Mobile overtakes fixed: List of issues to consider

Spectrum as a resource has been allocated with reference to frequency and space. However, new technologies such as software defined radio allow licensees to dynamically lease certain spectrum bands in distinct slices of time, e.g. when they are not in use by other licensees. How should secondary spectrum markets be designed? What are the strength and weaknesses of different MVNO models?
Is spectrum still a scarce resource? Given recent experiences with open unlicensed wireless networks, is auctioning property rights to all spectrum frequencies the policy choice that fosters best the development for wireless communications systems? What are potential lessons from the diffusion of WLAN for licensed next generation networks?

For the provision of value added SMS services a new range of short codes needs to be developed. What are the characteristics of short-code access system that will allow equal access to both network operators and third party service providers? How should the issues of quality of content, complaints handling, and portability of these numbers be addressed best? Should the numbering provide for both SMS and MMS traffic or would a different option be required for each messaging type?

There are increasing examples in developing countries where mobile operators have rollout requirements to provide fixed lines or public pay phones? How can these requirements be designed to set incentives for operators and to achieve public policy goals?
In developing countries, a central objective of telecommunication policy is to provide access to services at the community level rather than at the individual level. Is there a need for a new indicator to measure the community teledensity? Who would be responsible for the delivery of the statistics?
Pre-paid cards have been an essential enabler of access to basic telecommunications services in developing countries. Is it necessary to review the pricing of pre-paid cards? Have the terms and conditions associated with pre-paid cards changed?

Termination of calls on mobile networks is a new essential bottleneck. Are the incentives of MNO’s aligned with the public interest or is regulation on the termination charges for off-net mobile to mobile calls needed? Are there indicators for joint dominance among mobile operators?
Services such as SMS create complexity in terms of tariffs with regard to termination charges between various mobile operators. Is the ‘sender keeps all’ system for SMS-based services appropriate or does the increase in SMS traffic calls for more sophisticated agreements?

As mobile-originated international traffic grows, mobile operators become more valuable customers of wholesale services and more international traffic is terminated to mobile handsets. Do industry standard roaming agreements suffice to tackle the significant differential between fixed and mobile termination prices?
What problems arise with inter-standard roaming? How can billing standards become harmonized with inter-standard roaming?
The emerging mobile data markets for GPRS and 3G networks encounter problems with international mobile roaming on GSM and CDMA networks. How will international roaming affect the roll-out of services with IMT-2000?

How can competition policy encounter walled garden approaches by mobile operators, including discriminatory billing and charges for private Ipv4 addressing schemes and GPRS TLD’s for mobile phones? Under which circumstances can lock-ins such as SIM card lock-ins be considered anti-competitive behavior? Is there a need for more open access in all parts of the mobile value chain?
Internet access services using mobile networks do not allow users to choose different ISPs from the ISP provided by the mobile operator. How can competition in the mobile ISP market be introduced?

Retail prices for text messages have been well above the level of termination charges. Is there a need to regulate at the wholesale level, e.g. mobile data termination charges at cost-reflective levels? How should interconnection arrangements between GPRS Roaming Exchange (GRX) services and mobile operators be designed related to the exchange of traffic and charging?
Can compensation arrangements and paid transits models from Internet network-to-network payments serve as a model for mobile cellular data payments? Can the Internet’s packet-switched protocols provide a common platform for all communications services?
How can IP billing systems be designed in order to accurately meter, profile, and bill user’s traffic in real time? How can wireless ISP’s bill for service-specific prices? Who will have the billing relationship with the customer for mobile data services? Who will carry the risk for unpaid duties? Can pre-paid plans include data services?

With regard to location-based emergency services, what legal requirements should regulatory authorities impose on wireless carriers concerning issues such as consumers’ privacy, security of data, liability of services, funding or cost recovery for imposed obligations? What kind of actions should operators take against unsolicited messages? Is the requirement of customer opt-in sufficient to realize privacy protection?
Who should bear the cost of providing location-based emergency services? How do the sources of funding the emergency call infrastructure affect the degree to which wireless service providers are dependent on secondary uses of locational information?

Is a technology neutral regulatory framework sufficient? Could there be technological elements that may not allow all services to be regulated equally?
Does convergence of mobile cellular telecommunications and digital content require to integrate media and telecommunications policy? What are the implications for policy development and the effectiveness of regulation? To what degree should content regulation and infrastructure regulation be separated or established?
Can the different objectives for regulation in telecommunications, the IT industries and the media be integrated? If regulations for different industries are merging, should it result in more or less regulation? How can rules be revised to provide consistency?
The significant growth of mobile communications in lines, traffic volume, and revenue raises a number of issues that will be discussed during the workshop. The following list presents a selection of issues that participants in the workshop may wish to discuss, from the perspective of their own countries.