Yasmine Hammamet, 17 November 2005 — The International Telecommunication Union’s 6th annual Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR), held in Yasmine Hammamet, Tunisia from 14-15 November 2005, gathered regulators, policy makers and service providers from 110 countries to develop a new regulatory framework to promote broadband deployment and access in developing countries.

The advent of broadband has dramatically altered the ICT playing field, creating new opportunities for an ever-growing spectrum of players. The GSR’s new vision for enhanced broadband deployment, which encompasses reduced regulatory burdens, innovative incentives and coordinated efforts, is designed to rapidly unleash commercial broadband deployment opportunities.

"There is not a significant environment on the planet in which broadband internet does not make sense, given the political will to foster an enabling environment," said Hamadoun I. Touré, Director of ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau, in his opening address to the symposium. "However, the pace of broadband take-up largely hinges on the regulatory framework."

This year’s GSR agreed to a set of ‘best practice guidelines’ for spectrum management aimed at promoting broadband access. "The 2005 GSR best practice guidelines, endorsed by 120 CEOs and board members of national regulatory authorities are an important contribution to the World Summit on the Information Society," said 2005 GSR Chairperson Mr Ali Ghodbani.

The guidelines identify ten main principles for action in developing broadband capability: facilitate deployment of innovative broadband technologies; promote transparency; embrace technology neutrality; adopt flexible use measures; ensure affordability; optimize spectrum availability on a timely basis; manage spectrum efficiently; ensure a level playing field; harmonize international and regional practices and standards; and adopt a broad approach to promote broadband access.

The four-page vision statement produced by the 2005 GSR embraces the principles of "minimum necessary" regulation, minimizing barriers to entry, allowing broadband providers to begin operations on a small scale rather than requiring national rollouts, allocating spectrum for community or non-commercial use, adopting lighter regulatory approaches in rural and less congested areas, and recognizing the role that both licensed and unlicensed spectrum can play. The guidelines are available on TREG website here.

Firmly established as the global venue for regulators from around the world to share their views and experiences, this year’s GSR also showcased promising broadband technologies for rural access in developing countries. Presenters included representatives from Cisco Systems, the GSM Association, Intel Corporation, the International Telecommunications Satellite Organization, Qualcomm, Skype, TE DATA and Verizon.

A series of GSR Discussion Papers on broadband provisioning, the role of regulators in promoting broadband, Voice over IP (VoIP), spam and spectrum management were also issued during the meeting.

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