Waseda University (Japan) was the recent venue of a workshop on new trends in information and communication technologies (ICT), where an array of issues were discussed from the perspective of regulators, policy-makers, academics, operators and other key industry players in the Asia-Pacific region. The workshop was organized jointly by the ITU Asia-Pacific Centre of Excellence (ITU ASP CoE) and Waseda University in Tokyo from 12 to 25 November 2001, and included a videoconference hookup with the Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (China) and the Australian Communications Authority (ACA). This event follows a Memorandum of Understanding signed in August 2001 between ITU and Waseda University to enhance technology transfer in the Asia-Pacific region.

Auraphan Suwanrat, Director General of Thailand’s Post and Telegraph Department says that: “Above all, regulators and policy-makers had gathered to share knowledge, ideas and useful experiences in their respective countries on strong and weak points of various regulatory schemes.” Ms Suwanrat goes on to add that “participants can use the knowledge gathered to select the most appropriate way of setting regulatory policies in their countries”.

She believes that cooperation and collaboration are key elements in achieving development, and should be promoted at all levels and in all sectors. “Collaboration from the private sector is the most important driving force for achieving ICT development goals, and this was evident throughout the workshop. In addition, both government and the private sector should enhance their cooperation with academic institutions and provide more support and funding for university research work.” For many participants, the Japanese experience in formulating ICT policy and regulations and in developing, commercializing and utilizing ICT technology provided them valuable knowledge.

Bob Horton, Deputy Chairman of the Australian Communications Authority notes that “the current complexity and developments in ICT raise a huge challenge for policy-makers and regulators, given the climate of competition and deregulation in which we operate today.” He explains that “the single factor limiting the ability of regulators to rise to the challenge and assist in creating a regulatory climate of confidence and support for industry development is the level of relevant human resource skills within regulatory bodies. He also believes that collective gathering and sharing of experiences and information on a regional basis allows regulators to leap-frog the learning curve. “And for many, it offers the flavours of consistent thinking and implementation, which should benefit industry and service developments throughout the region,” Mr Horton says.

Anthony S.K. Wong, Director-General of Tele-communications at OFTA remarks that “ICTs are an exciting development, and policy-makers and regulators are expected to provide a favourable and fair environment to benefit the general public and the industry.” He goes on to add that “it is useful and constructive to have a gathering such as the workshop in Waseda University to share experience and thoughts. I encourage more similar gatherings and certainly recommend more participants to join.”

It was clear from the workshop that cooperation between industries, institutions of higher learning and regulators is one of the critical success factors in promoting new ICTs in society. Professor Toshio Obi-Nakamura, who is a member of the ITU ASP CoE Steering Committee, notes that this is a significant step forward, creating collaboration

between ITU and a major university for human resources development in the ICT sector, breaking new ground. “I am sure that there are tremendous needs and an increasing role for universities in both developed and developing countries for human-capacity building as a useful solution to the digital divide issue.”

For Sugat Ratna Kansakar, Regional Director and Board Director of Nepal Telecommunications Corporation: “The workshop succeeded in covering a whole gamut of ICT matters, giving an overview of emerging technologies, future trends in regulation and, above all, the daunting future challenges for incumbent operators and new private operators alike.”

Mr Kansakar notes that while it is true that “a low teledensity and a chronic digital divide exist in vast rural areas of under-developed countries, it is equally true that even least developed countries such as Nepal need the latest technologies and new services to cater for the ever-increasing demand from the urban population, especially from the trade and industry sector, which is the main driving force for the overall uplifting of society”.

So, forums such as the ITU/Waseda University workshop are, in the words of Mr Kansakar, “quite beneficial for countries like Nepal, where the biggest challenge is the balancing act between minimum infrastructural requirements in rural areas and ‘high-tech’ demand from the trade, industry and tourism sector, especially in the context of the globalization phenomenon engulfing the whole world.”

In his concluding remarks, Masato Shinagawa, President of the ITU Association of Japan, said that the workshop programme was a step towards bridging the digital divide and creating digital opportunities.

He called for the establishment of ITU Associations in countries represented in the workshop.

The Waseda workshop came up with a number of recommendations that are likely to be tabled at the forthcoming World Telecommunication Development Conference in Istanbul (18 to 27 March 2002).