Michael Powell (top right) and Mostafa Terrab (top left) responding to each other's launch message at the FCC Headquarters. Also in the picture is BDT Director, Hamadoun I. Touré, using G-REX.
In just a few years, the number of countries that have established regulatory bodies for information and
communication technologies (ICT) has risen dramatically, making a global dialogue for regulators imperative. According
to the ITU World Regulatory Database, at least 102 Member States of the International Telecommunication Union have now
created a regulatory body, up from a mere 12 in 1990.* These new regulatory bodies serve a vital role for the ICT
sector. Their job is to facilitate competition, helping countries to meet their universal service and access goals.
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* This database is fed by responses to BDT's annual regulatory survey. Responses to this year's survey have just started coming in, and BDT expects this number to grow even higher in the near future. |
Michael Powell (top right) and Mostafa Terrab (top left) responding to each other's launch message at the FCC Headquarters. Also in the picture is BDT Director, Hamadoun I. Touré, using G-REX.
What is ITU doing to reach out to and engage the latest — and many would say principal —players in the ICT world?
Providing new and enhanced products and services! Key among these is the newly launched Global Regulators' Exchange
(G-REX), a hot line for sharing best practices and learning from each other.
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All regulators and policy-makers from the 189 ITU Member States have been invited to register a focal point to participate in G-REX. There are currently 114 registered G-REX users from over 90 countries. |
G-REX was launched on 8 May 2001 in response to recommendations of the Development Symposium for Regulators (DSR) held in Geneva last November. Organized by the Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT), this watershed event provided the first opportunity for the world's regulators to meet and share their views and experiences (see ITU News, January-February 2001, pages 27-30). Participants were so pleased with the event that they recommended a four-point action plan to continue this global regulators' dialogue. In a nutshell, the plan requires
– each regulatory body or policy-maker to identify a focal point responsible for coordinating the exchange of regulatory experiences with other regulators;
– ITU to provide an on-line forum for regulators and policy-makers to share their views and experiences;
– ITU to establish a hot line for regulators;
– ITU to hold annual global regulators' meetings. BDT will organize the second annual Global Regulators Symposium from 3 to 5 December 2001 in response to this recommendation.
G-REX comprises nine discussion groups on key regulatory issues and a regulator's hot line. Nine of the world's leading regulators are participating as moderators for these key discussions (see photos and themes below).
How were the nine discussion themes selected? During DSR, a panel of regulators from 11 different countries were asked to identify their most pressing regulatory issues. Although the panel included regulators from countries as diverse as Botswana, India, Jordan, Peru, Singapore, Switzerland and the United States, their concerns were all very similar: interconnection, tools for effective regulation, regulatory independence, mobile services, convergence/new technologies, universal service/access, consumer-centred regulation, framework for competition and frequency planning management. These nine issues were then developed as G-REX discussion themes.
All regulators and policy-makers from the 189 ITU Member States have been invited to register a focal point to participate in G-REX. Invitations were also sent to regional regulatory organizations. There are currently 114 registered G-REX users from over 90 countries.
These participants are well and truly using G-REX! Each moderator has been requested to post a launch message designed to spark a dialogue among the community of G-REX users. For example, the launch message of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman, Michael Powell, had been read 240 times within the first month of it being launched. Other launch messages had been read between 90 and 160 times, each within the first month.
Of course, G-REX is a brand new service relying on a technology with which not all users may be familiar. So far, although most users appear to be reading the messages, most have demonstrated reserve in contributing to the global discussion. While the moderators are contributing to each other's discussions (see photo), only a handful of other users have joined in. BDT encourages all G-REX users to join the discussions. There is no reason to be shy! Regulators can contribute simply by posting a relevant document. And if language is a problem, G-REX is flexible. Participants are encouraged to use either English, French or Spanish. But if contributions are posted in other official and working languages of the Union, BDT will endeavour to have them translated. The success of the nine G-REX discussions hinges on the involvement of participants.
"G-REX is going to be one of the most beneficial and effective means of communication between regulators. To
be able to establish contact with other more experienced regulators and get their views on issues of common and
current interest is something which we have always wished for and looked forward to."
TRAI Chairman, Maya Shanker Verma
(ITU 010040)
In contrast to the nine discussions, G-REX users are showing no hesitation in using the hot line, which provides a vehicle to send targeted requests on specific issues to their counterparts around the globe. The first two requests to hit the hot line were submitted in mid-May 2001 by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). TRAI requested guidelines on quality of service and pricing information for international and domestic leased lines. Regulators and policy-makers from a diverse array of countries including Bhutan, the Czech Republic and Kuwait have posted replies. It is hard to imagine that these countries would have been linked, sharing information and resources in the absence of G-REX.
TRAI Chairman, Maya Shanker Verma, has been a strong motivator of G-REX Hotline use by the staff members in his agency. "Our experience with G-REX though, as of now brief, proves without any doubt that it is going to be one of the most beneficial and effective means of communication between regulators. To be able to establish contact with other more experienced regulators and get their views on issues of common and current interest is something which we have always wished for and looked forward to. By setting up G-REX, ITU/BDT has fulfilled this long felt need. I congratulate ITU/BDT on this initiative and wish G-REX a grand success in times to come."
BDT is also reaching out to other ITU units to use G-REX to share in-house expertise. The Strategy and Policy Unit, for example, has already provided extremely useful inputs in response to G-REX Hotline requests.
Initially, when G-REX users submit a request to the hot line, none of the other users can see it. The hot line administrator from the BDT Sector Reform Unit then reviews the request. Users may specify whether they wish to keep their identity confidential or whether their request may be posted as submitted. BDT understands that regulators may sometimes face very pressing, but equally sensitive, issues that require greater levels of confidentiality. Users may also specify whether they seek information from a limited group of their global counterparts or from the entire community of regulatory bodies. For example, a Latin American regulator may wish to learn about tariff information only from its neighbouring countries. The hot line administrator then clears the request for posting on G-REX, taking into account any special instructions by the requesting user.
Information posted on G-REX that is not to be treated confidentially can be shared with a wider audience. BDT will transfer useful documents and comments posted on G-REX to the ITU Telecommunication Regulation website, TREG (www.itu.int/ITU-D-TREG/). TREG has become a leading regulatory resource for ITU Members, national regulatory authorities, regional regulatory organizations, the private sector, academics and international organizations. In this way, G-REX will help to augment the regulatory information and resource library established by ITU over the last four years.
G-REX is an experiment. On-line forums are one of the new ICT services whose growth today's regulators have been called upon to facilitate. In addition to offering a venue for regulators to exchange their views and experiences, G-REX offers regulators and policy-makers hands-on experience with ICT services. Although G-REX is brand new, it is an example of the traditional catalytic role the ITU plays so well, bringing together the key players of the ICT world — in this case, the growing global community of regulators. BDT is committed to giving G-REX its full support and is delighted to have received the backing of so many key regulators and policy-makers.
Any regulator or policy-maker that has not yet registered to use G-REX or who seeks additional information may
contact Susan Schorr, Regulatory Officer, BDT Sector Reform Unit at +41 22 730 6139 or susan.schorr@itu.int.
G-REX moderators sparking a global on-line dialogue |
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Theme: "Interconnection" |
Theme: "Universal service/access"
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Theme: "Tools for effective regulation" |
Theme:"Consumer-centred regulation" |
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Theme: "Regulatory independence" |
Theme: "Framework for competition"
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Theme: "Mobile services" |
Theme: "Frequency planning management"
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Theme: "Convergence/new technologies" |
