Co-sponsored by the ITU and the GIIC (Global Information Infrastructure Commission), this Roundtable will be one of the first opportunities for independent telecommunication regulators, many of whom are newly appointed, to share views and experiences. In those countries which have made commitments under the WTO basic telecommunications agreement, independent regulators will have an important role in applying trade principles to the telecommunications sector. They may need to modify existing laws, regulations and administrative guidelines to bring them into line with their WTO commitments and to benefit from the new environment that this agreement creates, or they may need to draft new laws and regulations where these do not exist. These might address key issues such as competitive safeguards, interconnection and universal service. This Roundtable brings together regulators from different countries at different stages of market liberalization.

The accounting-rate system was established at a time when most international telecommunications traffic was exchanged between national monopoly providers, through correspondent relations. Some three-quarters of international telecommunications traffic now originates in countries that permit competitive service provision. This is already having a profound impact on the accounting-rate system. In particular, operators which are able to establish commercial presence in other countries, will be able to bypass the traditional correspondent relationship arrangements when delivering and receiving calls. Many developing countries that depend on settlements to fund network expansion and universal service goals will be under increasing pressure to reduce their accounting-rates and seek other sources of funding for network development. This panel will explore the impact of changes in the evolving accounting-rate system, drawing on the experiences of a panel composed of operators and regulators from countries at different stages of liberalization.