Antalya, Turkey at the Plenipotentiary Conference of the International Telecommunication Union. Senior Mexican telecommunications officials had signed the agreement on November 1 in Mexico City so that it could become effective as soon as possible.

The signing comes after the U.S.-Mexico High Level Consultative Commission on Telecommunications last July issued a Joint Statement expressing its intent to sign the agreement subject to completion of certain final reviews.

The agreement will be implemented by the FCC in the United States and by the Ministry of Communications and Transportation and the Federal Telecommunications Commission in Mexico.

The agreement takes the form of a protocol under a 1994 U.S.-Mexico framework agreement covering terrestrial non-broadcasting radio communication services.

The signed protocol can be found at http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/76000.pdf
and http://www.fcc.gov/ib/sand/agree/files/mex-nb/698_806.pdf.

Source: USA Department of State, USA

In addition, TOT has set up a panel to consider legal action against the mobile phone operators after they signed a landmark IC deal last week that aims to share revenue based on call traffic. Both DTAC and True Move said they would stop paying the access charge of 200 baht per number per month that forms the bulk of TOT's 14 billion baht in annual revenues.

Vice Adm Thommarat said that if DTAC and True Move ceased payment, then TOT could take direct action against CAT Telecom, which granted mobile phone concessions to both companies.

The National Telecommunications Commission has said IC charges will take effect early next month if mobile phone operators could reach agreements by themselves. Gen Choochart Promprasit, the regulator's chairman, said yesterday that the NTC board was still waiting for TOT's official request to postpone IC charges. The final decision will be made by the seven-member NTC board.

DTAC chief executive Sigve Brekke said his company would do its utmost to reach a fair solution on access charges with TOT after it stopped paying them on Saturday. But if TOT refused to talk, he added, then DTAC was ready to fight in court.

He warned TOT not to shut down its interconnection gateways with private operators, claiming it was illegal and would breach the interconnection regulations. It would also hurt TOT's own customers.
''DTAC doesn't want to change its existing contract with TOT,'' Mr Brekke said. ''But we need the agency to replace access charges with interconnection charges to end discrimination in favour of mobile leader Advanced Info Service.'' Under the access charge system, he said, DTAC paid eight baht per minute for its call traffic crossing TOT gateways, or about 839 million baht per month.

Mr Brekke said DTAC was willing to pay 25% more in interconnection charges to TOT than it paid to True Move. The termination rate would be 1.25 baht per minute, and the transit rate 50 satang per minute. Both are the same as what the government initially requested to the NTC. Twenty percent of DTAC's total traffic to AIS numbers passed through TOT gateways, with the remaining 80% connected directly with AIS networks. Under the interconnection regulations, all telecoms are required to fairly share voice and data revenue between two networks.

Meanwhile, DTAC said yesterday that it would delay its plan to list on the Stock Exchange of Thailand to ensure that both it and parent company Ucom, which plans to delist, are in full compliance with market regulations. The move would also protect minority shareholders, Mr Brekke said.

The delay will cause TAC, majority owned by Norway's Telenor, to lose a corporate tax reduction of 5% off the regular rate of 30% for five financial years. But Mr Brekke said he believed that the government's new incentives on listing would compensate for the loss.

Source: NTC, Thailand 

Spain’s Telecommunications Market Commission (CMT) has ruled that customers of mobile operator Euskatel Móvil may choose to transfer their services to either of the company’s co-owners, regional operator Euskaltel or France Télécom España (FTE), according to website EiTB24. Euskatel and FTE have been engaged in a bitter feud over the 460,000 customers of the Euskatel Móvil joint venture. Euskaltel is the largest alternative provider of fixed line telecoms service in the autonomous Basque region of northern Spain. In 1997 it struck an agreement with FTE (then known as Amena) to brand all FTE's mobile services as Euskaltel Móvil in the Basque region. FTE took a stake in Euskaltel in return and the service was launched in January 1998. The agreement expires in early 2007 and the two companies were thought to have been in discussion to extend it and collaborate on the launch of 3G services. However, in September Euskaltel instead signed an agreement with FTE’s rival Vodafone Spain. The Vodafone agreement will replace the FTE deal and allow for Euskaltel Móvil to operate MVNO services nationwide over Vodafone’s network from January 2007. Euskaltel Móvil wanted to transfer all 460,000 of its current customers to Vodafone’s infrastructure at that date, but FTE claimed it had rightful ownership of the subscriber base and wanted them transferred to its Orange service, which it recently launched in the Basque region. The CMT now says Euskaltel Móvil clients will automatically become Orange customers unless they apply to have their mobile number ported to Euskaltel’s Vodafone-based service. All customers will have the right to transfer regardless of the original duration of their contract.

Source: Telegeography

Network World magazine recently conducted the largest ever WiFi performance and scalability test. The test was conducted using VeriWave's WaveTest 90 performance analysis system. The Findings from this test appear in this week's issue of Network World.

Network World commissioned leading test lab Network Test to conduct the assessment. A comprehensive WLAN test methodology was designed in order to evaluate performance and scalability using real-world metrics. These metrics included throughput, latency, VoIP call capacity, and roaming. The test setup consisted of twenty-five WLAN access points (APs), with accompanying switches and controllers from each participating vendor and VeriWave's WaveTest 90 system. VeriWave's WLAN Benchmarking, Roaming, and VoIP/QoS Test Suites measured throughput, (determining the maximum forwarding rate each system under test could sustain with zero packet loss), roaming delays, and voice quality (as defined by ITU-T standards and represented as MOS or R-Value scores). See http://www.networkworld.com/reviews/2006/110606-wifi-test-how.html .

Digicel Group has announced that it has acquired the Guyanese mobile operator TWT Guyana, which operates under the brandnames U-Mobile and Celstar. The acquisition was a surprise, given that it had been expected that Digicel would be awarded the country’s third wireless licence to operate in competition with TWT and the Guayana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T). Indeed, according to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database, President Jagdeo announced back in August that he would award Digicel a national GSM licence, but no date was given as to when the concession would actually be awarded, nor were any terms revealed.
GT&T held a ten-year monopoly on the mobile market in Guyana which ended in February 2001 when TWT Guyana, a division of US-based Trans World Telecom (TWT), was awarded a GSM-900 concession. However, GT&T's exclusivity actually lasted much longer than could have been expected, and it was not until December 2004 that TWT actually managed to get services off the ground thanks to a series of delaying regulatory issues. In June 2003 the newcomer took a step forward by signed a roaming agreement with GT&T, giving it use of the latter's network in areas where it had not rolled out its own, but five months later the contract was deemed invalid because of a dispute over TWT's ownership. In February 2004 the Court of Appeal said there was no case to be answered, freeing TWT once more to negotiate commercial terms for roaming.TWT’s launch finally took place at the end of 2004, and the company has since begun to challenge GT&T by focusing on the youth market.

Source: Telegeography

Jordan Telecom is planning to acquire a 50% stake in Bahrain-based fixed-line operator Lightspeed Communications in 2007, according to its Chairman Shabib Ammari. This marks the first phase in its international expansion plans, with some US$300mn set aside to buy stakes in other Middle East telecom and internet operators, as it diversifies its revenues away from its highly competitive domestic telecoms market. Jordan Telecom's mobile unit MobileCom has been overtaken in terms of subscriber numbers by rival foreign-owned mobile operators in the sector, with Kuwait's MTC acquiring a user base of 2.364mn as of June 2006 through its Fastlink Jordan mobile unit. In comparison, MobileCom managed just 1mn over the same period. Struggling in both the fixed-line and mobile markets has led the operator to predict flat profits for FY06 on par with its 2005 earnings of JOD86mn (US$121.4mn).

Source: BMI Research

Twelve leading mobile operators, which between them serve more than 620 million users on six continents, are backing the GSM Association's '3G for All' campaign, designed to bring affordable 3G services to the masses. The GSMA, the world trade association for mobile network operators, is calling upon handset vendors to submit plans for developing new UMTS handsets costing much less than even the lowest priced entry level devices available today. The association says it is looking for handsets that can support advanced services such as web browsing, mobile TV and IM, proposals for which will be passed to a group of twelve operators for evaluation.

The cellcos backing the plan are: Cingular Wireless, Globe Telecom, Hutchison 3G, KTF, MTN, Orange, Smart, Telecom Italia, Telefónica, Telenor, T-Mobile and Vodafone. The Association is hopeful that the backing of twelve industry leaders will ensure that the winning handset vendor will be able to deliver the economies of scale in manufacturing, logistics and marketing necessary to make 3G phones much more affordable. However once the GSMA has selected a supplier the resulting ‘3G for All’ handset will be made available to all GSMA associate companies.

Source. Telegeography

BDT will organize an Executive Level Training, jointly with infoDev, on 2-3 December 2006, to be held at the Hotel Kowloon Shangri-La, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China, immediately prior to ITU World Telecom 2006. The Executive Level Training workshop, organized in cooperation with the Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA), Hong Kong, China, is designed for the heads of national regulatory authorities and senior executives of national policy-makers. It is based on the joint ITU-infoDev ICT Regulation Toolkit, and will focus on New Technologies, New Thinking: ICT Regulation in a Changing World. More information about this event is available on TREG at http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/treg/Events/Seminars/2006/ceotraining/index.html

Heads of regulatory authorities and senior executives of policy-making bodies are encouraged to attend.

The Global VSAT Forum said there's a worldwide threat to the extended C-band frequencies of 3.4-3.7 GHz, increasingly targeted for wireless broadband. The group said the ITU is examining use of the band for advanced wireless services including 4G. "Obviously this band is in use by the satellite services community for FSS services, feeder links and MSS services," the forum said: "Where WiMAX services have been introduced, there have been significant interference issues and services interruptions for satellite ground stations and their related services... Interruptions have occurred in Bolivia, in the Caribbean, China, Russia, throughout Africa and they have been particularly disruptive in Hong Kong, Australia, Fiji and Indonesia." The group plans a special meeting Fri. in D.C. at the U. Club to take up the matter.

 

Source: Washington Internet Daily.

The International Telecommunication Union ITU has stated that an increase in connectivity has been recorded on ICT/Telecommunication development in least developed countries (LDCs). ITU report released in New York examines key developments in the information and communication technology (ICT) and telecommunications sector including trends and challenges in the world's poorest countries in the period 2001 to 2005. ITU's findings reveal that considerable progress has been made to bridge the digital divide and that teledensity targets set by the Brussels Programme of Action (BPoA) have been met by 25 of the 50 LDCs. [...]

Source: Efem Nkanga, All Africa. 

India’s Reliance Communications has inaugurated the 2.56TB Falcon submarine cable system, connecting India's financial hub Mumbai to eleven countries in the Middle East. The 11,859km system reaches Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, amongst others, and is part of Reliance’s Flag Telecom Global Network, which has cables running through 35 countries spanning four continents. The company says Falcon will provide cheaper bandwidth to retail and commercial users in all eleven countries.

Meanwhile, India’s state run telcos Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL), have revealed plans to build a submarine cable system connecting India to Singapore and Malaysia, and to West Asia, the US and Europe. The proposed cables would be laid by Millennium Telecom, a 51/49 joint venture between MTNL and BSNL. The finer details of the USD400 million project are still being negotiated. BSNL launched an undersea cable link to Sri Lanka in June.

Source: Telegeography

The Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) kicks off today a Global Seminar on Quality of Service and Consumer Protection in Geneva, Switzerland. The seminar includes distinguised speakers from around the globe representing regulators, operators, and consumers. The focus of the seminar is Quality of Service (QoS) and Consumer Protection that are key components of an enabling environment for ICTs. With the advent and fast roll-out of IP networks paving the way to an all IP (NGN) digital world, the issue of quality of service and consumer protection are not only gaining increased momentum amongst the ICT regulatory community but are of vital interest to all stakeholders worldwide. This seminar provides a unique opportunity to develop a common understanding and provide answers to these timely issues. For more information, and to view the programme and documentation, see: http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/treg/Events/Seminars/2006/QoS-consumer/index.html

The Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System (EASSy) project suffered a setback yesterday when less than a third of the participants signed an agreement to oversee the running of the system, reports South Africa's Business Day. Seven out of 23 countries signed the accord for the long-delayed international fibre-optic network, which aims to lower telephony and internet costs across the region. The project has been held back by squabbles over ownership rights, mainly between Kenya and South Africa, as well as the price of access to the 9,900km cable, which will stretch between Durban and Port Sudan. Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda signed the agreement, whilst other countries, including Kenya, said they needed more time to study details of the scheme. It was hoped that construction would start this month, with commercial services to be launched in the first quarter of 2008. Ministers meeting in the Rwandan capital Kigali yesterday extended the deadline for signing the accord by three months to gain backing from more countries. ‘This is not a setback,’ said Lesotho Communications Minister Thomas Thabane, ‘It is a mere challenge for us to convince others to come aboard.

Source: Telegeography

DEXTER -- With the number of cell phones in use worldwide hitting 2 billion and rising, recycled phones are playing a crucial role in the spread of wireless communications across the developing world, where land lines can be costly or unavailable.

The odds are good that a refurbished cell phone in the pocket of a user in Bolivia, Jamaica, Kenya, Ukraine or Yemen originated with ReCellular Inc. Based in small-town Michigan, ReCellular gets 75,000 used phones a week -- most collected in charity fundraisers -- and refurbishes them for sale around the world.

ReCellular has more than half the U.S. phone recycling business. Executives say they are doing well for themselves as well as for the March of Dimes and other national charities that benefit from the company's purchase of donated phones.

"The fact that you can combine a business -- a profitable business -- with a useful service and a charitable good is a win, win, win," said ReCellular Vice President Mike Newman, 32.

Charles Newman, Mike's father, founded the company in 1991 after decades as an entrepreneur in the retail computer business.

That year, there were about 16 million cellular subscribers worldwide, according to the International Telecommunication Union. By 2005, that number had grown to 2.14 billion, outstripping the 1.26 billion land lines, the group said.

When ReCellular opened for business 15 years ago, it handled 300 to 400 cell phones a month.

"If we're not doing that many in a few minutes (now), we're having a bad day," Mike Newman said.

With Americans trading in their phones for fancier models every 18 months on average, the supply of used but perfectly functional phones is enormous, Newman said. Millions, however, end up sitting in drawers or closets because people don't know what to do with them, he said.

"Most people would be glad to donate them if they knew they could," he said.

ReCellular outgrew its home in Ann Arbor in 2003 and moved to an industrial park in nearby Dexter. The village of 1,700 is 40 miles west of Detroit.

The company has a work force of 250, 200 of them local, and again finds itself bursting at the seams. Revenues of the privately held company, about $40 million last year, are shooting up as well, he said.

"We're on track to jump 67 percent this year," said Newman, who found himself drawn to the family business after working as a Washington lobbyist for the Sierra Club and then for Al Gore's 2000 presidential campaign.

Work crews separate the phones from the "spaghetti" of non- reusable wires and cords that are set aside for recycling. The phones are sorted, tested, fixed and packaged by model for resale.

ReCellular handles about 500 phone models. About 60 percent of the phones that come in are reusable. The rest are used for parts or sold as scrap.

"We squeeze out as much value as possible," Newman said.

The refurbished phones sell wholesale for about $17 to $18. Retailers sell them for $40 or less, he said.

ReCellular has about 53 percent of the used cell phone business in the U.S. Other major players include RMS Communications Inc., in Ocala, Fla., and PaceButler Corp., in Edmond, Okla.

Newman said 55 percent to 60 percent of its phones are sold outside the U.S., and said the company has about a quarter of the worldwide cell phone refurbishing business.

Refurbished cell phones are opening doors to wireless communication in much of the developing world, where a new cell phone might be prohibitively expensive, said Michael Blumberg, president of D.F. Blumberg Associates Inc., in Willow Grove, Pa.

"Sometimes, you have someone in a village who has a cell phone and rents out time," he said.

Today, about 80 percent of the world's people live in an area with cell phone reception. Along with education and health care, the spread of cell phones is a leading spur to economic growth, he said.

The March of Dimes, which does research and education on birth defect prevention, turned to ReCellular when it decided to start a cell phone donation program several years ago. The drive brings in about $160,000 a year.

"They are an excellent company to deal with," said March of Dimes fundraising executive Bob Perry.

 

Source: The Grand Rapids Press

GENEVA - Though a tremendous amount of work lies ahead in forging global standards for next generation networks (NGN), details emerged Tues. about 16 recommendations given preliminary approval at a coordinated meeting of the NGN-Global Standards Initiative.

The recommendations were the result of about 650 contributions made to ITU's lead NGN study group, SG13, since it met in Jan., an official said. "ITU-T has been working industriously and steadily on NGN and this is culminating in a number of key deliverables on NGN... that are... setting the stage for the next round of deliverables which will happen within one year," said John Visser of Nortel, speaking as chmn. of ITU-T study group SG19, which deals with mobile telecommunication networks.

The details, not yet announced publicly, reveal more about the NGN specifications that the ITU preliminarily approved recently (WID Aug 1 p4). The specifications were for such things as: (1) Quality of service support to virtual private network services. (2) Functional requirements and architecture for NGNs. (3) IMS for next generation networks. (4) PSTN/ISDN emulation architecture. (5) Admission control functions in NGNs. (6) B-ISDN operation and maintenance. (7) Mobility management requirements. (8) PSTN/ISDN evolution to NGN. The specifications will enter ITU's 4-week last call for comments Aug. 16.

Because of regulatory implications, some recommendations, such as one dealing with security requirements of NGN, will be considered under ITU's lengthier traditional approval process, which could produce a final decision by April 2007. Regulatory and therefore political considerations of ITU member states make predicting the date for final approval difficult.

Work on a spec that received approval last fall was suspended because members couldn't agree on required changes. Work on "Customizable IP networks... by customers" will continue with the aim of agreeing on text during an undetermined future meeting, documents said. -- Scott Billquist

Source: Warren's Washington Internet Daily.

A raft of new NGN (Next Generation Networks) specifications and reference materials will enter ITU's 4-week approval process in August. If approved, they will set the stage in the fall and 2007 for the next array of global NGN standards under development.

ITU's lead NGN study group (SG13) gave a preliminary nod to 14 draft recommendations for NGN, including 2 supplements, said a developing country delegate to the ITU. Two proposals have regulatory implications, so they will be considered under the traditional approval process (TAP). Final TAP approval could come in April 2007. NGN work done at ITU includes the requirements and some architecture, officials said. "ITU-T is trying to provide a global perspective on NGN," said John Visser of Nortel but speaking as chmn. of ITU-T SG19. (…)

Source: Warren's Washington Internet Daily.

The Alliance for Telecom Industry Solutions published a standard to help IP-based networks support the govt.'s Emergency Telecom Service and Wireless Priority Service. The new capabilities will ensure interoperability between IP- based and circuit-switched networks, wireline and wireless, in emergencies. The "Standard for Support of Emergency Telecommunications Service in IP Networks" also describes authentication mechanisms and security requirements in such situations.

Source: Warren's Washington Internet Daily.

The Alliance for Telecom Industry Solutions published a standard to help IP-based networks support the govt.'s Emergency Telecom Service and Wireless Priority Service. The new capabilities will ensure interoperability between IP- based and circuit-switched networks, wireline and wireless, in emergencies. The "Standard for Support of Emergency Telecommunications Service in IP Networks" also describes authentication mechanisms and security requirements in such situations.

Source: Warren's Washington Internet Daily.

Internet sector companies operating under repressive govts. should adhere to a code of conduct created by the EC, according to a resolution passed Thurs. in the European Parliament. Reporters Without Borders said it hoped the European Commission and EU member states would heed its recommendations. The resolution names several U.S. companies such as Yahoo, Google, Microsoft and Cisco Systems, and European companies such as Telecom Italia and France Telecom, as having cooperated with oppressive regimes. The resolution urges the Commission to establish a voluntary code that limits activities of companies in repressive countries. Yahoo, Google and Microsoft were singled out as censors in China. Cisco was accused of supplying Internet censorship technology. France Telecom and Telecom Italia were cited as cooperating with Tunisia and Cuba. The resolution also lists 15 Internet enemies compiled by Reporters Without Borders: China, Belarus, Burma, Cuba, Iran, Libya, Maldives, Nepal, N. Korea, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

 

Source: Warren's Washington Internet Daily.

 

South Korea and Japan lead the world in terms of access to digital communications technology and its use, according to a new index released by the UN's International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

The two Asian countries came top of the league table of "digital opportunity" based on eleven technical, economic and social criteria measuring access to computers, the Internet and telephone services according to the ITU's "World Information Society report 2006". They were followed by Denmark, Iceland, Hong Kong, Sweden, Britain, Norway, the Netherlands and Taiwan respectively in the table of 180 countries.

South Korea and Japan were reaping the benefit of their "pioneering take-up" of high-speed broadband and 3G (third-generation) mobile telephone services, the report said.

"Nearly all Internet subscribers in South Korea are broadband subscribers, whilst Japan is the only market in the world where subscribers are more likely to access the Internet through mobile connections, the ITU added.

Tiny Estonia in 20th place in the table was just ahead of the world's most powerful economy, United States.

Developing nations were making significant progress, helped on by major emerging economies in Asia and Latin America, the report said.

China (74th), India (75th), Brazil (71st) and Russia (60th) have recorded the fastest growth in digital opportunity, although there were major differences in the way they had developed their telecommunications.

China and Russia have concentrated on expanding their infrastructure, while India has made a major effort with the affordability of services.

Brazil had succeeded in strengthening all three key pillars for digital growth -- opportunity, infrastructure and use -- "implying rounded and balanced development of the information society", the ITU said.

Despite progress in poorer nations, especially with cellphone or mobile connections, the digital divide is highlighted by the difference in Internet use.

In Europe and North America, about 31 percent of inhabitants use the Internet compared to just 2.6 percent in Africa, and a world average of 13.7 percent, the report said.

However, the ITU found that broadband services are now commercially available in 166 countries, and their price has fallen by up to 20 percent a year over the past two years.

Source: Agence France Presse.

Regulatory authorities on the rise

In the five years up to 2005, the number of regulatory authorities worldwide increased by some 36 per cent, most notably on the rise in the Arab States, Africa and Asia. Figure 1 depicts the growth in the number of authorities since 1990, while Figure 2 shows the percentages in each region of the world by 2005. The Americas and Africa were the regions where the highest percentage of countries had regulators in place, while Europe had the highest number of regulatory authorities in absolute terms.

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ITU-infoDev ICT Regulation Toolkit Launches Legal and Institutional Framework Module

 

New tools for nations engaged in regulatory and sector reform were released Mon. by the ITU and infoDev, officials said. The ICT Regulation Toolkit consists of modules on key regulatory topics, said Susan Schorr, ITU regulatory officer. "It's designed as a tool for developing countries, primarily," she said. "There are 140 regulators worldwide, so the majority of communications regulators are in developing countries and they are hungry for best practice information... Many regulators understand the concept of regulatory reform, but often need support on the political level." The toolkit has 540 reference materials on rules and policy and about 180 practice notes. Modules on radio spectrum management, new technologies and competition, interconnection and pricing are expected soon. Future modules will cover universal service and regulation, officials said. ITU and infoDev jointly developed the project.

Source:  Communications Daily