GSR 2020
The Regulatory Wheel of Change
Industry Advisory Group for Development Issues and the Private Sector Chief Regulatory Officers' (IAGDI-CRO) meeting
Regulation for Digital Transformation: An Industry Perspective
Monday, 31 August 13:00 - 16:00 CEST
Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Director, Telecommunication Development Bureau, ITU
Opening Remarks
Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good morning/good afternoon/good evening, and thank you for being with us today for this important GSR 2020 pre-event discussion.
I am delighted to be joined by a diverse, experienced, and distinguished group of fire-starters, led by an inspirational moderator in the person of Mr Bocar Ba, CEO of SAMENA Telecommunications Council.
As we are all very much aware, COVID-19 has put connectivity, universal access and resilient ICT infrastructures at the very forefront of the global agenda.
Immediate action is needed, particularly in finding ways to rapidly and effectively leverage the power of digital to help us respond to the many challenges this pandemic has brought in its wake.
We know that almost half the global population remains offline. We also know that we have a chronic "usage gap", with billions who are covered by mobile broadband networks still not using mobile internet services.
If we are to build the resiliency… we need to face current and future challenges, This is a picture that we need to change, fast.
All stakeholders are going to have to play a role, from governments and regulators to the private sector and the digital development community (glad to see some MS and civil society stakeholders joining us today).
Collaboration and knowledge sharing will be a critical part of our efforts.
That is why my own team worked so quickly to set up ITU's Global Network Resiliency Platform, known as REG4COVID.
I know that many of you on in our session made timely and valuable contributions to that platform, and I thank you for your responsiveness, and your continued commitment.
The urgent need for more proactive global collaboration is also why the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development quickly convened a special online session to develop an Agenda for Action for Faster and Better Recovery (Bocar was a key contributor to this effort), with Commissioners and their organizations working together to compile and disseminate a repository of tangible actions based on the three pillars of:
resilient connectivity,
affordable access,
and safe use of online services for informed and educated societies.
And it is why we got together with the World Bank, the World Economic Forum and the GSMA to release the COVID-19 Crisis Response: Digital Development Joint Action Plan .
I mention these three initiatives in particular, because I want to stress how important the participation of our private sector members and partners is going to be vital to meeting connectivity challenges in this new era of 5 th generation regulation.
We know that getting the world connected has never been so urgent. And getting the regulatory environment right is going to be absolutely crucial in facilitating that connectivity.
Right now, we live in very uncertain times, but I think there is one thing we can count on: as we strive to find ways to get the rest of humanity online, no-one is going to be able to do this alone.
We cannot sit back and expect cash-strapped governments - especially in the developing world - to bear the brunt. But nor can we just assume that we can leave the thorny issues of financing this 'giant leap' towards universal affordable connectivity to the operators, as we might have done in the past.
And while equipment vendors certainly have an interest in getting their boxes and towers as widely deployed as possible, they also have to make a fair return on their own investment in R&D and manufacturing.
Likewise, it is not realistic to expect satellite service providers to bear the huge capital costs and risk inherent in that industry without fair market access and operating conditions.
OTTs players also need to be a part of the mix, and the conversation because they offer so many of the services that will drive new users online.
The bottom line is that the entire digital ecosystem is going to have to find creative ways to collaborate.
We need new regulatory models.
And we need to leave behind old adversarial paradigms and replace them with a more cooperative approach where companies and regulators find ways of working together to get networks and services out to where they can do the most good.
Governments, manufacturers, operators, service providers and consumers - everyone has a huge stake in making this work, because the benefits are going to be exponential.
And because, in the wake of COVID, the hardship endured by those left unconnected is no longer (shake head…) something any of us can live with.
Ladies and gentlemen,
During today's discussion, I'd like you to encourage you to be frank and forthright in your interventions on what's needed to make this work… so that together we can succeed in addressing the many connectivity challenges ahead - whether financial, technical, policy or regulatory.
Your active collaboration is essential to drive these efforts forward. Because the action doesn't stop here at GSR.
Next year's World Telecommunication Development Conference comes at a crucial inflection point for global connectivity. For the first time in decades, we have the full attention of global leaders, who now understand, in a very pal-pa-ble way, what lack of connectivity means for national social and economic resilience.
We have the opportunity to make WTDC-21 a truly landmark conference, a conference of remarkable achievements - and we need you... all of you... to be a part of that process.
I am confident that, together, we can find innovative ways of overcoming long-entrenched challenges, so that the whole world finally has a chance to leverage the tremendous power of digital to drive true social and economic transformation.
Thank you.
