World Dialogue on Regulation

If your Internet service provider is AT&T, you might want to think twice about forwarding or reposting this item on your website. The AT&T standard contract now contains a clause stating that customer service can be terminated, among other reasons, for besmirching the good reputation of the company and its family. Somewhat vague for a contract, the AT&T wording refers to any action that "tends to damage the name or reputation of AT&T, or its parents, affiliates and subsidiaries".

An article in Pakistan's Daily Times reports that the country's telecom operators are in favour of the government's move to replace the Monopoly Control Authority with an independent competition commission, but are concerned that "secrecy around the process is making the whole exercise counter-productive".

At the 10th meeting of the Latin American and Caribbean Internet Addresses Registry (LACNIC), 21 to 25 May in Isla Margarita, Venezuela, a presentation on the Caribbean region was given by Bernadette Lewis, secretary general of the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU). This article includes Ms. Bernadette's presentation and a written report prepared by her for WDR.

A new book edited by Ester Kaufmann offers a concise overview of the role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in public policies in Latin America, by gathering together essays addressing the themes of ICTs and electronic government. The message that emerges is that the region has failed to develop its own strategies to incorporate ICTs into its public policies.

A recent study by Colombia's telecom regulator looks at regulatory options for extending broadband internet penetration in the country as a step towards the revision of the technical and economic rules related with the growth of broadband access.

Research ICT Africa (RIA!) has published their 2006 South Africa Telecommunications Sector Performance Review. The tone of this fourth edition is worrying. The authors urge for measures that prevent South Africa from further lagging behind its natural competitors in terms of access to services, cost of usage and competitiveness.

Four professors from the London School of Economics, a WDR/LIRNE.NET partner, collaborated in the recently released book The Oxford Handbook of Information and Communication Technologies. The handbook is about the many challenges presented by ICTs. It sets out an intellectual agenda that examines the implications of ICTs for individuals, organizations, democracy, and the economy.