BECOMING AN EFFECTIVE REGULATORY
“REFEREE”
International Telecommunications Union
Development Symposium for Regulators
Geneva, Switzerland
November 20-22, 2000
Fred G. Bigham
Senior Regulatory Consultant
LOBA Limited
BECOMING A REGULATOR: PARALLELS
WITH A THEATRICAL EVENT
ÜScript
ÜStage
ÜPerformance
•2
THE SCRIPT
• Legislation:
National Policy & Regulatory Powers
• Creation of Agency
• Funding Mechanisms
• Rules of Procedure
• Dispute Resolution Methods
• Appeal Processes
•3
THE STAGE
• Basic Organization
• Accommodations
• Staff Competencies
• Decision-Making Structures
• Analysis & Support Structures
•4
THE PERFORMANCE
• Privatization
• Licensing
• Universal Access
• Interconnection
• Pricing
• Costing
•5
BECOMING A REGULATOR: LOOKING FOR
HELP?
ÜWhere?
ÜFunding Assistance?
ÜAlternative Approaches & Venues?
•6
WHERE?
• Canada & the United States
• Britain & Australia
• Regulators’ Associations
– Telecommunications Regulators’ Association of
Southern Africa (TRASA)
– West African Telecommunications Regulators
Association (WATRA)
– South and Central American Regulators Association
•7
FUNDING ASSISTANCE?
• World Bank
• Canadian International Development Agency
(CIDA) and Equivalents
• Commonwealth Telecommunications
Organization (CTO)
• Telecommunications Executive Management
Institute of Canada (TEMIC)
• Others?
•8
ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES AND VENUES:
CANADIAN
• CRTC/IC Programs: Overviews and Issue Oriented
– 1 to 3 day events; 20 per year 1995-2000
– 1 to 3 week seminars/workshops; 6 per year 1997-2000 in
Canada and in Client country
• TEMIC Management and Regulatory Programs
– 6 two to week courses offered in Canada each year
– Custom Designed courses: Caribbean Telecommunications
Union
– New Course Soon: Building Regulatory Capabilities
– Presented by P. Derome to ITU’s Study Group #2;
Question 15/2
•9
ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES AND VENUES:
UNITED STATES
• F.C.C. International Assistance Programs
• Michigan State Regulatory Programs
• University of Florida: Cross Sectoral Approach
• United States Technical Training Institute
•10
ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES AND VENUES:
MORE OPTIONS
• Commonwealth Telecommunications
Organization
– Multilateral Courses Each Year
– Bilateral Assistance Arranged
•
•
•
•
Australian Communications Authority
ITU’s Centres of Excellence
Major Consulting Firms
Individual Consultants
•11
OBSERVATIONS
• Wide Spectrum of Requests from Comprehensive
Introductions to Focused Issue Oriented Programs
(i.e. Costing and Interconnection)
• Vital but difficult to meet expectations
– Take time to dialogue and then, design programs to
fit the Agency’s stage of development
– Issued-oriented programs (i.e. Interconnection)
work well with mixed audience of regulatory and
operating company staff
•12
… OBSERVATIONS cont’d
• Knowledge transfer faces a dilemma:
Examples and approaches drawn from
“Canadian” experience but the fit to country “x”
requires careful dialogue and adaptation
• Regional Associations of regulators hold much
promise: Invite outside expertise but learn from
one another!!
•13
… OBSERVATIONS cont’d
• The road to being a competent and
independent regulatory referee is fraught with
delays, detours and dead-ends.
• Let the regulator regulate - Intervention must be
rare, transparent and reasoned.
•14