Financing universal access to digital technologies and services

11.10.2021

The pandemic has opened the door to the use of digital technology in ways never before imagined and given real meaning to the prefixes “e-”, “remote,” “virtual,” “online” and “distance.” During this time, digital technology has been crucial – for those with access. While on the one hand, the crisis has led to the fast-tracking of digital adoption in countries that already had some level of digitalization; on the other, it has exposed digital inequalities, which are particularly large in less developed economies. Never has the impact of the digital divide been so glaring. A sense of urgency was already…

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GSR BPG on regulatory uplift for financing digital

28.09.2021

GSR-21 Best practice guidelines on Regulatory uplift for financing digital infrastructure, access and use Digital technologies are now powering our economies and the way we live – our very future. Digitalization is fast revolutionizing productivity, employment, skills, services and markets. It changes the means of production, methods of delivery, lifestyles, patterns of consumption and the fabric of social intercourse. ICTs are now the foundation for every economic sector, for business performance and for national growth. This change is profound. Collaborative digital regulation addresses the complexity and the opportunity of this change through flexible and enabling policy frameworks. The COVID-19 pandemic…

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Enhancing the protection and cyber-resilience of critical information infrastructure

17.06.2021

Introduction In today’s highly connected, interdependent world, several critical infrastructure (CI) sectors, such as health care, telecommunications, finance, energy, among others, increasingly rely on information technology (IT) and operational technology[1] (OT) systems. Not only are these critical information infrastructures (CII) in their own right, for example, cloud-based technology services, but they also underpin many other critical services, for example, water supply, power grids, and fuel pipeline supply. The malfunctioning or disruption of these critical services could cause significant social and economic harm and even loss of life. For this reason, key stakeholders from the CI/CII ecosystem should adopt a strong…

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The ITU Guidelines on Child Online Protection

21.05.2021

1 Introduction The Internet has transformed how we live. It is entirely integrated into the lives of children and young people, making it impossible to consider the digital and physical worlds separately. With 69 per cent of young people online in 2019, and one in three children being connected, the Internet has become an integral part of children’s lives, presenting many possibilities for children and young people to communicate, learn, socialise and play, exposing children to new ideas and more diverse sources of information, opening opportunities for political and civic participation for children to be creative, and contribute to a…

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Case Study: Regulatory Sandbox Framework in Colombia

24.02.2021

Source: CRC 2020 In May 2020, Colombia’s Regulation Communications Commission (CRC) adopted Resolution No. 5980 of 2020, which introduced a regulatory sandbox for communications services that created a more relaxed regulatory framework. The regulatory sandbox is intended to enable telecommunications network and service providers, as well as content and application providers, to test new business models while under the CRC’s supervision. (CRC 2020). Purpose The CRC aims to foster innovation and increase the pace of adapting Colombia’s regulatory framework to technological advances. In the resolution, the CRC identified the regulatory sandbox as an alternative regulatory mechanism that allows testing of…

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Regulatory responses to evolving technologies

28.12.2020

Introduction The digitization of societies and economies is continuously generating record amounts of data. Digitization is driven by increased and faster connectivity of people and things. Fibre to the home (FTTx) and fast mobile networks provide the opportunity to engage in digital activities, and social media and user-generated content provide the motivation for it. At the same time, more objects become “smart”, i.e. connected to the Internet to receive and send data. As a result of the explosion of data, new technologies have evolved that help to sift through data and derive value from combining and analysing large data sets.…

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Consumer affairs

16.12.2020

Introduction to digital consumer rights Why care about consumers? Digital transformation of the economy has many facets, including digitization of products themselves, of production processes, of the means of advertising and distributing products, of transacting to acquire them, and of course of communications. Consumers have important interests in each facet, but perhaps especially in communications and the content and other facilities accessed via communications networks and tools. This chapter covers regulatory issues related to consumer interests in connectivity, and outlines consumer issues related to digital content, transactions, advertising, and distribution. Empowering and protecting consumers has become a more important part…

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Data protection and trust

16.12.2020

Introduction Data are sometimes described as the “oil of the digital economy”[1] while their use in the digital economy is sometimes referred to as “surveillance capitalism.”[2] While the former has relatively benign connotations, the latter directly provokes concerns about the use of personal data.[3] This chapter focuses on regulatory aspects of data with an emphasis on personal data. The digital transformation process has necessarily focused attention on the adequacy of, and need for, legal and regulatory frameworks that govern information products, services, and platforms. Intellectual property laws, especially copyright, have had to be revised to reflect the increasing value of…

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Competition and economics

15.12.2020

Introduction: Regulatory transformation in the digital economy Over the past 10 years there has been significant market and regulatory disruption caused by digital transformation. This disruption, which is set to continue, extends to almost all corners of the economy, and is primarily the result of a transition to data-centric business models based on digital platforms (ITU 2020a). Digital platforms are embedding market power and, in a race for scale and scope, leading to transnational markets. This means that regulation is increasingly beyond the scope of individual national regulatory authorities (NRAs).[1] Elsewhere, NRAs have to work in regional collaboration if they…

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Regulatory governance and independence

15.12.2020

Introduction The regulatory framework, as well as the regulatory governance and independence of the institution, are key elements for effective regulation. Today, regulators and policy-makers face multiple challenges: they must address the traditional aspects of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and assess their appropriate roles in addressing the regulatory and policy issues arising from new digital technologies and services. In addition to more traditional issues, such as connectivity and infrastructure development, the digital environment prompts consideration of a broader range of sectors beyond ICTs, such as health, finance, education, transportation, and energy. The issues to be addressed include content regulation,…

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