From Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO)

Now held as roundtables, the Regulating ICTs series organised by the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) registered participants from Bangladesh, Cameroon, Cayman Islands, Ghana, Mauritius, Montserrat, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.

LONDON, 08 JULY 2016 – Board members of ICT regulatory and other specialised agencies from ten countries took part in the CTO’s second Regulating ICTs roundtable for 2016. The event  took place on 4 – 8 July 2016 in London.

Regulating ICTs is a high-level roundtable series aimed at board members and senior officials in ICT policymaking, regulation and operations. Participants came from Bangladesh, Cameroon, Cayman Islands, Ghana, Mauritius, Montserrat, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.

“This roundtable series is a key pillar of our four-year strategy to assist member countries in their efforts to improve their regulatory environments for ICTs.” said Shola Taylor, Secretary-General of the CTO as he welcomed the participants.

The first series roundtable for 2016 took place in April, with participants from Bangladesh, Botswana, Mauritius, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Trinidad & Tobago and the United Kingdom.

Content delivered was focused on addressing current issues participants and their organisations face, and experience sharing among participants contribute to solutions.

For Mawethu Cawe, Acting Chairperson of the Board of Directors at the Universal Services & Access Agency of South Africa, “this event is very helpful in understanding decisions in other countries and learning from them.”

“Visiting and talking directly with executives in organisations such as Ofcom and BT was one of the best parts of the programme for me,” said Beverly Mendes, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Communications, Works & Labour of Montserrat.

Sessions were delivered by experts from the ICT sector describing the key challenges faced by the sector and featuring proven solutions that can be easily implemented. The roundtable series also includes a number of industry visits to London-based organisations.

Specific topics to be discussed this week include:

• Overview of ICT policy, regulation and operation
• Domain name system
• Transition of the IANA stewardship
• The economics of regulation and options for action
• Numbering as a public good and a key revenue generator
• Cloud and media
• Big Data, Internet of Things and spectrum management
• Influencing global decisions on ICTs: the role of international organisations
• Internet governance
• Understanding spectrum and the digital dividend
• Universal service/access funds: models around the world
• Consumer issues and management
• National broadband strategies
• Social media and regulation
• TV white space and access in Africa
• Factors for investment decisions

For more information please contact Marcel Belingue, [email protected] or +44 20 8600 3816.

About the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation

The Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) is the oldest and largest Commonwealth intergovernmental organisation in the field of information and communication technologies. Although our history can be traced back to 1901 with the establishment of the Pacific Cable Board, the organisation has only existed in its present form as an intergovernmental treaty organisation since 1967. With a diverse membership spanning developed and least developed countries, small island developing states, and more recently also the private sector and civil society, the CTO aims to become a trusted partner for sustainable development for all through ICTs. More information about us here.

IMAGE: Participants at the roundtable, 4 – 8 July 2016

SOURCE: http://www.cto.int/news/second-2016-cto-regulation-roundtable-takes-place-in-london/