LIRNEasia’s new book, ICT Infrastructure in Emerging Asia: Policy and Regulatory Roadblocks, was unveiled on the 16th of December at the IIT-Madras Campus. The first copies of the book were handed over to Chief Guests of the event, Professor Ashok Jhunjhunwala and Professor William Melody.

Edited by Professor Rohan Samarajiva and Ayesha Zainudeen and co-published by Sage Publications and the IDRC, this well-structured volume brings together scholars, practitioners, former regulators and policy makers to address the problem of expanding ICT connectivity in emerging Asia. It centrally engages the widespread claim that technology by itself—independent of policy and regulatory reform—can improve access to ICTs. In doing so, it shows that complex workarounds are possible, but they are significantly less effective than the appropriate policy and regulatory reforms.

More information on the book is available here. Media coverage can be seen here.

Outbound PSTN and mobile calls will first terminate in the ICX. Then the calls will be processed in the IGW followed by getting routed to overseas via BTTB’s submarine cable station. Similar path will be followed for the inbound overseas calls.

Foreign investments and joint ventures are strictly prohibited. Even the non-resident Bangladeshis are not eligible to invest.

Incumbent private operators (PSTN, mobile and ISP) are not allowed to apply for the IGW and ICX licenses. But the state-owned BTTB gets both the licenses. The newly enacted international lonng distance telecoms policy mandates these conditions.

Prof. William Melody, Arno Wirzenius and Anatul Fateh have detected numerous inconsistencies in this initiative. Their comments were published Sunday.

The 2007 course is designed to enhance the strategic thinking of a select group of senior decision makers in the telecom and related sectors in the Asia Pacific and elsewhere. The focus will be on the most current strategic issues.

The faculty includes:
Prof. William Melody (course convener; designed and led the previous Telecom Reform courses); Prof. Rohan Samarajiva (course convener;designed and led the previous Telecom Reform courses); Dr. Tim Kelly, Head of the Strategy and Policy Unit of the International Telecommunication Union; Mr. Rajendra Singh, of the World Bank, also Former Secretary, TRAI; and Dr. Harsha de Silva, Lead Economist at LIRNEasia.

Mr. Yusuf Annuar Yaacob (Chief Executive Officer of TM International Sdn Bhd. [Telekom Malaysia], a leading investor in the South and South East Asian region) will deliver the keynote at the opening session.

M.H Au (Director General of Telecom, Hong Kong China) will deliver the keynote speech at the course banquet on 1 March.

A day and a half will be set apart for discussing cutting-edge research on sector and regulatory performance commissioned as part of the 2006-07 World Dialogue on Regulation at the Expert Forum on March 2nd and 3rd.

This will be the 11th LIRNE.NET executive training course on telecom regulation, and the second to be offered in the Asia Pacific by LIRNEasia and CONNECTasia Forum Pte. Ltd. Previous LIRNE.NET courses have been offered in Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. This course builds on the successful course held in Singapore in September 2005, with attendees from 18 countries.

Registration ends: January 10th, 2007 (early bird) or February 9th, 2007 (regular; extended due to some seats coming open at the last minute)

More information…

The final report from the second World Dialogue on Regulation for Network Economies research cycle has been released in both print and online formats. Edited by Amy Mahan and William Melody, the 383 page book contains the body of research and country case studies undertaken to investigate issues and perspectives on the theme Stimulating Investment in Network Development: Roles for Regulators.

Download or purchase the book on the WDR site.

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]

Think of any of the new technologies and in most countries it’s illegal. The laws are written to preserve things that are inherited, inherited regulation. The barriers to advancement are inherited regulation.

Dr. Melody stressed the importance of demand and its neglect at the hand of supply-side interests. Now, who has interest in developing information infrastructure?

New network operators, first. Also, Multisector infrastructure, like electricity, water, etc. Frequently these sectors lay down bandwidth for their own use, but are kept from sharing this largely be regulatory barriers. The tradition interest comes from regional and local governments, and there is room for co-ops, public/private partnerships, and ISPs.

As for the last item, the biggest ISP is often owned by the big monopoly. We don’t have a market that encourages people to provide innovative services. We have a market that’s dominated by inherited interests.

Today is the official start of the LIRNEasia Expert Forum on Regulation and Investment. Rohan Samarajiva is enamoured of ‘real-time updating’, hence you will be getting a plethora of information.

Dr. William Melody delivered the commencement address, beginning with a simple question: “What are the characteristics of 21st Century Network Economies and Information Societies?” He also answered the question ‘What does LIRNE do?’ saying that “it serves mainly to develop human capital and contribute expert opinion to the world dialogue on regulation. LIRNE is established in Denmark, the Netherlands, South Africa, UK, and now Sri Lanka.

The World Dialogue on Regulation mission is to facilitate an international dialogue to generate and disseminate new knowledge. While our primary target is primarily involved to people who are involved in regulation, it is not our only audience. Perhaps the greatest party that has to understand the process is the incumbent telecom monopoly who can come to understand that by letting others participate they can benefit.” (FULL PRESENTATION)

Dr. Rohan Samarajiva followed, saying that Sri Lanka has over 300,000 people on waiting lists for phones, which is not good. To illustrate the demand for investment, I will read for you the needs assessment submitted to the Tokyo Conference.

“If we make the modest assumption that the North and East must have the same teledensity as the country as a whole, we would require a total of 786,000 connection in this region in the coming five years. You can see that we’re not doing that well, except for India. That is the problem we’re facing. It is to address this problem that this expert forum is designed. (FULL PRESENTATION)

Nobel Laureate Michael Spence spoke to the growth that effective ICT implementation can engender, and to the enormous benefits this can bring – especially to the poor.

Dr. Suman Bery, an emminent Indian economist delivered the keynote address, speaking on the infrastructure problem in general:

“In many ways the infrastructure sectors got into trouble because of a combination of populism and patronage. Regulators have not been given the tools to cut through this knot, and things are not very different from the decade before. What is the way out? I would have to say that I find it difficult analytically to point to any sharp set of scissors. I think it’s going to be a slow and patient process. Unless we get it right the investment flows will not be forthcoming, and getting it right will be a great feat of political economy.”

To this end, Dr. Bery recommended that resource-strapped regulators receive as much support as possible from a broad range of researchers and experts, like the expert forum assembled today in the Mount Lavinia Hotel.

Todays events including checking into the hotel and passing out for many guests, and a visit to Temple Trees for a visit with Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse for Dr. Suman Bery, Professor William Melody, Ms. Alison Gillwald, Mr Stephan Roberge, Mr. Bhoop Raj Pandey and Professor Rohan Samarajiva.