LIRNEasia » Harsha Vardhana Singh

Asian Backbone Study: A General Model Applied to India

Ayesha Zainudeen — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 15:35:49 +0000

By Harsha Vardhana Singh (with assistance from Rohan Samarajiva and Ayesha Zainudeen), Version 1.7

The paper seeks to understand why adequate network backbone may not be available, or adequate access to it may not be provided. Based on this assessment, we identify policy actions that can be taken to create the conditions for adequate supply of, and reasonable access to, backbone in a country. A theoretical model is developed which is then applied to the case of India, to show the situations in which invesment in backbone is commercially viable for operators.

Read Executive Summary on Project Page

Download full report: Version 1.7: Asian Backbone Study: A General Model Applied to India

The Authors welcome comments and discussion.

LIRNEasia at WSIS, Tunis, Nov 17

Divakar Goswami — Tue, 06 Dec 2005 08:50:06 +0000

Pro-Poor, Pro-Market ICT Policy and Regulation
World Summit on the information Society, Matmata Room, Kram Centre Tunis, November 17, 2005, 9:00 – 16:45
LIRNE.NET and the World Dialogue on Regulation (WDR), LIRNEasia, Research ICT Africa (RIA), Diálogo regional sobre la sociedad de la información (DIRSI)
Sponsored by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and
The Information for Development Program of the World Bank (infoDev)
9:00-9:15 Welcome Randy Spence
9:15 – 10.15 ICT Demand, access and usage by the poor
Chair: Heloise Emdon, IDRC
Telecom Strategies on a Shoestring (Household Income Below USD 100/Month)(PDF download) (LIRNEasia) Ayesha Zainudeen, LIRNEasia team Digital Poverty in LAC (DIRSI) Roxana Barrantes Measuring ICT Access and Usage in Africa (RIA) Alison Gillwald, Christoph Stork 10:30-12:00 Core Networks and Policy Issues Chair: Olivier Nana Nzepa, RIA Having a Backbone; Making Best Use of What You’ve Got (LIRNEasia) Harsha Vardhana Singh, Rohan Samarajiva SADC Universities Connectivity Initiative (RIA) Lishan Adam Telecoms Funds & Regulatory Challenges (DIRSI) Hernan Galperin Universal Service Funds, Access Deficit Charges & Least-cost Subsidy Auctions (PDF download) (LIRNEasia) Harsha de Silva, Payal Malik African Regionalism, National Policy Formation and International Governance (RIA) Lishan Adam, Andrew Barendse 12:00 - 13:15 Extending Access Networks Chair: Ben Petrazzini , DIRSI Is the Grameen Mix of Telecom And Micro Finance Replicable? (PDF download) (LIRNEasia) Malathy Knight John, Abu Saeed Khan, Ayesha Zainudeen WiFi for Extending Connectivity (PDF download) (LIRNEasia) Divakar Goswami, Onno Purbo Diversifying Provision in LAC (DIRSI) Hernan Galperin Sustainable Access Solutions for Pro-Poor Intervention (DIRSI) Kim Mallalieu 14:30 - 15:45 Policy Processes Chair: Harsha da Silva, LIRNEasia Participatory Mechanisms in Telecom Policy Proceedings (DIRSI) Roxana Barantes An Alternative Model Of Policy Participation: ICTs And Early Warning For Disaster Mitigation (LIRNEasia) Rohan Samarajiva Benchmarking Latin American and Caribbean Regulatory Authority Websites (DIRSI) Amy Mahan Benchmarking Asia Pacific Regulatory Authority Websites (LIRNEasia) Chanuka Wattegama 15:45 - 16:45 Policy, Regulatory and Research Priorities Chair: Kerry McNamara, infoDev Panel: In Five Minutes or Less Mostafa Terrab, infoDev Bill Melody, LIRNE.NET and WDR Alison Gillwald, RIA Rohan Samarajiva, LIRNEasia Hernan Galperin, DIRSI Onno Purbo, Indonesia Randy Spence, IDRC

LIRNEasia researcher to senior position at WTO

Rohan Samarajiva — Tue, 02 Aug 2005 05:02:56 +0000

LIRNEasia congratulates Dr Harsha Vardhana Singh, Senior Economist, on his appointment as Deputy Director General of the World Trade Organization. We look forward to continued association with Dr Singh. He will complete the Asian backbone study that he is in the midst of researching before he takes up his new appointment. Understandably, he will not be able to be part of the team delivering the telecom reform course that LIRNEasia is offering in Singapore Septemeber 25-30, 2005. However, we expect we will be able to draw on his broad expertise in the future in research and educational projects. Dr Singh is an outstanding intellectual, committed not only to ideas but to their application in ways that benefit people. We wish him well in this prestigious appointment and are confident he will continue to serve the people of Asia with his expertise.

LIRNE Course on Telecom Reform

Divakar Goswami — Mon, 30 May 2005 19:37:41 +0000

On behalf of LIRNEasia, LIRNE.NET and the School of Communication and Information at the Nanyang Technological University, it is our pleasure to extend to you a special invitation to participate in the 7th LIRNE.NET course on Telecom Reform in Singapore, September 25-30, 2005. The course, Catalyzing change: Strategies to achieve connectivity and convergence, is designed to enhance the strategic thinking of a select group of senior decision makers in the telecom and related sectors in Asia and elsewhere. Previous Telecom Reform courses have been offered in Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. This is the first time one is being offered in Asia.

The focus will be more on the most current strategic issues than on nuts and bolts knowledge. A day will be set apart for discussion of cutting-edge research on diverse approaches to network extension commissioned as part of the 2005-06 World Dialogue on Regulation. An opportunity will also be provided to visit the InfoComm Development Authority of Singapore, a leading regulatory agency that has been recognized for its efficacy internationally.

Attendance at Telecom Reform courses is capped at 40. Attendees will include regulators and senior officials of regulatory agencies; senior regulatory staff at operators; and leaders of consumer and other organizations participating in reform processes. In addition to Professors William Melody and Rohan Samarajiva who designed and led the previous Telecom Reform courses, Professor Jens Arnbak ( Chair of OPTA, the telecom and posts regulatory body in the Netherlands and Delft University of Technology), Dr Harsha Vardhana Singh, Secretary of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (on leave), Dr Ewan Sutherland (Executive Director of INTUG, the international telecom user?s organization), and Ms Malathy Knight John (Head of the Public Enterprise Reform, Competition and Regulatory Policy Unit of the Institute of Policy Studies in Sri Lanka) are expected to lecture.

The following documents provide more information on the course:

Draft agenda [WORD] [PDF]
Logistical information and course fees [WORD] [PDF]
Course registration & hotel reservation [WORD] [PDF]
Invitation letter [WORD] [PDF]