Mitigation phase: infrastructure duplication, resource sharing, and regulatory forbearance

30.09.2020

Infrastructure duplication Making networks resilient calls for the elimination of single points of failure, especially for backbone cables and critical equipment such as authentication servers (ITU 2014). Costs can be reduced by ensuring that competing operators have their own separately routed and equipped networks but agree that after a disaster they will make their networks available to each other. Such arrangements need care, both because they could weaken competition and because routes that are disjointed in one layer of a network could well be sharing a lower layer. However, having separately routed networks is not enough: there should actually be…

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Preparedness phase: hazard monitoring

29.09.2020

Monitoring environmental conditions using specialized equipment has long been a necessary part of preparedness. Equipment has been falling in cost and rising in capability. There are now many cheap and portable sensors and actuators available in Internet of Things (IoT) devices that can be powered using solar panels or long-life batteries and that can communicate over long-range wireless networks. They are well suited to risky and remote locations. Even if they do not individually provide information of the same quality and quantity as more expensive equipment, they can compensate by being installed in bulk and communicating their information to systems…

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Recovery phase: infrastructure reconstruction

29.09.2020

Infrastructure reconstruction Reconstruction of the telecommunications infrastructure should follow soon after the disaster, and should consider rebuilding more resilient telecommunication/ICT network infrastructure and include potential redundant network deployments wherever possible to prepare for future disasters. Government and the private sector should also take advantage of the opportunity to rebuild relevant telecommunication/ICT infrastructure, and where possible, to deploy technologies that are more resilient, efficient, and less expensive (ITU 2020). For post-disaster needs assessments, there is a guide oriented to costing replacements for damaged telecommunications equipment and infrastructure (PDNA 2014). Also, reconstruction might present many opportunities for improvement. For instance: Weaknesses exposed…

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Recovery phase: communication evolution

29.09.2020

Public Protection and Disaster Relief Telecommunication/ICT used in responses to disasters depends heavily on wireless technologies. It is therefore related closely to Public Protection and Disaster Relief (PPDR), which has been defined to combine both, Public Protection (PP) radiocommunication used when dealing with maintenance of law and order, protection of life and property, and emergency situations; and Disaster Relief (DR) radiocommunication used when dealing with a serious disruption in the functioning of society, posing a significant, widespread threat to human life, health, property, or the environment (ITU 2017). In the past, PPDR has been implemented using special-purpose networks and terminals,…

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Chile’s Telecommunications Development Fund: monitoring and evaluation

24.09.2020

Payment milestones linked to project progress UA policy and project monitoring is a key policy element that can and should be fundamental to any program that disburses public funds for the development of telecommunications services. In Chile, the Telecommunications Development Fund (FDT) is governed by a regulation that explicitly requires government certification of project completion before subsidy funds can be released. The FDT regulation notes that, in order for a UASF subsidy to be paid, the concessionaire, permit holder or licensee must present the certificate granted by the Undersecretariat of Telecommunications (SUBTEL) certifying that the work has been correctly executed…

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Indonesia’s Universal Service Obligation Fund

24.09.2020

Introduction One of the main challenges to developing ICT Infrastructure in Indonesia is its geography. This includes the number of islands, size of the territory to cover, the numerous remote and difficult to reach areas, and the number of low-income and uneducated inhabitants (GSMA 2013: 151). Owing to the limited funding capability of both the government and the private sector, infrastructure development cannot fully meet the demand in Indonesia. Thus, isolated and impoverished parts of the country are the most harmed (GSMA 2013: 151). Structure According to Telecommunications Law No. 36 of 1999, “every telecommunications network operator and/or telecommunications service…

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Norway: experiences in regulatory collaboration

23.09.2020

Regulatory collaboration among sectoral regulators Source: Bergen, Norway. Photo by Mikita Krasiou on Unsplash According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Benchmark of Fifth Generation Collaborative Regulation (G5 Benchmark), Norway is the world’s leading G5 regulator (ITU 2020). The ITU also ranks Norway as one of the top countries in terms of harnessing the value of collaboration in digital markets regulation. This position is shared with Botswana, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. Accordingly, Norway’s mature ICT regulatory framework and its ability to consistently develop synergies between digital services and cross-sectoral collaboration have led the ITU to identify Norway as a…

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Singapore: Regulatory collaboration in support of the Smart Nation program

23.09.2020

Regulatory collaboration among sectoral regulators Singapore is one of the world’s fifth-generation (G5) regulatory champions with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) identifying the country as a digital leader with a mature ICT framework. Singapore has been able to transform the country’s industry and government institutions, harnessing technology and attaining the benefits of digitalization and cross-sector, collaborative regulation. Particularly, regarding collaboration, Singapore leads the ITU G5 benchmark, together with countries such as Botswana, Norway, and the United Kingdom (ITU 2020). Heading towards digital transformation As early as 1980, Singapore started its transformation towards digitalization with the recognition of ICTs as a…

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Emerging approaches of the digital regulator

21.09.2020

Australia’s Digital Platforms Inquiry As digitalization progresses, governments around the world are increasingly reviewing how digital services fit into their existing frameworks and whether new ones are necessary. From social media platforms to offering linear broadcasting content online, many governments are seeking to reimagine the sector. Thus, an increasing number of governments are asking which regulatory mechanisms should be used to affect digital services, whether new regulations should be created, and under which regulatory body do these services fall? Efforts to answer these questions are already underway in Australia, the United Kingdom, and Ireland. This section examines how Australia is…

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Regulatory independence: how to achieve it and how to maintain it

03.09.2020

When 69 Member Nations of the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreed to open their markets to companies from other WTO Members in 1997 they also adopted a document that was unique in the annals of international trade negotiations – the Reference Paper on Regulatory Principles. The Reference Paper was negotiated based on an understanding of the nature of telecommunications markets – in particular that, even when opened to competition, it is essential that the market be regulated in order to allow new entrants to compete with entrenched incumbent operators (referred to in the Reference Paper as “major suppliers.”) One of…

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