Questions and Answers
With
Sami Al Basheer Al Morshid
Director, Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT)
International Telecommunication Union

Why did ITU establish the Global Symposium for Regulators, and what did it hope to achieve?

When the ITU organized the first GSR in 2000 it was the first time that ITU organized an event just for telecommunications regulators and policy-makers interested in establishing a regulatory body.

At the time there were 96 separate regulatory bodies (today there are 153). In those days, countries were launching ambitious telecom sector reform, opening up their markets to competition, while fostering universal access policies to assure affordable access to voice services and establishing independent regulatory bodies. Many of these fledgling agencies were striving to increase their knowledge base to become more effective regulators, and to fully establish their credibility and authority in a market that was previously mostly under state control.

At the same time, all regulators – from those that were well-established, to those that were brand new – were struggling to keep up with the technological changes that were, and still are, revolutionizing the information and communication technology (ICT) industry. The goal of the Symposium was to launch a dialogue through which all the world’s regulators could share their experiences and views in order to learn from each other.

At that time even we were pleasantly surprised at the high level of interest and participation in this new event, which confirmed our belief in the importance of providing such a unique platform for regulators to come together and share their experiences.

Who attends the event - and what brings them?

The GSR brings together regulators from all over the world. It has become the global venue for regulators to exchange their views and experiences on telecommunications. Apart from bringing together heads of national regulatory authorities from both developed and developing countries, the GSR also serves as a platform for national policy makers to discuss regulatory issues with the regulatory officials of ITU Sector Members in a frank and open dialogue. In addition, the first day of the GSR is open to industry.

Your delegates come from a wide variety of markets and development levels. Isn't it hard to find common ground?

Although each country is unique and the maturity of their markets depends on national policies as well as their economic and social circumstances, all share the common goal of bringing the benefits of ICTs to their citizens, while ensuring fair market conditions to attract investors. There are different strategies for achieving that goal, but many of the challenges countries face are similar and they have much to learn from each other.

How do you choose each year's theme?

The themes of the GSR over the years have tended to match ongoing developments in the ICT Sector. In 2005, for example, the theme was ‘Regulation in the Broadband World’, followed by ‘NGN Regulation’ in 2007 and ‘Six degrees of Sharing’ in 2008. We follow closely the needs and concerns of regulators, and the final session of the GSR provides an opportunity for them to put forward their priorities and proposals.

What is the outcome of the meeting? How do you gauge its effectiveness?

At the end of each GSR best practice guidelines are adopted by consensus.

We do consider that regulatory reform – what we call ‘building an enabling environment’ in our jargon – paves the way to ICT development. Our annual statistics show that where such reform has occurred, ICT penetration grows significantly. The effectiveness of the GSR is therefore measured everyday in the ICT and the global economy of the participating countries.

Furthermore, the discussion papers developed and discussed during the GSR form the basis of our yearly publication ‘Trends in Telecommunication Reform’ report.

What was the rationale behind setting up the GILF in 2008?

The private sector was always invited to the first day of the GSR, but the Global Industry Leaders Forum was designed to provide a high-level forum for CEOs and other industry leaders to convey their views and make proposals regarding key regulatory and policy issues affecting their businesses and the ICT/telecommunications industry more broadly, as part of an interactive exchange with regulators and policy-makers.

The outcomes of GILF are presented on the first day of the GSR for the consideration of participants. The GILF is in a sense the voice of the markets whispering into GSR’s ear…

How do you choose the venue of the event? Why was Lebanon chosen for the 2009 event?

As for most ITU events, we count on the kind invitation of one of our Member States to host the event. With a global event such as GSR/GILF, rotation between regions is our approach. The Lebanese government offered to host this year’s event, and has been very active in collaborating with the ITU to make it a success.

Does bringing regulators and industry together reveal much latent conflict?

I prefer to say that regulators and industry each have their own agenda. It is nevertheless crucial for regulators and industry to consult each other, and there is no better way to resolve potential differences than to come together to discuss them.

What, for you, will constitute a successful event this year?

Getting people to learn from each other, to understand the issues at stake and share best practices on innovative approaches to regulation. Along with infrastructure development and human capacity building, creating an enabling regulatory environment is a key element in spreading affordable access and bringing the benefits of ICTs to all the world’s people. If we are able to bring different stakeholders together and reach consensus on best practices then we are making a major contribution to achieving this goal.