Robert Shaw: Regulatory

Mobile Number Portability: lessons from Hong Kong, China

Wed, 16 Apr 2003 12:21:01 GMT

There's a piece Court Hears Fight Over Numbers Used for Cellphones in today's New York Times about the battle to introduce mobile number portability in the United States. There are perhaps some lessons to draw from Asia, particularly Hong Kong, China. In this "mobile-mad" economy, over 90% of the population has a mobile and it probably has the most highly competitive mobile market in the world with 6 providers for slightly less than 7 million people. A few years ago (March 1999), I happened to be in Hong Kong the day the regulator, OFTA, introduced mobile number portability (MNP). You could barely walk around with huge lines to switch mobile providers flowing out of the shops and stalls (today they also hawk broadband from street stalls but that's another story...). A key reason that no mobile provider has yet been able to dominate the market is due to the high subscriber churn facilitated by MNP. Before implementing MNP, OFTA commissioned a feasibility study and a cost benefit analysis. This study concluded "A wide range of consumers will benefit from the MNP in Hong Kong. Mobile subscribers will be able to switch operators and avoid the costs and inconvenience associated with a number change. Competition in the industry will be heightened as a barrier to switching is removed, further benefiting residential and business users.

OECD's Indicators for the Assessment of Telecommunications Competition

Mon, 03 Mar 2003 11:51:48 GMT

The OECD has declassified and made available its Indicators for the assessment of telecommunications competition (PDF).

"Intensified competition in OECD countries’ telecommunications sectors calls for regulations proportionate to the level of competition in the market. If regulators consider there is full-fledged competition in a telecommunications market, they should lift regulatory interventions existing in the relevant market. Therefore, regulators need a yardstick that measures the true level and scope of competition. Regulators have not yet fully developed indicators for the assessment of telecommunications competition and thus have not reached a consensus on this issue. This report explores the concept of effective competition and the definition of a relevant market, and suggests appropriate indicators and parameters for the evaluation of competitiveness in the telecommunications markets."

Towards an International Convention on Cyber Security

Wed, 26 Feb 2003 12:14:25 GMT

The Hoover Institution at Stanford University has an online book available entitled: The Transnational Dimension of Cyber Crime and Terrorism. It includes a particularly interesting chapter entitled Towards an International Convention on Cyber Security (PDF) including draft convention text.

Proposal for a European Network and Information Security Agency

Wed, 26 Feb 2003 10:30:32 GMT

The establishment of national and international cybersecurity "watch and warning networks" is gaining political capital among governments. The recently released US National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace (PDF) identified as one strategic initiative to "[f]oster the establishment of national and international watch-and-warning networks to detect and prevent cyberattacks as they emerge". In a related effort, the European Commission has also called for the establishment of a European Network and Information Security Agency (Word: English, French, German).

New rules in EU aimed at telecom competition

Thu, 13 Feb 2003 14:07:51 GMT

[IHT] The European Commission issued rules Wednesday that will force national regulators from the 15 Union countries to give extra scrutiny to competition involving new communications technologies.

Legal Intercept in IP Networks

Thu, 13 Feb 2003 09:47:05 GMT

[via Nanog]: Very interesting talk on legal intercept in IP networks by Jaya Baloo at the the HiverCon corporate security conference held in Dublin, Ireland on November 26th and 27th, 2002: Lawful Interception of IP Traffic in the European Context.

US FTC to Hold Three Day Public Spam Workshop

Tue, 11 Feb 2003 09:58:21 GMT

The [US] Federal Trade Commission will host a three-day "Spam Forum" Wednesday, April 30 through Friday, May 2, [2003] to address the proliferation of unsolicited commercial e-mail and to explore the technical, legal, and financial issues associated with it.

Klemperer: 3G Spectrum Auctions not Culprit for Telecom Industry Woes

Fri, 07 Feb 2003 11:31:16 GMT

Paul Klemperer, the Edgeworth Professor of Economics, Oxford University, advisor to the UK government on its spectrum auctions, argued in an article in the Financial Times in November 2002 that 3G spectrum auctions should not be considered the culprit for the telecom industry woes (PDF).

Internet Global Early Warning Information System

Fri, 31 Jan 2003 18:27:56 GMT

Further to an October 2002 Computerworld article, today's Washington Post writes that the Bush administration is quietly assembling an Internet-wide monitoring center to detect and respond to attacks on vital information systems and key e-commerce sites, called the Global Early Warning Information System (GEWIS).

Designing Next Generation Telecom Regulation

Fri, 31 Jan 2003 14:11:35 GMT

The World Dialogue on Regulation for Network Economies (WDR) have released their final report (PDF) on their 2002 dialogue theme: Designing Next Generation Telecom Regulation: ICT Convergence or Multisector Utility? (PDF). The report thoughtfully examines various alternatives being considered for next generation telecom regulation.

"It is apparent that national telecom policy and regulation – both the regulations and the regulators – will play a major role in implementing structural reforms. The distinctive network and public interest characteristics of the information infrastructure will require a continuing proactive role for regulation if network development objectives are to be met, and the foundations prepared for the next generation Internet services that will support new network economies (Melody 1999). What is unclear at the moment is how direct regulation by independent regulators can best facilitate the achievement of these objectives. Should industry specific telecom regulators be redesigned as convergence regulators so they can more comprehensively and systematically address the full range of next generation Internet issues? Or should they be redesigned as multisector utility regulators so they can leverage synergies across infrastructures to promote the most rapid information infrastructure network roll-out?"
"ICT convergence that is upgrading the capacity and capabilities of telecom networks to information infrastructures raises many issues that next generation policy and regulation in all countries must address. They cannot be avoided. Although the scope of regulation may vary among countries, and all responsibilities for regulation – e.g., electronic commerce, information security, consumer protection – need not be assigned to the telecom regulator, it is important that the specific role for telecom regulation in helping to manage the information infrastructure for the network economy be clearly defined, especially as many of these issues will require regional and international coordination."

In 2003, WDR's dialgoue theme will be Stimulating Investment in Network Development.

In Net Attacks, Defining the Right to Know

Thu, 30 Jan 2003 07:28:47 GMT

In Net Attacks, Defining the Right to Know "The impact was worse overseas, with major problems reported in South Korea and Japan. In Finland, the telephone system was affected." [New York Times: Technology]

Eli Noam on Deregulation, Market Concentration & the Telecom Industry Meltdown

Wed, 29 Jan 2003 12:24:19 GMT

From Eli Noam, December 2002: The Effect of Deregulation on Market Concentration: an Analysis of the Telecom Act of 1996 and the Industry Meltdown

Easing Wireless War in India

Wed, 29 Jan 2003 08:34:25 GMT

Easing Wireless War in India: "India's telecommunications regulator has announced a new pricing system in an effort to temper an intense fight over interconnections and revenue sharing in the country's fiercely competitive wireless market, one of the fastest growing in the world." [New York Times: Technology]

A Crime Wave Festers in Cyberspace

Tue, 28 Jan 2003 12:55:04 GMT

Cybercrime, long a painful side effect of the innovations of Internet technology, is reaching new dimensions, security specialists say. [International Herald Tribune]

OFTEL Requires Reduction in Mobile Termination Rates

Fri, 24 Jan 2003 11:32:13 GMT

Further to my earlier note OFTEL asks investigation on mobile termination rates, following a study by the UK Competition Commission, OFTEL, the UK's regulator for the telecommunications industry, has decided that it will require four mobile operators to reduce termination charges for making calls to their mobile networks. The ITU Strategy and Policy Unit hosted a workshop on this topic back in September 2000.

Korea Tightens SPAM Regulations

Fri, 24 Jan 2003 11:19:38 GMT

The Korean Ministry of Information and Communication announced on January 20, 2003, that it will adopt a set of measure to tighten regulations on those who send unsolicted emails or SPAM.

SPAM: 40% of email

Thu, 19 Dec 2002 12:25:57 GMT

[Wired]: Bye Telemarketing, Hi More Spam? "According to Enrique Salem, CEO of Brightmail, which filters 10 percent of Internet e-mail, eight percent of the mail the company filtered in September 2001 was spam. In November 2002, it was 40 percent."

ITU to hold Workshop on Member States' experiences with ccTLDs

Thu, 19 Dec 2002 11:03:35 GMT

ITU Media Advisory: ITU to hold Workshop on Member States' experiences with ccTLDs. More information and contributions to the meeting can be found here.

Conference on SPAM Filtering: January 17, 2003

Tue, 17 Dec 2002 15:23:21 GMT

SPAM Conference: Cambridge, MA on January 17, 2003 at the first conference on spam filtering. List of speakers.

"The scale and effect of the spam epidemic leads us to suggest that spam is no longer simply a nuisance, but is a type of information security problem."

GIP also held a workshop on SPAM in summer 2002 and the presentations can be found here.

New WIPO Report: Intellectual Property on the Internet: A Survey of Issues

Mon, 16 Dec 2002 15:01:00 GMT

WIPO has published a new report: Intellectual Property on the Internet: A Survey of Issues. "The Survey focuses on recent developments in the traditional fields of copyright, trademarks and patents, as well as domain names, and progress in private international law and alternative dispute resolution. It also explores the particular concerns that face developing countries in e-development, and outlines the ways in which WIPO is addressing these various issues."

Speech: Regulation: what changes are needed?

Thu, 01 Aug 2002 11:18:21 GMT

I gave a speech in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday, July 30, 2002 at II Rio Telecom about the current telecoms crisis, some of the reasons for it and the relationship with regulation. It's entitled Regulation: what changes are needed?. I've also posted the PowerPoint presentation that I gave with the speech.

OFTEL asks investigation on mobile termination rates

Thu, 25 Jul 2002 13:16:04 GMT

In a follow-up to my note last month referencing the INTUG paper on Mobile Termination Rates, the UK telecommunications regulator, OFTEL, has formally asked the UK Competition Commission to investigate whether the charges that the four mobile network operators make for connecting calls to their networks are too high.

UK designer of 3G auction slams 'whingeing' telecom executives

Tue, 23 Jul 2002 09:06:34 GMT

Ken Binmore, the designer of the exceptionally lucrative UK 3G mobile phone auction two years ago, has slammed telecom executives for "whingeing" that they paid too much and dismissed calls for the consumer to foot the bill. [Ananova]

Lawmakers seek rules to stop redistribution of digital TV

Tue, 23 Jul 2002 08:21:31 GMT

Lawmakers Seek Rules to Stop Redistribution of Digital TV [New York Times: Technology] This is interesting on two levels. First, it's interesting that they argue this is within the FCC's mandate. Second, even if the FCC did do something, it'll be easy to eventually remove the 'broadcast flag'.

The Economist picks up on Odlyzko

Mon, 22 Jul 2002 13:01:07 GMT

Readers will have noticed that I've had a link to the works of Andrew Odlyzko for some time at the bottom right. That's because I like his research, particulary his work on debunking of Internet growth rates (PDF). This week, The Economist has also picked up on his research in a piece: "It was an essential ingredient of dotcom business plans and conference slide-shows: Internet traffic, went the industry's favourite statistic, doubles every 100 days...". Unfortunately, it wasn't true.