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Sent: 17 October 2006 23:05
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Subject: [WDR e-Brief] Vol. 5, # 3
regulateonline.org - World Dialogue on Regulation for Network
Economies <www.regulateonline.org> WDR e-Brief
<http://www.regulateonline.org/index.php?option=content&task=category§io
nid=7&id=117&Itemid=40>
In this /e-Brief/...
*Vol. 5, # 3 Wednesday, 18 October 2006*
The *WDR /e-Brief/* is the occasional electronic bulletin from the World
Dialogue on Regulation for Network Economies (WDR) and LIRNE.NET and
their regional partners, LIRNE/asia/, Research ICT Africa! and
LIRNE/americas/.
The */e-Brief/* keeps you informed of new documents, new projects,
ongoing discussions and information of interest to the regulatory
community on our websites at www.lirne.net <http://www.lirne.net> and
www.regulateonline.org <http://www.regulateonline.org>.
The World Dialogue on Regulation website and the *WDR /e-Brief/* are
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WDR Research Cycle 4 theme
* Indicators and Benchmarks of Performance in ICT Development
New research
* Consumer activity & ICT in Africa
* National Strategies for Promoting Broadband Access
* Building Asia-Pacific Capacity for Effective Reforms
* Asian Backbone Study: A general model applied to India
* Multi-national operators in African mobile markets
News from the networks
* Review of ICT-Enabled Development in Latin America & the Caribbean
* Muhammad Yunus, Grameen and telecommunication
* CICT conference on mobile and wireless
* LIRNE/asia/ "virtual" colloquium series
* LIRNE.NET consortium wins infoDev bid
* DIRSI to meet in Buenos Aires
* Points of Convergence -- a LINK Centre workshop
* LIRNE/asia/ to be course partner for SAFIR
* DIRSI announces junior competition winners
* Research ICT Africa! meeting in Dakar
* The Southern African Journal of Information and Communication
Resources
* Online Regulatory Resources for Latin America & the Caribbean
* At the Crossroads: ICT Policy Making in East Africa
* Spectrum Allocation in Latin America: An Economic Analysis
* Towards convergence regulation in Latin America
* A Review of the Network Readiness Index
* NRI vs. DOI
* ICT4D -- Linking Policy to Community Outcomes
* Colombia's Telecom Sector Reports
* A focus on Caribbean ICT investment and S&T policies
* Promoting Private Sector Investments in Africa
WDR Research Cycle 4 Theme
Indicators and Benchmarks of Performance in ICT Development
The World Dialogue on Regulation for Network Economies has completed
three research cycles since it was first launched in 2002. For the first
cycle, in 2002, the theme was /The Next Step in Telecom Reform: ICT
Convergence Regulation or Multisector Utility Regulation/. The final
report, Designing Next Generation Telecom Regulation: ICT Convergence or
Multisector Utility, was published in January 2003. The final report was
published and made available electronically and was based on both
theoretical work and case studies primarily led by universities in
Denmark and the Netherlands.
For the second research cycle, the WDR research network examined the
role of the regulator in stimulating investment in network development.
This time the research network was much more international and the final
report was /Stimulating Investment in Network Development: Roles for
Regulators/, a 380 page book with contributions from twenty authors from
Africa, Asia and Europe. The research was also greatly enriched by the
discussions at three WDR Expert Meetings, one each in Africa, Asia and
Europe.
During the third research cycle, which examined the theme /Diversifying
Participation in Network Development/, the network continued to grow
with the addition of Research ICT Africa! (RIA!) the Regional Dialogue
on the Information Society (DIRSI), a group of Latin American
researchers. The report from that cycle, another book of more than 350
pages, is currently in production.
As WDR continues its mandate to inform and promote dialogue on ICT
regulation, supported by the LIRNE network centres, we have become
increasingly concerned with the centrality of indicators. Indeed, all
regulatory research depends on indicators, deriving from a variety of
sources: national governments, international agencies, the private
sector, advocacy groups -- all of whom have their own motivations for
collecting this information.
The theme for the World Dialogue on Regulation's fourth research and
dialogue cycle is Indicators and Benchmarks of Performance in ICT
Development. Cross-cutting research and analysis will be achieved by
considering this area from a variety of perspectives. These include
projects that devise, collect and apply ICT indicators as well as
research that considers indicators as an object of analysis per se, and
will reflect on the historical, political and strategic issues
surrounding the field of indicator use and development.
More information... <http://www.regulateonline.org/content/view/851/31/>
New research
Five new research papers have been recently made available on the WDR
website.
Consumer activity & ICT in Africa
WDR South African partner, the LINK Centre and the NGO Balancing Act
have completed a study /Assessing consumer activity in the telecoms and
Internet sectors in Africa/. The study seeks to answer three questions:
1. What consumer activity is happening in the internet and telecoms
fields?
2. What impact are different types of consumer activity having upon
key stakeholders?
3. How do key stakeholders view consumer activity?
More information and download...
<http://www.regulateonline.org/content/view/846/31/>
Strategies for Promoting Broadband
Morten Falch
A new paper is available from WDR's European Partner, the Center for
Information and Communication Technologies at the Technical University
of Denmark. /National Strategies for Promoting Broadband Access/
identifies some of the major drivers and inhibitors to broadband
penetration in Canada, USA, Japan and South Korea (public funding,
income, geography, competition). It concludes that although technical
and economic parameters such as income play a role in the development of
broadband, public policy plays an important role in explaining national
differences in adoption of broadband.
Read the introduction and download the paper...
<http://www.regulateonline.org/content/view/844/31/>
Building Asia-Pacific Capacity for Effective Reforms
Rohan Samarajiva
Bridging the digital divide is important. It may not be as important as
ensuring safe water for all, or adequate healthcare, in terms of
meriting investment of scarce public resources, but it is definitely
important enough to merit concerted action to remove the artificial
barriers to private supply. This article marshalls some evidence to
argue that one of the best ways to remove barriers is to improve ICT
policy and regulation capacity.
Download the paper... <http://www.regulateonline.org/content/view/817/31/>
Asian Backbone Study: A general model applied to India
Harsha Vardana Singh
This new LIRNE/asia/ research seeks to understand why adequate network
backbone may not be available, or adequate access to it may not be
provided. Based on this assessment, policy actions are identified that
can be taken to create the conditions for adequate supply of, and
reasonable access to, backbone in a country. A theoretical model is
developed and applied to the case of India, to show the situations in
which investment in backbone is commercially viable for operators.
Read the introduction and download the paper...
<http://www.regulateonline.org/content/view/769/31/>
Multi-national operators in African mobile markets
Ewan Sutherland
While Africa's mobile telephony markets have enjoyed considerable
investment and profits, it is not clear that there is real competition.
The high levels of concentration in the markets resulting from the
staged introduction of additional operators is generally justified on
the grounds of avoiding turmoil in the markets, managing spectrum
allocation, and reducing required investment in base stations. This
research surveys the key multi-national players on the African continent
and argues that regulatory attention now warrants a shift towards a more
pro-competitive market environment.
Read the introduction and download the paper...
<http://www.regulateonline.org/content/view/802/31/>
News from the networks
Review of ICT-enabled Development in Latin America & the Caribbean
The Regional Dialogue on the Information Society, known by its Spanish
acronym DIRSI, a WDR partner in Latin America and the Caribbean, is
collaborating with the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the
Caribbean (ECLAC), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the
International Development Research Centre (IDRC) to conduct a Review of
ICT-enabled Development in Latin America and the Caribbean.
More information... <http://www.regulateonline.org/content/view/849/40/>
Muhammad Yunus, Grameen and telecommunication
The World Dialogue on Regulation welcomed the announcement that Muhammad
Yunus and the Grameen Bank are to be awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize
for their pioneering work on micro-credit lending schemes. In addition
to Grameen's work on micro-credit in Bangladesh, the bank also
introduced the Grameen Village Phone project, an innovative solution to
extending telecommunications access to marginal customers. A LIRNEasia
study last year looked at the fundamental problem of access to
telecommunications -affordability- and analysed Grameen Telecom's solution.
Read the study /An Investigation of the Replicability of a Microfinance
Approach to Extending Telecommunications Access to Marginal Customers/
<http://www.regulateonline.org/content/view/591/31/>.
CICT conference on mobile and wireless
On 30 November and 1 December 2006, the Center for Information and
Communication Technologies (CICT), WDR's partner at the Technical
University of Denmark, will hold its third international conference on
/Mobile and wireless content, services and networks: Short-term and
long-term development trends/.
More information... <http://www.regulateonline.org/content/view/843/40/>
LIRNE/asia/ "virtual" colloquium series
WDR partner LIRNE/asia/ will test its effectiveness as a virtual
organization when it hosts a series of weekly colloquia related to the
Six Country Indicators study being undertaken to measure telecom sector
and regulatory performance in India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Philippines,
Sri Lanka and Thailand.
More information... <http://www.regulateonline.org/content/view/839/32/>
LIRNE.NET consortium wins infoDev bid
A LIRNE.NET consortium consisting of the LINK CENTRE/RIA!, LIRNE/asia/
and DIRSI members at the University of West Indies have been awarded the
infoDev tender to conduct a needs assessment and gap analysis on Local
Capacity for ICT Policy and Regulatory Research, Training, Expert
Assistance and Advocacy in Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific. The
project will start on finalisation of the contract in November with an
end date in May.
More information on the project
<http://www.infodev.org/en/Article.72.html> is available from infoDev.
DIRSI to meet in Buenos Aires
The Latin American and Caribbean network DIRSI will meet in Buenos
Aires, Argentina on November 30 and December 1 & 2. On November 30
Argentinian regulators will join DIRSI members in a seminar on
regulatory frameworks in the context of the next generation networks. On
December 1 & 2 DIRSI members will review the research conducted in 2006,
plan activities for 2007, and review the network's strategic planing.
For more information visit DIRSI's website <http://www.dirsi.net>.
Points of convergence
The LINK Centre and the Mandela Institute hosted Points of Convergence:
A Regulation Workshop on 5 October.
For more information:
Guy Berger's column
<http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=286428&area=/insight/insight
__columnists/>
in the 11 October issue of the Mail&Guardian Online.
Workshop presentations on the LINK Centre website.
<http://link.wits.ac.za/POC-Presentations.html>
LIRNEasia to be course partner for SAFIR
WDR's Asian partner, LIRNE/asia/, has been selected by the World Bank to
be the new Course Partner responsible for delivering the annual core
course on Infrastructure Regulation and Reform for the South Asian Forum
for Infrastructure (SAFIR) from 2006 to 2008. SAFIR is the leading
regulatory capacity building organization in electricity, natural gas,
telecommunication, water, transportation sectors for South Asia.
More information... <http://www.regulateonline.org/content/view/842/40/>
DIRSI announces junior competition winners
The Regional Dialogue on the Information Society, a WDR partner in Latin
America and the Caribbean (LAC) known by its Spanish acronym, DIRSI, has
announced the winners of its Research Project Competition for young
researchers in the region. Three research projects were selected from 60
proposals submitted by young researchers (under 35 years of age) from
the LAC region. The selection committee, amongst other criteria, sought
for excellence in presentation and overall coherence of the proposal,
and relevance to the DIRSI research agenda.
Read more... <http://www.regulateonline.org/content/view/764/40/>
Research ICT Africa! meeting in Dakar "a great success!"
The 2006 RIA! Annual meeting that took place in Dakar, Senegal from 26
May to 2 June 2006 was deemed a great success by the participants. The
RIA! membership grew, with new members joining from Burkina Faso and
Ivory Coast. The RIA!-NetTel@Africa discussions were also fruitful as
both parties realised the importance of sharing information as a way of
keeping the partnership strong.
Read more... <http://www.regulateonline.org/content/view/848/40/>
The Southern African Journal of Information and Communication
WDR's partner in South Africa, the LINK Centre has published the 6th
annual issue of The Southern African Journal of Information and
Communication. Issue 6 can be ordered online and previous issues are
available for free download.
Subscribe or consult previous issues of The Southern African Journal of
Information and Communication here...
<http://link.wits.ac.za/journal/journal.html>
Resources
WDR's regional correspondents in Africa, Asia and the Americas have been
identifying and commenting on relevant resources available to
researchers. Below is a selection of their recent suggestions.
Online Regulatory Resources for Latin America & the Caribbean
An increasingly wide array of information society indicators is
available at an international level providing comparative assessments
across countries. For more detail, however, and in support of their
end-users and stakeholders, national regulatory authorities also have an
important role in collecting and disseminating statistical information.
Valentina Podesta of Comunica has put together a list of links
<http://www.regulateonline.org/content/view/832/32/> to the annual
reports of regulatory agencies of Latin America and the Caribbean as
well as various indicators and statistics available on their websites.
At the Crossroads: ICT Policy Making in East Africa
This IDRC publication was reviewed by Victor van Reijswoud. He also
interviewed one of the contributors, Warigia Bowman.
Read more... <http://www.regulateonline.org/content/view/836/32/>
Spectrum Allocation in Latin America: An Economic Analysis
With mobile telephony increasingly being used to provide connectivity
throughout the region, how much bandwidth should be allocated to
wireless operators and under what kinds of licensing conditions? Amy
Mahan, reviews Thomas W. Hazlett's and Roberto E. Muqoz's survey of
Latin American spectrum regimes.
Read more... <http://www.regulateonline.org/content/view/833/32/>
Towards convergence regulation in Latin America
The most recent issue of Regulatel's online magazine, [log in to unmask], was
dedicated to discussions of convergence issues in the region. What
frameworks, models or fundamentals can regulators draw upon to inform a
transition to convergence regulation? The different articles in this
number offer perspectives on this challenge.
Read more... <http://www.regulateonline.org/content/view/829/32/>
A Review of the Network Readiness Index
The World Economic Forum's 5th Global Information Technology Report
2005-2006 was released recently with updated Networked Readiness Index
(NRI) rankings for 2005. The NRI is an assessment of a country's
preparedness and capacity to make use of and benefit from Information
Communication Technologies (ICTs). In his review of the NRI, Divakar
Goswami argued that a number of extraneous variables have been included
that do not shed any light on ICT environment, readiness or usage, while
others, that may have added greater robustness to the measure, are missing.
Read more... <http://www.regulateonline.org/content/view/823/32/>
NRI vs. DOI
Following his review of the World Economic Forum's Networked Readiness
Index (NRI), Divakar Goswami contrasts the NRI rankings with those of
the Digital Opportunity Index (DOI), a composite index produced by the
ITU in cooperation with the Korean Agency for Digital Opportunity &
Promotion (KADO).
Read more... <http://www.regulateonline.org/content/view/827/32/>
ICT4D -- Linking Policy to Community Outcomes
Partners in Micro-development published a research brief discussing the
link between national Information and Communications Technology (ICT)
policy in developing countries and the effectiveness of ICT for
development (ICT4D) initiatives at a community level. In the report
Donna Vaughan tried to determine whether, by adopting a Community
Informatics (CI) approach to community based ICT4D projects, which
leverages existing social capital in the communities, the sustainability
of such projects can be significantly improved so that ICT4D is more
inclusive in reach and its overall contribution to development is enhanced.
Read more... <http://www.regulateonline.org/content/view/820/32/>
Colombia's Telecom Sector Reports
The Colombian telecom regulator (Comisisn de Regulacisn de
Telecomunicaciones -- CRT) has recently released two reports on
developments and current status of its national telecom sector.
"Developments in the Telecommunication Sector" released in June, was
prepared for the ITU New Initiatives Programme, The Future of Voice. In
July, an Informe Sectorial de Telecomuncaciones (Sectorial Report on
Telecommunications) was also published -- the seventh in a series of
annual stock-taking on the country's telecom terrain, with a particular
focus on investment.
Read more... <http://www.regulateonline.org/content/category/5/165/32/>
A focus on Caribbean ICT investment and S&T policies
ICT infrastructure matters. So does investment. Despite sector reforms
across the Caribbean, both have had very uneven growth during the past
decade. The IADB report, Promoting Investment in ICT in the Caribbean
(May 2006), sets as its objectives to identify regulatory barriers and
to make recommendations for further promotion of the ICT sector.
Read more... <http://www.regulateonline.org/content/view/781/32/>
Promoting Private Sector Investments in Africa
With the report Promoting Private Sector Investment and Innovation: To
Address the Information and Communication Needs of the Poor in Sub
Saharan Africa infoDev and Alcatel dive into the private sector
development of the ICT sector for rural development. InfoDev
investigates the demand side of the ICT Services in Sub Saharan Africa
(SSA), while Alcatel focuses in the operator supply side of the need of
ICT services.
Read more... <http://www.regulateonline.org/content/category/5/152/32/>
*World Dialogue on Regulation* c/o LIRNE.NET
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Editor: Bruce Girard
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*Copyright ) 2006
<http://www.regulateonline.org/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=223&Ite
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