ITU/V. Martin
The ITU GILF 2010
in session, Dakar
The Global Industry Leaders’ Forum
focuses on securing a wireless future
and on “light touch” regulation
Executive summary
Wireless technology will play a critical role in
achieving ubiquitous broadband coverage. In particular, mobile broadband will be essential to the delivery of services such as m-health and m-learning,
which will be instrumental in enabling governments
to meet, by 2015, the connectivity targets of the
World Summit on the Information Society and the
United Nations Millennium Development Goals.
Increasing broadband use by 10 per cent is estimated to increase a country’s gross domestic product
(GDP) by more than 1 per cent. Broadband is considered to be a key enabler for the digital economy, but
a delay in spectrum allocation could impede growth.
To secure a wireless future, governments should
formulate comprehensive policy in information and
communication technologies (ICT), incorporating a
broadband plan. Regulators and policy-makers need
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ITU News  10 | 2010  December 2010
to ensure that regulation is in place that will encourage and enable operators to continue rolling out infrastructure, including broadband networks, not only
in urban areas, but also in rural and remote areas
where people have little or no service.
These were some of the key messages from the
Global Industry Leaders’ Forum (GILF-10), held on
9 November 2010 at the Méridien President Hotel
in Dakar, Senegal. GILF-10 took place just prior to
the Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR), held
at the same venue from 10 to 12 November 2010.
Both events shared a common theme: “Enabling
Tomorrow’s Digital World”.
The Forum was opened by Fatou Ndiaye Diop
Blondin, Senegal’s Minister of Information and
Communication Technologies and featured interactive discussions between representatives from leading industry players including Alcatel-Lucent, Bharti
Enabling tomorrow’s digital world
The Global Industry Leaders’ Forum
ITU/V. Martin
Airtel, Ericsson, France Telecom-Orange, the GSMA, the emerging markets, in particular in mobile. We
Intersat Africa Ltd, MTN, SES and Zain. More than now need to work together to extend this progress
200 industry leaders discussed and answered a string to broadband network expansion, to create a platof questions on the topics of “Securing a wireless fu- form for innovative new services such as m-banking,
ture” and “creating a ’light touch’ policy and regula- m-government, m-health and other services.”
Ms Diop Blondin was pleased to note that the
tory environment”.
items on the Forum’s agenThe tremendous interest
da were particularly geared
in wireless network developtowards reducing obstacles
ment and the notion of “light
to investment in ICT in detouch regulation”, expressed
veloping and least develduring the 2009 Global
oped countries. “You will, I
Industry Leaders’ Forum, led
am sure, agree with me that
to the choice of these topics
while the State is responsible
for discussion by the Forum
for putting in place the legal
in 2010. Recommendations
and regulatory framework
endorsed by the Forum were
for ICT services, the private
presented by its Chairman
sector that you represent
to GSR for consideration
should be at the forefront of
when developing its 2010
the thinking and innovative
Best Practice Guidelines. The
Fatou
Ndiaye
Diop
Blondin
proposals aimed at ensuring
recommendations, some of
Senegal’s Minister of Information and
that we are able, together, to
which are highlighted here,
Communication Technologies
identify the best solutions.”
were also disseminated to
In Senegal, the Head of
other regulators and policyState, President Abdoulaye
makers globally.
Wade, attaches a high priority to ICT and to the role
Framing the issues
of the private sector as a driver for growth and digital
Addressing the opening ceremony of the Forum, development. “The Government of Senegal, which
Sami Al Basheer Al Morshid, Director of the ITU I have the honour to represent here, is listening to
Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) un- what you have to say and is committed to supportderlined that industry, governments and regulators ing the recommendations arising from your deliberahad major interests in common. “We are all striving tions,” concluded Ms Diop Blondin.
towards the same goal: a growing and vibrant ICT
Mahfoudh Ould Brahim, Chairman of GILF-10
sector,” he said. “If, by working together, we man- and Deputy Director-General of mobile operator
age to extend the benefits of ICT to as many people Expresso, Senegal, stated that “The increasingly exas possible across the world, we stand to win. We ponential needs of communication services in terms
have seen that the fastest growing ICT markets are of frequency spectrum, particularly where wireless
ITU News  10 | 2010  December 2010
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Enabling tomorrow’s digital world
The Global Industry Leaders’ Forum
AFP/DDP
ITU/V. Martin
broadband and total mobility
fiscal policies have on the
services are concerned, call
development of the telecomfor a comprehensive revision
munication industry in order
of the policies hitherto purto appreciate the ways in
sued with respect to the alwhich taxation systems influlocation of scarce frequency
ence telecommunication secresources”. To this end, we
tor growth, the mobilization
need to reflect on approof private investment and
priate ways and means for
access to information and
establishing an optimized
communication technologies
apportionment solution to
for the greatest number of
accommodate the various
users”.
beneficiaries and services,
Isabelle Mauro, Head
Mahfoudh Ould Brahim
ensure access to the resourcof External Affairs at GSM
Chairman of GILF-10 and Deputy Directores in question under equitaAssociation, observed that
General of Expresso, Senegal
ble and transparent condiwhile mobile communications and foster innovation
tions had literally transin the interests of efficient
formed the world over the
spectrum usage.
previous 20 years, they were now in the process of
Mr Ould Brahim went on to say that “At another revolutionizing it through the phenomenon of molevel, we need to start looking at the impact that bile broadband. “With 3.5 billion users foreseen by
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ITU News  10 | 2010  December 2010
Enabling tomorrow’s digital world
The Global Industry Leaders’ Forum
ITU/V. Martin
taken by the World Radio2015, there was now an
communication Conference
extraordinary
opportunity
(WRC) in 2012 and beyond
for accelerating the pace of
would be crucial to the sucgrowth in many developing
cess of broadband. It was
countries and enabling their
essential that governments
populations to open up to a
should foresee the allocation
better future.”
of more frequencies for moMs Mauro continued by
bile use and draw up a harpointing out that the indusmonized road map for freetry, for its part, was pursuing up spectrum and thereby
ing its commitment through
contributing to economies of
massive investment worldscale worldwide.
wide. “At the G20 in 2009,
Isabelle Mauro
Reduction of mobilethe industry announced an
Head of External Affairs at GSM Association,
specific
charges: Many
investment of USD 800 bilwhich represents nearly 800 of the world’s
mobile
operators,
as
well
as
more
than
countries still appeared to be
lion over the next five years,
200 companies in the broader mobile
charging for mobile services
with USD 550 billion of that
ecosystem
as if they were a luxury prodamount earmarked solely for
uct, resulting in a higher end
broadband. That investment
cost to the consumer.
will make for a 3 to 4 per cent
increase in global GDP and the creation of 25 million
jobs.” Such a commitment on the part of the industry Recommendations on securing
called for sustained attention on the part of all gov- a wireless future
ernments and regulators, which she summarized in
Governments should rethink the way spectrum is
the form of three measures:
allocated in order to find ways of providing new servA relaxation of the regulatory framework: A ices, including broadband at affordable prices, to the
recent study by McKinsey had concluded that the growing number of users around the world. In parmonthly per-user cost of broadband was 75 per cent ticular, governments should allocate more spectrum
lower for consumers in a regulatory environment to mobile use and develop a harmonized road map
which favoured investment — in other words, an for the release of such additional spectrum.
environment that was transparent, stable and preGovernments should ensure that spectrum is aldictable. It was therefore important for regulators to located on a technology-neutral basis so that the
draw up a clear overview of their regulatory objec- industry can continue to modernize networks and
tives so as to enable economic players to continue to maximize their efficiency.
innovate and invest in broadband.
Governments, with the support of ITU, should harAllocation of the spectrum required for the monize spectrum allocation and use at regional and
development of new services: The decisions to be global levels to provide predictability to operators as
ITU News  10 | 2010  December 2010
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Enabling tomorrow’s digital world
The Global Industry Leaders’ Forum
AFP
well economies of scale, recognizing that if frequency is fragmented this comes at a price for consumers,
and that harmonization is required for a more efficient use of the “digital dividend” spectrum.
Operators, broadcasters, public spectrum users
and regulators should engage in real dialogue on
how to use the digital dividend spectrum in order to
provide customers the services they need, with ITU
playing a bigger role in assisting developing countries to enable all concerned stakeholders to engage
in this dialogue.
Governments should acknowledge that fair access to spectrum is one of the key factors to ensure
viable and sustainable service and competition, and
they should make spectrum available in a manner
that makes serving rural areas economically viable
for operators.
Regulators, working with ITU where appropriate,
should review spectrum use and the future requirements of mobile and non-mobile applications, and
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ITU News  10 | 2010  December 2010
should establish mechanisms that provide incentives
for efficient use of spectrum.
Recommendations on creating a “light
touch” policy and regulatory environment
Regulators should continue to promote fair competition and intervene only in cases of market failure.
For example, an incumbent monopoly might be protected if it is to be privatized or required to open up
to competition, but new entrants should be allowed
to operate unencumbered and unthreatened by any
abuse of dominance.
Light touch regulation, which should be predictable and stable, should focus more on overseeing
licence compliance and anti-competitive behaviour
than on strictly controlling all operational steps undertaken by operators.
Governments should remove mobile-specific levies and fees that distort the market and stifle growth
in the sector. In particular, they should review any
AFP
taxes or charges that directly impede connection to
mobile networks, and they should reduce or eliminate taxation on communications, as well as import
duties on handsets, as these duties can keep the retail cost of mobile phones beyond the reach of many
consumers.
Regulators and policy-makers should establish dialogue with their peers in other sectors of the economy, such as health, education, transport and finance
in order to create an enabling environment for the
introduction and adoption of new, innovative ICT applications in those sectors… A regional approach to
regulatory issues should also be encouraged.
In many countries of the developing world, governments and regulators should use the universal
service obligation (USO) Fund to cover rural and
remote areas in order to promote affordability and
coverage in those areas. In some countries, USO
subsidies have been collected from operators, but
remain largely unused because there are no effective
mechanisms for their disbursement. In these cases,
governments, regulators and operators should work
in partnership to put in place transparent mechanisms for the management and redistribution of the
USO Fund.
Governments, regulators and operators should
look for innovative ways of promoting community
access to empower people in rural areas to join the
rest of the virtual world. For example, community access points, such as rural Internet kiosks, can create
a chain reaction, leading to demand for more connectivity throughout rural areas and hastening the
development of local economies.
The full recommendations of the Forum are available
at www.itu.int/ITU-D/partners/GILF/2010/documents/
GILF-recommendations-en.pdf
ITU News  10 | 2010  December 2010
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