The ITU is holding its 8th Global Symposium for Regulators in Pattaya, Thailand this week, with a theme of “Six Degrees of Sharing: Innovative Infrastructure Sharing and Open Access Strategies to Promote Affordable Access for all.”
Open access on mobile networks has been a recurring theme recently. Sharing is a different matter. How can networks be shared and still promote product differentiation? There are a number of models globally, some of which will be discussed at The 2008 Canadian Telecom Summit in June.
In view of yesterday’s deadline for participation in Canada’s upcoming AWS auction, I wonder if there are any network sharing plans among the applicants. Perhaps the right question is not “if” but rather “how many of” the business plans call for sharing of networks with other operators? Have any incumbents, especially those on CDMA networks, looked at network sharing as a means to overlay GSM platforms – with a reduced hit on capital?
On an obliquely related topic, I received a note last week about an initiative to promote improved ICT infrastructure to indigenous communities in the Americas. How would network sharing and open access further the objectives of the Indigenous Commission for Communication Technologies in the Americas (ICCTA).
An increased reliance on market forces means that the role of regulators, gathered this week in Thailand, is shifting from economic regulation to social regulation. In an information based economy, how should we define universal service and basic service obligations? What do these mean in a competitive industry structure?
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ITU, ICCTA, Canadian Telecom Summit