ITU High Level Workshop on International Mobile Roaming
Geneva, Switzerland, 23-24 September 2013
Monday, 23 September 2013
08.30 – 09.30 Delegates registration
09.30 – 09.45 Opening Ceremony
09.45 – 11.00 Session 1: Overview of the growth of mobile services and their increased importance for economies
Moderator: Ms Carole G. HAGE, Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, Lebanon
- Mobile devices, their growth and use as the main tool for communications
- Growth in international travel and international communications
- The challenge of high roaming prices in voice and data roaming
- Why roaming is expensive?
- Cross border roaming or inadvertent roaming
Panelists:
Mr Soumalia ABDOULKARIM, Secretary General of the African Telecommunications Union (ATU)
Mr Kila GULO-VUI, Director, Economics, Consumer & International Affairs, National Information & Communication Technology Authority,
Papua New Guinea
Mr Antoine POKAM, Sub Director Telecommunications and ICT Regulation, Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, Cameroon
Coffee break
11.30 – 12.30 Session 2: ITU activities related to roaming issues
Moderator: Mr Leslie MARTINKOVICS, Director, International Public Policy & Regulatory Affairs, Verizon Communications Inc.
and Vice-Chairman ITU-T Study Group 3
- World Conference on International telecommunication (WCIT-2012) results
- The new provisions on International Mobile Roaming
Panelists:
Lunch
14.00 – 15.30 Session 3: Responding to high IMRS prices
Moderator: Mr Philippe METZGER, Deputy to the BDT Director and Chief of Administration and Operations Coordination Department
- The cost structure of roaming (cost elements that operators are calculating and that make the roaming expensive)
- Business initiatives (economic models applied, there is a tariff methodology? best practices) and technological developments
- The availability of substitutes to roaming - alternative roaming procedures
- National, regional and international initiatives
Panelists:
Ms Maitha ALI JAFFAR, Senior Economist, Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, Oman
Mr Theis GJEDSTED, Head of Section, Danish Business Authority, Denmark
Coffee break
16.00 – 17.00 Session 4: Private Sector Initiatives on IMR
Moderator: Mr Bilel JAMOUSSI, Chief of Study Groups Department, ITU/TSB
- Transparency of IMR retail prices
- Operators practices and initiatives
Panelists:
Ms Mercy NDEGWA, Senior Manager, Regulatory Economics & Compliance, Safaricom Limited, Kenya
Mr Nezih DINCBUDAK, Director Regulatory Affairs Africa, Middle East & Asia, Orange, France
Mr Richard ANAGO, Directeur de la Coopération et des Organisations Internationales, Ministère du Développement, de l'Économie
Numérique et des Postes, Burkina Faso
Tuesday, 24 September 2013
09.30 – 10.30 Session 5: Policy and regulatory actions
- Protecting and empowering consumers - consumer awareness of roaming costs
- Market-based solutions which facilitate the use of substitutes by users
- Wholesale price regulation: possibilities and cost determination?
- Retail price regulation: possibilities and impact?
- Taxation issues
- Structural regulatory determinations to develop IMR competition
Panelists:
Mr Jorge INFANTE, Chair of the BEREC Expert Working Group on International Roaming
Mr Robert CLARKE, Senior Policy Advisor’ Communications and IT Policy, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, New Zealand
Mr Albert LEWIS, Special Counsel, Federal Communications Commission (FCC), USA
Coffee break
11.00 – 12.15 Session 6: Best practices which have been put forward at the national, regional and international levels
Moderator: Mr Tomas LAMANAUSKAS, Head, Corporate Strategy Division, ITU/SG
- Best practice for price regulation
- Best practice to increase transparency and awareness for users when roaming internationally
- Best practice for regulators in IMR markets
Panelists:
Mr Filipe BATISTA, Associação de reguladores de Comunicações e Telecomunicações da Comunidade dos Países de
Língua Portuguesa (ARCTEL-CPLP)
Mr Agustín DÍAZ-PINÉS, Telecommunication Economist, Policy Analyst, Directorate for Science, Technology and Industry (OECD)
Mr Abilé Romain HOUEHOU, Coordonnateur, Réseau des Consommateurs Africains des TIC (RéCATIC)
Mr Ramunas LINARTAS, European Union (EU)
12.15 – 12.30 Final conclusions and closing of the High Level Workshop