Results of Questionnaire on Possible Topics for New Initiatives Workshops in 2003

A questionnaire was sent to Member States and Sector Members on March 1, 2002.  See Annex for the list of topics. It was also available for response on the website of the Strategy and Policy Unit www.itu.int/ni until June 3, 2002. A total of 63 responses were received from 42 countries.

The results, below, were calculated by allocating 3 points to a subject given a high priority ranking, 2 points for a medium ranking and 1 point for a low priority ranking. These rankings will be used to determine which workshops are carried out in 2003, within the resources available

ANNEX

List of topics

1.         Promoting Broadband Networks: The next great challenge facing the telecommunications sector is to upgrade today’s narrowband fixed and mobile networks to support broadband multimedia content. The investment required is vast and demand is still unproven. Some countries, like the Republic of Korea, have been successful in rolling out broadband networks but the majority of others have found growth slower than expected. What are the most effective policies for promoting broadband? Is it sufficient for governments just to create the right conditions for broadband competition, or should they do more?

2.         Changing Technological Trends: Interaction and Convergence of Radiocommunication Services: Current radiocommunication (wireless) technology offers integrated voice, data and Internet access. In the near future, much higher capacities (broadband) will be available, via cellular, satellite and fixed wireless access networks. The merging of the broadcasting, telecommunications and computing worlds is already a reality, which threatens to make current ITU definitions of radiocommunication services inoperative, as well as challenging current international and national allocation methodologies and national licensing practices. How should regulators react to these new challenges and how can the competing demands on the spectrum be reconciled? How can service definitions and allocation and licensing practices be revised, with a view to providing sufficient flexibility for future developments?

3.         Mobile Overtakes Fixed: What Happens Next?: During 2002, mobile phone users will overtake the number of fixed-line telephones worldwide. In some countries, the number of fixed lines has started to decline while elsewhere the fixed-line network continues to grow apace. What makes the difference? How should commercial strategies evolve in order to sustain fixed-line growth? What changes may be required to a country’s regulatory regime when it is the mobile service providers, rather than fixed line operators, who have significant market power?

4.         Interconnection in a Digital World: Most countries have based interconnection regimes either on revenue sharing or on per minute usage. Such methodologies are not particularly well adapted for the digital networks of the future, which will be a rich mix of broadband and narrowband, fixed and mobile platforms, with different business models for pricing access to content. Does capacity-based interconnection represent a viable alternative to existing systems? Should interconnection regimes take into account the value of the content being transmitted or services offered? When, if ever, should regulators intervene in interconnection negotiations?

5.         Emergency Response Services in Telecommunications: The provision of emergency response services depends on the availability of networks, fixed or mobile, to transmit emergency calls. This has two sides. The networks need to be available to transmit distress calls, but the network also needs to be available to authorities and rescue workers. Communications networks can become quickly overloaded, as the events of September 11, 2001 demonstrated. What can be done to protect national and international information infrastructures, to guarantee the availability of a minimum set of communication tools in the event of a disaster, and to ensure rapid response to an emergency, wherever it might occur?

6.         Billing in a Converging World: Although technological change is accelerating the process of convergence between traditional telephony and data networks, the future is still unclear as to the appropriate billing paradigms for multimedia communications. Now with real-time services delivered over data networks (e.g., voice over IP, streaming media) and non real-time services delivered over voice networks (e.g., SMS), new pricing paradigms clearly need to emerge. Should users be billed by flat rate, volume-based metrics or a combination of both? Are there inherent technical or policy bottlenecks? Do regulators need to care?

7.         Improving the Reliability of ICT Networks: In an increasingly automated world, we are increasingly dependent on the reliability, inter-operability and security of the Internet and other communications networks. But those networks are increasingly shared between multiple, commercially motivated owners in which operations are often outsourced. Cost effective risk management is often based on ensuring compensation in the event of failure (e.g., through service level agreements) rather than through a strategy of risk avoidance. Disaster recovery systems typically only gain management attention after the event. Can security systems be entirely a private responsibility and remain effective?  What role is there for regulators and policy makers in promoting more reliable ICT networks?

8.         Management of the Internet Domain Names and Addresses: With the growing popularity of the Internet, the naming and addressing resources underlying this network are of critical importance to our societies. The creation of ICANN launched an unprecedented experiment in global governance, but has not succeeded in pleasing all parties. Many topics that are currently being raised, such as the introduction of multilingual Internet names or the allocation of IP addresses for 3G mobile, go well beyond ICANN’s original mandate. Who should set the rules for the allocation, management and control of multilingual Internet names? Are current private sector approaches sufficient or is there a need for a more formal coordinated role at the international level?

9.         How Should Telecom Regulators be Funded?: One of the key elements to ensuring the independence of a regulatory agency is that it should have a reliable, independent source of funding. But if this funding comes from the industry, there is a risk of compromising independence. How are regulators around the world funded, and what might be considered as “best practice”? At what point does cost recovery become an unacceptable tax on the industry?

10.       Limiting Junk e-mail (spam): The US Federal Trade Commission has announced it will launch an attack against deceptive junk e-mail or “spam”. Last year, the European Union estimated the global cost of spam at US$ 8 billion annually. Almost all of these costs are paid for by recipients or operators rather than by the sender. Experts predict that an average user will soon receive over 1’000 pieces of unsolicited e‑mail per day. With advanced mobile networks, spam has now begun to arrive on mobile handsets. What technical, economic, policy and legal tools are available to deal with the growing problem of unsolicited e-mail? Can national approaches deal with this problem or will spammers simply move “offshore”? What role, if any, is there for regulators and policy-makers? Is there a need for a coordinated international approach to stopping spam?