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Sent: 22 February 2006 14:06
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Subject: [WDR e-Brief] Vol. 5, # 1
regulateonline.org - World Dialogue on Regulation for Network
Economies <http://www.regulateonline.org>
WDR e-Brief
<http://www.regulateonline.org/index.php?option=content&task=category§io
nid=7&id=117&Itemid=40>
*Vol. 5, # 1 Wednesday 22 February 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>
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There are currently 1,649 subscribers.
In this e-Brief:
New 3^rd cycle research
Pro Poor Opportunities and Challenges in Liberalising Markets
* Strategic use of telecom services on a shoestring in South Asia
* Diversifying Network Participation: A Study of India's Universal
Service Instruments
Indicators of Network Development and Use in Developing Countries
* Telecom Demand: Measures for Improving Affordability
* Towards an African e-Index: Household and Individual ICT Access
across 10 African Countries
ICTs and Disaster Warning
* Mobilizing information and communications technologies for
effective disaster warning
* Dam-related Hazard Warning System
Information Provision and Participation in Regulatory and Policy Processes
* Institutional Design of the Regulator in Latin America and the
Caribbean
Innovative Models of Financing, Ownership and Management
* Replicability of a Microfinance Approach to Extending
Telecommunications Access
* Microtelcos in Latin America and the Caribbean
* Community-based Networks and Innovative Technologies
WDR / LIRNE.NET news
* Rapid response in Bangladesh
* LINK Centre briefs ICASA
* Delhi School of Economics Lecture
* LIRNE at C-DOT Symposium
* Stimulating Investment in Network Economies
News from the networks
* DIRSI meeting scheduled for April
* IAMCR annual conference, Cairo, 23-28 July
* New Book: From Rural Village to Global Village
* SME E-access and E-usage Index Survey preliminary findings
* Internet Presence of Telecom Researchers
Subscribing and Unsubscribing
New research in all WDR 3^rd cycle topics
Over the past few months new research papers have been posted on
www.regulateonline.org <http://www.regulateonline.org/> for the five
3^rd cycle topics falling under the general theme of diversifying
participation in network development. Follow the links below to access
the research papers and related materials.
Pro Poor Opportunities and Challenges in Liberalising Markets
Strategic use of telecom services on a shoestring in
South Asia
As a part of LIRNE/asia/''s /Telecom Use on a Shoestring/ project
and within the topic of Pro Poor Opportunitioes and Challenges in
Liberalising Markets, the use of ''strategic'' behaviour to curb
communication costs amongst the financially constrained in Sri Lanka
and India was explored. The findings relating to such 'strategic'
behavior are available for comment in the paper /Telecom use on a
shoestring: Strategic use of telecom services by the financially
constrained in South Asia/.
Download the paper <http://www.regulateonline.org/content/view/624/31/>
Telecom Use on a Shoestring -- Bangladesh
A second paper in LIRNE/asia'/'s /Telecom Use on a Shoestring/
project looks at Bangladesh. While the India and Sri Lanka paper was
based on original surveys, a substantial amount of similar research
has already been carried out on Bangladesh in the context of
Grameen's Village Phone program. Therefore, the Bangladesh part of
the study is in the form of a meta-analysis of some of these key
studies.
Download the paper <http://www.regulateonline.org/content/view/600/31/>
Diversifying Network Participation: A Study of India's
Universal Service Instruments
A draft version of the research report submitted by Payal Malik and
Harsha de Silva of LIRNE/asia/ titled /Diversifying Network
Participation: Study of India's Universal Service Instruments/ is
now available for download. The research shows that open access to
backbone is precondition for effective use of subsidies that
minimize market distortion. In a news release announcing the study
LIRNEasia maintains that because there was no open access "the
telecom subsidy mechanism operationalized through India's Universal
Service Fund (USF) has unduly served the interests of the government
owned incumbent telecom company Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL)."
Download the report
<http://www.regulateonline.org/content/view/575/31/>
Read a commentary by one of the authors published in the Indian
Express <http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=81085>
A news release about the report states that it "shows that the
telecom subsidy mechanism operationalized through India's Universal
Service Fund (USF) has unduly served the interests of the government
owned incumbent telecom company Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL).
<http://www.regulateonline.org/content/view/594/32/>
Indicators of Network Development and Use in Developing Countries
Telecom Demand: Measures for Improving Affordability
Led by Professor Robin Mansell at the Media and Communications
Department of the London School of Economics and Political Science
(LSE), and Claire Milne, Visiting Researcher at LSE, this project
has focused on developing a better understanding of affordability as
key to understanding telecom demand which, in turn, is central to
sound business cases for investment and the achievement of network
development in developing countries. The main report and three
companion papers are now available.
The series of papers includes the main report by Claire Milne, a
paper by Sebastian Ureta on variations in expenditure on
communications, a case study by Sangeeth Varghese of Reliance
Infocomm, and a paper by Jeffery Wheatley on price elasticity of demand.
Download the reports
<http://www.regulateonline.org/content/view/619/31/>
Towards an African e-Index: Household and Individual ICT
Access across 10 African Countries
Based on the e-Access & Usage Household Survey that was completed
during the course of 2004 and 2005, this report is the result of a
demand study of individuals and households and how ICT's are used
across 10 African countries. This ground-breaking research was
launched at the WSIS in Tunis and is now available online. It was
produced by WDR partner Research ICT Africa (RIA!).
More >> <http://www.regulateonline.org/content/view/583/31/>
ICTs and Disaster Warning
Mobilizing information and communications technologies
for effective disaster warning
As an output of the research on ICTs and disaster warning, Rohan
Samarajiva, Executive Director of LIRNE/asia/ has published a policy
commentary in the journal New Media and Society, (Vol. 7, No. 6,
December 2005) "Mobilizing information and communications
technologies for effective disaster warning: lessons from the 2004
tsunami".
More >> <http://www.regulateonline.org/content/view/589/31/>
Dam-related Hazard Warning System
LIRNE/asia/ in collaboration with The Vanguard Foundation, Sri Lanka
National Committee on Large Dams (SLNCOLD), Intermediate Technology
Development Group (ITDG) and Sarvodaya has released A Concept Paper
for a Dam-related Hazard Warning System in Sri Lanka: A
Participatory Study on Actions Required to Avoid and Mitigate Dam
Disasters. The paper is one of the outputs of the ICT and Disaster
Warning topic of the current WDR research cycle.
Download the paper <http://www.regulateonline.org/content/view/609/31/>
Information Provision and Participation in Regulatory and
Policy Processes
Institutional Design of the Regulator in Latin America
and the Caribbean
This paper, by DIRSI member Jorge Dussan and Juan Manuel Roldan,
establishes the need for a change in the institutional model of
telecom regulators in Latin America, aiming for more efficient
regulations that address citizen's needs, especially the poorest
sectors, through an increase in citizen's participation in decisions
affecting them.
This paper is one of a series produced by DIRSI (Regional Dialogue
on the Information Society - Dialogo Regional sobre Sociedad de la
Informacisn) a WDR partner in Latin America and the Caribbean. The
papers were published in the book Digital Poverty: Latin American
and Caribbean perspectives.
Download the paper from the DIRSI website
<http://www.dirsi.net/index.php?name=UpDownload&req=getit&lid=40> or
consult the entire book
<http://www.dirsi.net/index.php?module=htmlpages&func=display&pid=63>
Innovative Models of Financing, Ownership and Management
Replicability of a Microfinance Approach to Extending
Telecommunications Access to Marginal Customers
This research report looks at the fundamental problem of access to
telecommunications, and focuses on one of the 'solutions' that have
emerged in response to this problem -- that adopted by Grameen of
Bangladesh. The study examines the replicability of the Grameen
model and concludes that the usefulness of the different elements of
the model depends on the context in which an access solution is
being designed for, and should be adapted accordingly.
Download the report <http://www.regulateonline.org/content/view/591/31/>
A news release about the report highlighted that "sixteeen per cent
of the revenues of Bangladesh's Grameen Phone come from four per
cent of customers. And they are not the most affluent people; they
are village phone ladies."
<http://www.regulateonline.org/content/view/606/32/>
*Microtelcos in Latin America and the Caribbean*
The paper explores a variety of 'microtelcos' - small-scale telecom
operators - that are effectively servicing rural areas of Latin
America and the Caribbean, despite a less than favorable regulatory
environment and little access to public subsidies. The paper
examines the theoretical case for microtelcos as an effective
alternative to address the ICT needs of the poor, presents examples
of microtelcos drawn from across the region, and suggests how
existing regulatory obstacles for microtelcos may be removed.
The paper is one of a series produced by DIRSI (Regional Dialogue on
the Information Society) a WDR's partner in Latin America and the
Caribbean. The papers were published in the book /Digital Poverty:
Latin American and Caribbean Perspectives/.
Download the paper from the DIRSI website.
<http://www.dirsi.net/index.php?name=UpDownload&req=getit&lid=39>
Download /Digital Poverty: Latin American and Caribbean
Perspectives/.
<http://www.dirsi.net/index.php?module=htmlpages&func=display&pid=63>
Community-based Networks and Innovative Technologies
The report /Community-based Networks and Innovative Technologies:
New models to serve and empower the poor/ considers how the
combination of community-driven enterprises and the new wave of
wireless and related technologies may have the potential to extend
networks and offer new services to poor communities and to empower
them to develop solutions that are more focused on their own
development needs. This report by Sean S Siochrz and Bruce Girard
was published by UNDP as the first in a series about Making ICT Work
for the Poor. For more information visit www.propoor-ict.net
<http://www.propoor-ict.net/>.
Download the report <http://www.regulateonline.org/content/view/582/31/>
WDR / LIRNE.NET news
News from the World Dialogue on Regulation and LIRNE.NET
Rapid response in Bangladesh
As part of its Rapid Response Programme LIRNE/asia/ has provided
advice for Bangladesh. In an article published in the Bangladesh
newspaper /The Daily Star/, Rohan Samarajiva, LIRNE/asia/ Executive
Director, describes a model designed to make the most of the
country's new submarine optical fibre cable.
More >> <http://lirne.net/live/content/view/104/26/>
Link Centre briefs ICASA
In January the LINK Centre, WDR's partner in South Africa, held a
briefing for the South African regulator, ICASA. The briefing was
planned to share the results of South African part of the e-Access
and Usage Household Survey that is reported on in the report Towards
an African e-Index. One of the areas highlighted in the briefing was
the important role that payphones still play as a communications tool.
More >> <http://www.regulateonline.org/content/view/631/31/>
Delhi School of Economics Lecture
/Reducing the Chasm Between Theory and Practice in Telecom Reform
and Information Economy Policies: New Roles for Economic Research/,
was the topic of Professor William Melody''s lecture at the Delhi
School of Economics on 9 December. He noted that neoclassical market
theory provides reference points for assessing the performance of
imperfect markets and suggesting standards and tools for market
governance through policy and regulation. Yet, more often than not,
seemingly sound theoretical recommendations fail badly on
implementation.
More >> <http://lirne.net/live/content/view/103/2/>
LIRNE at C-DOT Symposium
C-DOT, the Centre for Development of Telematics of the Government of
India, held its Annual Telecom Symposium in New Delhi on 8 December
2005. Keynote speakers were Professor William Melody, Managing
Director of LIRNE.NET and the World Dialogue on Regulation (WDR),
and Ashish Sharma, Director Strategy of the WiMax Forum, and Senior
Director, Business Development, Alvarion Inc.
More >> <http://lirne.net/live/content/view/102/2/>
Stimulating Investment in Network Development: Roles for
Regulators
The final report from the second WDR research cycle is still
available in both print and online. Edited by Amy Mahan and William
Melody, the 383 page book contains the body of research and country
case studies undertaken to investigate issues and perspectives on
the theme /Stimulating Investment in Network Development: Roles for
Regulators/. It has been downloaded more than 1100 times.
Download the book <http://www.regulateonline.org/content/view/435/31/>
Buy a hard copy it from amazon.com
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/8790288181/qid=1125594444/sr=
8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-0315996-1401732?v=glance&s=books&n=507846>
Contact WDR publications for a copy
<http://www.regulateonline.org/component/option,com_contact/Itemid,0/contact
_id,13/>
News from the networks
DIRSI meeting scheduled for April
The Regional Dialogue on the Information Society network, (known by
its Spanish acronym DIRSI), a WDR regional partner in Latin America
and the Caribbean, will be holding a network meeting during the week
of April 17-21 in Santiago, Chile. Details of the agenda are yet to
be released but it is expected that there will be a joint session
with the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.
More information will be posted on www.regulateonline.org
<http://www.regulateonline.org/> as it becomes available.
IAMCR annual conference, Cairo, 23-28 July
The International Association for Media and Communication Research
(IAMCR) will organise its annual conference around the theme
Knowledge Societies for All: Media and Communication Strategies and
will be hosted by the American University in Cairo. Professor Robin
Mansell of LIRNE.NET's partner the Department of Media &
Communications at the London School of Economics is the president of
IAMCR.
More >> <http://lirne.net/live/content/view/108/2/>
New Book: From Rural Village to Global Village
WDR and LIRNE.NET associate Heather Hudson has just published a new
book. From Rural Village to Global Village: Telecommunications for
Development in the Information Age examines the role of information
and communication technologies (ICTs) on both the macro
level--societal, socio-economic, and governmental--and sector
level--education, health, agriculture, entrepreneurship--
emphasizing rural and developing regions.
More >> <http://www.regulateonline.org/content/view/625/32/>
A review of the book will appear in the soon to be released Southern
African Journal of Information and Communication
<http://link.wits.ac.za/journal/journal.html>.
SME E-access and E-usage Index Survey preliminary findings
The Research ICT Africa! network (RIA), a WDR partner, is currently
carrying out surveys in 14 African countries on how small and medium
sized businesses (SMEs) use information and communication
technologies (ICTs). Preliminary conclusions indicate that ICTs can
assist informal businesses to become formal and establish a more
sustainable basis for income generation.
More >> <http://www.regulateonline.org/content/view/635/31/>
Internet Presence of Telecom Researchers
In a paper accepted for publication in Information Technology for
International Development Sujata Gamage and Rohan Samarajiva argue
that researchers need to pay attention to their 'internet presence'
and 'connectivity' as well. The argument is supported by data on
researchers on telecom reform from Asia as found in the social
science citation index and scholar.google. The focus of this paper
is on 'presence'. 'Connectivity' will be addressed in detail in
another paper.
More >>
<http://www.lirneasia.net/2006/02/internet-presence-of-telecom-researchers/>
*World Dialogue on Regulation* c/o LIRNE.NET
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Communication Technologies, Building 371 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, DENMARK
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