World Dialogue on Regulation

From March 7-9 LIRNE.NET and WDR held an expert meeting in Montevideo, Uruguay to discuss recently completed research with sector representatives, to share findings and methodologies across regions, and to prepare the next WDR/LIRNE research and dialogue cycle. The meeting brought together some fifty experts, including researchers from the LIRNE centres in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas, other researchers, and representatives from the regulatory community, the private sector and civil society from sixteen countries and all continents (participant list). Photos for this event are available here. 

Following welcomes to the event, the president of the Uruguayan regulatory authority, URSEC, Mr. Leon Lev, was present to offer a warm and personal introduction for the keynote speaker. Edwin San Roman, former president of Osiptel (Peru) and fomer president of the Latin America regulators' association, Regulatel. San Roman opened the meeting with a presentation on initiatives to extend telecom services to remote areas of Peru. This presentation set the tone for the day, as did the enthusiastic question period that followed.

Three sessions presented different perspectives on the ICT, telecom and regulatory terrain that has been undertaked by the different network nodes. The first session focussed on work undertaken to better document and understand the demand side of telecom adoption and use. The second session focussed on telecom sector assessments and the final session looked to future developments of mobile and opportunities for further network development. The presentation slides are now available for download below.

Also contributing to the day was Ceferino Namuncurá, the current Regulatel president, who spoke on the importance of research in support of public policy and regulatory processes, and the opportunity that events such as this one afforded in terms of informing different stakeholders. Marcio Wohlers from the UN Economic Commision for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) closed the day of research presentations with a look forwards towards developing wireless municipalities, via the ECLAC project, Ciudades Illumindades. 

During the second and third days of the meeting a smaller group discussed the global network's next research cycle and the impact of research on policy and prepared for LIRNE'NET's participation at Global Knowledge 3.

LIRNE.NET researchers present were from the LINK Centre / Research ICT Africa!, LIRNEasia, the Regional Dialogue on the Information Society (DIRSI from Latin America and the Caribbean), Comunica, the Economics of Infrastructure Section at Delft University of Technology, the Center for ICT at the Danish Technical University, the Media and Communication Department at the London School of Economics. 

Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC) both funded and supported this event and brought in its own experts to participate, including Ben Petrazzini (for the Latin America and Caribbean region), Steve Song (African region), George Sciadas (providing indicator and statistical expertise), and Randy Spence (senior economist and specialist in ICTs for poverty reduction). 

Click on the links below to download the presentations of the meeting Wireless Opportunities and Solutions held on 7 March.

Agenda for Wednesday, 7 March

Opening and Welcome – Ben Petrazzini (IDRC, Uruguay)
Introduction to LIRNE.NET and the World Dialogue on Regulation for Network Economies (WDR) – Amy Mahan (LIRNE.NET, Uruguay), Bruce Girard (Comunica, Uruguay),

Keynote address: Proactive regulatory environments: New business models and applications & services - Edwin San Roman (SIDEC), former President of OSIPTEL; with introduction by León Lev (President, URSEC)

DIRSI – Digital Poverty and Mobile Opportunities – Judith Mariscal (CIDE, Mexico)

LIRNEasia – Telecom Use on a Shoestring – Harsha de Silva (LIRNEasia, Sri Lanka)

Research ICT Africa! – African e-Index – Household and individual user survey – Alison Gillwald (LINK Centre)

Research ICT Africa! – African e-Index – SME Use – Godfred Frempong (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research – CSIR, Ghana)

London School of Economics – Affordability issues – Claire Milne (Antelope Consulting)

Reflections on research and regulatory processes – Ceferino Namuncurá (President, Regulatel)

LIRNEasia – Telecom Regulatory Environment (TRE) Methodology  – Harsha de Silva

LINK Centre – Telecom Sector Performance Review – Steve Esselaar

DIRSI –  Accessibility of Mobile Telephony Services in Latin America  – Roxana Barrantes (Instituto de Estudios Peruanos), Hernan Galperin

Propoor wireless solutions – Victor Hayes (Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands)

Mobile telephony and transportation - Sebastian Ureta (Universidad Católica de Chile)

Technology and community owned networks – Sean O Siochru (UNDP / Nexus Research)

European wireless developments – Anders Henten (Technical University of Denmark)

Wireless cities: Tip of the policy iceberg or just a wireless solution? Marcio Wohlers (ECLAC / CEPAL)

Closing