Report on the 12th Executive Course on Telecom Reform, 10 – 14 June 2008, conducted by LIRNEasia and CONNECTasia Forum (Pte.) Ltd.

Rohan Samarajiva, Course Director

The 12th Executive Course on “Telecom Reform: Strategies to achieve connectivity and convergence,” co-organized by LIRNEasia and Connectasia, and funded by the IDRC, was successfully completed by 21 persons from 13 countries, ranging from Brazil to Fiji and from Kenya to Kyrgyzstan. It was held from June 10th – 14th, 2008 at the Changi Village Hotel, Singapore.

Participants consisted of 12 persons from research organizations, four from Public-interest organizations, three from the management of telecom operators and two from regulatory agencies. In particular, 57 per cent of the participants were women.

The course consisted of two components: a conventional lecture and assignment-based model of four-and-a-half days and a one day Expert forum on ICT sector Indicators and Benchmark Regulation, held on the 15th of June, where current research was presented and feedback obtained from participants. In all, participants had the benefit of listening to 13 speakers representing research organizations, regulatory authorities, operators and ICT industry personnel, over a six-day period.

The keynote address at the opening session was delivered by Dr. Lai Kok Fung, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of BuzzCity, Singapore, a leading provider of mobile phone entertainment, communication and information services in Asia. The address at the awards banquet was made by Mr. Sherille Ismail (J.D.), Senior Counsel in the Federal Communications Commission’s Office of Strategic Planning (serving in his personal capacity and not as a representative of the FCC). The dinner speech at the Expert Forum was made by Prof. Rohan Samarajiva, Executive Director of LIRNEasia, and former Director-general of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka.

Topics on regulation taught at the course included licensing, spectrum regulation, pricing and interconnection, universal service, mobile and fixed convergence, regulators’ role in disaster risk reduction, and the use of benchmarks in regulation. The course included a team assignment on the implementation of ‘Banded Forbearance’ to the South Asian micro-state island economy of ‘Barbossa’. Participants were divided into five teams, each representing a particular stakeholder group, ranging from service providers to regulatory agencies to Public-interest groups. The assignment gave participants the opportunity to engage in a pretense ‘real-life’ scenario, where different skills were honed and tested including analytics, problem-solving and communication skills. Teams were evaluated on the basis of the strength of their arguments and their ability to effectively role-play the given stakeholder group they were selected to represent.

In addition to the course participants, a total of 14 representatives from seven National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) within the SAARC region attended the Expert forum. Research presented included findings from a study on the broadband quality of service conducted in India, Sri Lanka and Singapore, an assessment of NRA websites, and a study on broadband and mobile price benchmarks conducted by LIRNEasia on a bi-annual basis. 

The course evaluations were very positive, with overall course content and speakers scoring averages of over 4 on a five-point scale. Furthermore, airport transfers and hotel facilities scored well, each scoring an average of 4.00 and 3.92 respectively. The hotel’s location scored an average of 3.08, which is satisfactory, given the distance from the hotel to the city centre, although in actual fact, the hotel is ideal for a course of this nature.

See Evaluation Report

Presentations made are available for download below; photos taken of the event can be viewed HERE.

11 June 2008

1. Reform model: Time to rethink? | Rohan Samarajiva | Download Presentation
2. Competition as the necessary condition for good performance |Harsha de Silva  | Download Presentation
3. What do regulators and operators need to know about demand? | Harsha de Silva | Download Presentation
4. Lessons from an international gateway liberalization | Rohan Samarajiva | Download Presentation
5. Sector and regulatory indicators: Why should regulators and operators care? |Rohan Samarajiva | Download Presentation

12 June 2008

1. The use of benchmarks in regulation: What operators and regulators need to think about | Helani Galpaya | Download Presentation
2. Licencing and authorizations, drawing on ICT regulation toolkit | M. Aslam Hayat | Download Presentation
3. Competition regulation – General or sector-specific? | M. Aslam Hayat | Download Presentation
4. General or sector-specific regulation: Additional problems in developing countries | Rohan Samarajiva | Download Presentation
5. Spectrum reform | Sherille Ismail | Download Presentation
6. Spectrum regulation: Developing country addendum | Rohan Samarajiva | Download Presentation
7. USO & USF | M. Aslam Hayat & Harsha de Silva | Download Presentation
8. Universal Service. Should the funds be folded? What are the options?: A researcher practitioner dialog | Harsha de Silva | Download Presentation

13 June 2008

1. Licence to…converge | M. Aslam Hayat | Download Presentation
2. Alternative dispute resolution & alternative regulatory practices | Rohan Samarajiva | Download Presentation
3. M-Payments in Asia-Pacific | John Ure | Download Presentation
4. NGN: Pricing, Billing and Interconnection | John Ure (on behalf of Tim Kelly, ITU) | Download Presentation
5. Regulator’s role in disaster risk reduction | Rohan Samarajiva | Download Presentation

14 June 2008

1. Conditions for broadband investment:Provocative thoughts | Rohan Samarajiva | Download Presentation
2. Broadband –Regulatory challenges in addressing QoS issues | Chanuka Wattegama | Download Presentation
3. Effective regulation in an imperfect world: The role of legitimacy | Rohan Samarajiva | Download Presentation