ITU/94-5
9 March 1994
Original: English
Groups of experts to develop tools needed by Governments 
to carry out reforms to be proposed by the 
World Telecommunication Development Conference
Having adopted the broad principles and guidelines in the Action Plan, the World Telecommunication Development Conference is expected to set up two Study Groups to develop in detail during the period 1995–1999 some areas which need further consideration at the expert level. The Study groups are to address a number of priority problems related to the institutional, technical, commercial, regulatory and economic evolution of the telecommunication sector.
In the area of policies and strategies, the Support Group proposes the creation of Study Group 1. 
The mandate to be examined and adopted by the Conference would request Study Group 1 to:
	synthesize available information on the role of telecommunications in the social and economic development of countries and quantify the economic benefits of integrating telecommunications in the overall development plans
	undertake a comparative analysis of existing regulatory national models and policies and evaluate the economic and social implications of regulatory reforms
	develop recommendations, guidelines and/or handbooks on methods and criteria for the evaluation and implementation of strategies and policies intended to promote the appropriate reforms of the telecommunication sector in the developing countries, within the general framework of their national policies for economic, social and cultural development
	prepare recommendations for optimal structures including in terms of resources for a regulatory entity. These measures would give the regulatory entity the means to fulfill efficiently its functions in matters such as the availability of telecommunications to the public, the introduction and use of new technologies, the interoperability of networks and services, the establishment and application of competition rules and the implementation of price regulation
	develop materials to assist developing countries in evaluating the impact of the introduction and use of new technologies and services, including multi-media, on the evolving commercial and regulatory environment in the telecommunication sector
	prepare and maintain an inventory of financial strategies and the various sources of financing (ODA, development banks, private sector, etc.), including their conditions and requirements as well as an analysis of the applicability of the various financial strategies under different circumstances
	prepare guidelines on internal options and measures to generate revenues, including tariff policies, reinvestment of profits and increase of operational efficiencies
Five proposed study areas, formulated as questions, are foreseen for Study Group 1 (see box). The Study Group would be called to prepare reports and recommendations between 1996 and 1997 depending on the priority to be given to the question by the Conference. Not only other sectors of the Union but also members of the ITU Telecommunication Development Sector  (ITU-D), external institutions such as universities, research institutes, funding agencies and regional or international development entities might also be called upon to provide input to the work of the ITU-D Study Groups in subject matter of their competence.

Proposed questions to Study Group I for the period 1995–1999
Question 1:	Role of telecommunications in economic, social and cultural development 
Given the role played by telecommunication in economic growth and in the development of trade in goods and services, the close correlation between the number of main telephone lines and per capita income and their contribution to social cohesion at national or regional level as well as to information access and thus knowledge, how can political decision‑makers have an overview of the role played by telecommunications in a country's economic, social and cultural development. To this end, whatever studies and information available on the subject should be consolidated, with a view in particular to quantifying the economic benefits of including the telecommunication sector in general national or regional development plans.
Question 2:	Telecommunication policies and possible institutional and regulatory options 
Current technological and regulatory development in the telecommunication sector is opening up new possibilities but is also raising new problems for the developing countries. Telecommunication policies and regulatory models currently applied by Members of the Union differ appreciably from one country to another.
On the basis of a sufficiently representative cross-section of existing policies and taking due account of work already carried out at the regional level, what recommendations or guidelines can be made to developing countries on the methods and criteria needed in order to assess the value and extent of the legislative, structural and regulatory reforms which should be introduced in the telecommunication sector as part of the implementation at national level of a global economic, social and cultural development policy? In the light of the necessary reforms, what are to be the respective roles and functions of the component elements of the telecommunication sector, as well as the structures and regulatory resources required. 
Question 3:	Impact of the introduction and utilization of new technologies on the commercial and regulatory environment of telecommunications 
New technologies (satellites, optical fibre, intelligent networks, cellular mobile communications, etc.) have brought about a rapid development of new telecommunication products and services to satisfy the increasingly diverse requirements of customers in the economic sector. In the face of this change, current legislation often does not allow market access to new suppliers or operators better equipped to provide these services than traditional operators.
What effects might the introduction and utilization of new technologies have on the supply and regulation of telecommunication services ? How can a developing country reconcile the utilization of these new technologies in a more competitive commercial environment with the objective of guaranteeing access to basic services for a reasonable cost throughout its territory ?
Question 4:	Policies and ways for financing telecommunication infrastructures in developing countries
The implementation of modern telecommunication structures in developing countries requires considerable investment, the volume of which generally exceeds the financing capacities of the national administrations or operators concerned.
To what financing policies, methods and techniques might administrations or operators in developing countries have recourse in order to secure the investment necessary for developing their telecommunication infrastructures ? What conditions must be observed for obtaining certain types of finance ? What factors (national legislation, structural aspects, regulatory framework, price control policy, etc.) might help to create a climate favourable to outside investment?
Question 5:	Industrialization
Telecommunication industries, being part of electronic industries, require appropriate investment, technological know-how and markets that justify production at industrial scale. Manufacturers of computer and telecommunication equipment in industrialized countries may benefit from participation of developing countries in the identification of user requirements and in the development of new technologies.
What guidelines can be applied to the industrialization of telecommunication equipment in developing countries taking account taking into account of economic constraints, market opportunities and technological evolution.