BDT’s Regulatory and Market Environment Team is pleased to introduce the twelfth edition of Trends in Telecommunication Reform. The Trends Report is an integral component of the ongoing dialogue between the BDT and the world’s ICT regulators. As in past years, the theme of the 2012 Trends Report – “Smart Regulation for a Broadband World” – found its genesis in the Global Symposium for Regulators of the previous year, which took place in September 2011 in Armenia City, Colombia.
The 2012 Trends Report contains ten chapters that explore a wealth of legal and regulatory issues that are emerging as broadband becomes ubiquitous and as the digital economy grows.
- Chapter 1 sets the foundation for the discussion about regulation for a broadband world by outlining key trends in the ICT market and in ICT regulation.
- Chapter 2 discusses the issues surrounding the development of national broadband strategies, policies, and plans; it includes the presentation of a decision tree designed to assist policymakers and regulators in making key regulatory and policy choices as they formulate national broadband plans.
- Chapter 3 examines open access regulation in the digital economy. It considers what forms of regulation may be appropriate at various levels of the ICT value chain. It also discusses how the nature of broadband networks may require changes to existing approaches to open access.
- Chapter 4 considers strategies and models for funding universal broadband access. Special attention is given to universal access funds.
- Chapter 5 examines broadband-enabled innovation and outlines policy approaches that can promote such innovation.
- Chapter 6 focuses on social media. It provides a backgrounder on social media and considers how the regulatory community can use social media in discharging its duties. It also assesses the policy issues raised by social media in light of the fact that ICT regulators may be asked to establish a policy framework for the use of social media generally in society.
- Chapter 7 examines intellectual property rights (IPR) in the digital economy and the role of ICT regulators and policy-makers in protecting these rights.
- Chapter 8 considers the regulatory landscape for mobile banking (m-banking). In addition to assessing the two main m-banking models, this chapter surveys the regulatory issues that arise from the provision of m-banking services.
- Chapter 9 addresses the problem of electronic waste (e-waste). It surveys the issues surrounding e-waste and proposes policy approaches that ICT regulators can adopt to address e-waste.
- Chapter 10 provides the conclusions to the Report.
