Telecom regulators from more than 80 countries met in Geneva as part of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) to discuss the steps that nations could take to bridge the digital divide and ensure universal access to communications. The 4th annual Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR) agreed on a list of best practice regulatory guidelines for achieving this universal access. They called for regulatory reform at the highest level of government and urged political leaders to treat communications as a tool for development rather than a source of government revenue. The GSR Universal Access Best Practice Guidelines will be delivered to the World Summit later this week. Some of the key principles include:
- promote greater competition, more open markets, and spark investment.
- urge governments to grant technologically neutral licenses and not to favor any particular technology, whether fixed line, wireless, etc,
- apply the lessons learned from developing countries’ initial experiences with mobile cellular services to a broader range of communications services to foster universal access.
- push for communications services to be provided in a competitive framework, encouraging new technologies for offering both innovative services and affordable pricing options (e.g., pay as you go options such as prepaid cards) to a wide range of end users.
- encourage low-cost technologies that will achieve long-term financial self-sustainability, greater use of public access options that respond to the needs of local users,
- encourage government measures such as tax incentives, reduced customs tariffs and national manufacturing of equipment.
- recognize that universal service funds are one option that complements regulatory reform when developed as a mechanism within a broader market-oriented approach to achieving universal access.
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