Archived Newsroom • Press Release |
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Big Data, ‘spectrum crunch’ and strategies to fund new network
investment emerge as hottest issues for tech regulators
Conference sees new push for consumer empowerment to put social
development and human needs at forefront of ICT policy
Manama, Bahrain, 5 June, 2014 – Information and
communication technology’s increasingly central role in almost every aspect
business and social interaction is creating enormous challenges for ICT
regulators and policymakers, whose decisions will have a crucial influence on
the shape of tomorrow’s world, top speakers told delegates to ITU’s
Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR) this week.
The world’s largest annual gathering of ICT regulatory experts,
GSR-14 was hosted by Bahrain’s Telecommunications
Regulatory Authority under the patronage of Prime Minister HRH Prince Khalifa
bin Salman Al Khalifa. Chaired by TRA Chairman Dr Mohammed Alamer, over 700
leading specialists from 113 countries worldwide registered to attend the event,
which grappled with the many complex legal and public policy issues raised by
our increasingly interconnected digital environment.
With the theme of ‘Capitalizing on the potential of the digital world’ the
event was one of the best attended GSR events ever, attracting around 80 VVIPs
and VIPs, including government ministers, heads of regulatory agencies and
C-level industry executives. It was officially opened on Tuesday, 3 June by HRH
Sheikh Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Deputy Premier of Bahrain, HE Sheikh Fawaz
bin Mohamed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Minister of State for Telecommunications
Affairs, and ITU Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun I. Touré.
The conference heard how the fast-growing global store of huge data volumes
generated by high-tech sensors, human interaction over web, email and social
media sites, and machine-to-machine communications is creating a host of new
business opportunities as well as concerns about privacy and the use of personal
data by third parties.
Leading Wednesday’s session on Big Data,
GSR Discussion Paper co-author Andrew Haire reminded
delegates that 90% of the world’s data has been collected over the past two
years. With storage costs now low, the trend towards long-term storage of almost
any kind of data – even information with no immediate obvious value – creates
new potential for improving social services in areas like epidemiology,
environmental management and disaster response, but also raises concerns about
privacy protection and over-concentration of the data collection market into
powerful monopolies. Regulators need to be proactive about putting in place
frameworks to harness the social benefits of Big Data while exercising foresight
in protecting legitimate consumer concerns, the conference was told.
Consumer empowerment and the need to share resources were leitmotifs of this
year’s event, as regulators stressed the social importance of affordable ICT
access, and operators and service providers sought ways of enhancing competition
and bringing new products to market in the most cost-effective ways possible.
The need for more radiofrequency spectrum to alleviate ‘spectrum crunch’ and
support a growing array of wireless services was one issue where concepts around
shared spectrum approaches stimulated vigorous debate, both during a
pre-event workshop hosted by ITU’s Radiocommunication Bureau,
and at a special session on spectrum licensing held on Wednesday 4 June. During
an animated discussion, several speakers and delegates stressed the importance
of reliable spectrum allocations that deliver return on investment for ICT
players and service quality for users, urging regulators to be open to evolution
while ensuring the protection of existing services.
In Wednesday’s Network Debate session, experts from the policy-making sphere,
the telco community and the satellite industry also emphasized sharing – this
time, of infrastructure, as part of innovative strategies that can help the ICT
industry grow networks in today’s largely privatized environment, where national
governments – the builders of most of today’s existing fixed copper and fibre
networks – no longer directly fund new network build-out.
Panellists noted that shared approaches can help new players enter markets,
stimulating competition and giving consumers great choice. They also emphasized
that in a highly capital-intensive sector, good levels of return on investment
are essential, as are clear and predictable regulatory frameworks that promote
investor confidence. For regulators, that means ICT frameworks need to be
flexible enough to support innovation and new business models while ensuring
current players still have the opportunity to develop and grow their operations,
observed moderator Kamal Shehadi, Chief Regulatory Officer with leading Middle
East operator Etisalat and Chairman of the GSR-09 event held in Lebanon, Beirut
in 2009.
A global forum for exhange
The largest specialized gathering of ICT policy makers, the annual Global
Symposium for Regulators was launched by
ITU 15 years ago with the aim of stimulating debate, knowledge sharing and
exchange of best practice among regulators, government policy analysts and other
ICT stakeholders.
GSR ensures the voice of industry is brought in through the Global
Regulators-Industry Dialogue (GRID), where private sector experts have the
chance to debate key issues with their regulatory counterparts.
The event concluded this afternoon with a set of regulatory
Best Practice Guidelines which emphasized the importance of
flexibility and manoeuvrability for regulators, and of a holistic approach to
today’s converged environment to take into account the needs of a broader
digital ecosystem, rather than traditional service categories like ‘telecoms’ or
‘broadcasting’.
Outputs from the meeting will be incorporated into the next edition of ITU’s
flagship regulatory report,
Trends in Telecommunication Reform, which will be released
in the coming months.
In his closing address to GSR-14 delegates earlier today, the Director of
ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau, Brahima Sanou, said: “Capitalizing
on the potential of the digital world can only be achieved through collaborative
efforts, resulting in effective and smart regulation. Empowering consumers,
redefining responsibilities and creating the conditions for all citizens to
benefit from the potential of the digital world further calls upon cooperation
at all levels, national, regional and international.”
GSR-14 Chair Dr Mohammed Alamer noted: “Together, we identified measures
needed to protect the rights of telecoms and ICT consumers – without stifling
innovation – that will enhance the consumer’s experience of living in a
competitive, safe and trustworthy digital environment. GSR-14’s cadre of
regulators identified proactive policy and regulatory measures in the following
areas: redefining consumer protection needs along the value chain, from ICT
networks to apps and services; identifying priorities and responsibilities of
ICT stakeholders (government, industry and consumers) in a digital environment;
and expanding the regulator’s mandate and enforcement measures to ensure
effective consumer protection in a converged digital environment – in particular
in dealing with privacy, data protection, protection against fraud, and misuse.”
In addition to three days of intensive discussions, the event featured a
number of focused side events including an ITU
Workshop on White Spaces and Dynamic Spectrum Access, a
seminar on "Satellite Communications Spectrum: Assessing
User Needs for Connectivity", co-organized by the Global VSAT Forum and the
International Telecommunications Satellite Organization, a
dedicated meeting of private sector Chief Regulatory Officers,
and
special meeting of Regulatory Associations from around the
world.
ITU Secretary-General Dr Touré also
paid tribute to all former GSR chairs at a special awards ceremony,
held at a gala event on the evening of June 3 at Bahrain’s Al Areen Palace
resort.
The full set of GSR-14 Discussion Papers are available
here.
A comprehensive overview of Bahrain’s ICT market with latest
tech statistics is available at:
www.itu.int/en/newsroom/gsr-14/Documents/bahrain-ict-market.pdf.
Background information, including speeches of the high-level participants and
key global statistics on broadband, are available on the GSR-14 Newsroom
at
www.itu.int/en/newsroom/gsr-14/Pages/default.aspx.
Download GSR-14 photos:
www.flickr.com/photos/itupictures/collections/72157631420351334/
Watch the GSR-14 video highlights:
http://bit.ly/1hAUEHG
Follow the event on Twitter at: #GSR14.
For more information, visit the
GSR-14 home page or contact:
Sarah Parkes
ITU
Chief, Media Relations and Public Information
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Jeoff Barraclough
R3 / Strategic
Communications Consultancy
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Monica Albertini
Communications Officer,
Telecommunication Development Bureau
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TRA Bahrain:
Mohamed Ali Al Khalifa
Senior PR & Media Specialist
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www.itu.int/facebook
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