Globalisation, Standards & Regulation
UNECE WP.6
Working Party on Technical Harmonization and Standardization Policies
http://www.unece.org/trade/tips/wp6/wp6_h.htm
Ad Hoc TEAM of SPECIALISTS on
STANDARDIZATION and REGULATORY TECHNIQUES
(“START” Team)
http://www.unece.org/trade/tips/wp6/wp6_start.htm
Telecom Initiative
http://www.unece.org/trade/tips/wp6/wp6_start.htm#Telecom%20Sector
Nuno Encarnação
Expert, moderator UNECE WP.6
Telecom Initiative
tel. +41 (0)32 327 55 80
fax +41 (0)32 327 55 58
OFCOM, Federal Office for Communications
www.bakom.ch / www.ofcom.ch / www.ufcom.ch
mailto:nuno.encarnacao@bakom.admin.ch
R. de l'Avenir 44, CH 2501 Bienne
Switzerland
Chairman of ETSI Access and Terminals [AT]
ETSI, European Telecommunications Standards Institute
www.etsi.org/at
mailto:AT-chair@list.etsi.org
Globalisation, Standards & Regulation
Globalisation, the “Telecom Initiative” [TI]
 Globalisation is a fact, we just have to know how to face it
 Authorities recognised it and agreed in WTO the principles of TBT reduction
 Regional organisations are creating wide markets and implementing these principles
 In this context, UNECE, WP.6 produced recommendation L and supports the TI
 TI focus on product standards & regulations convergence and bring the benefits to all
Why Technical Regulations [TR]? How to design them?
 A Legal Framework [LFw] aims to solve Legitimate Authorities’ Concerns [LAC]
 A LFw should be generic, technology independent & identifies unacceptable risks
 TRs implement LFw(s), should be short, specific, clear, easy to verify and impose the
strictly minimal set of necessary, justifiable, LAC based rules,
Why Standards? How to design them? What is their relationship with a TR?
 Standards are technical descriptions of items (products, features or services)
 They specify relevant characteristics of products using objective descriptions
 Standards result normally from a common action of experts in a specific area
 Standards cited in a TR specify limits of parameters for a product to access a market
 Standards establish references without limiting the user’s choice, TRs limit the choice
Page 2/8
Globalisation, Standards & Regulation
To facilitate free circulation of goods
 Reduce TBT: reduce regulations to the strictly necessary, they restrict!
o Regulating Authorities need to reach consensus on LAC
o Select only standards specifying the relevant aspects of LAC
o Adopt the minimal set of alternative options in regulatory standards
o Use only harmonised test & measurement methods
 Stimulate market: produce standards, they clarify the market & create opportunities!
o SDO should cover the maximum n° of products to reduce their costs
o Standards promote common solutions & may specify several aspects of products
o Each standard should not exclude alternative options
o Use as far as possible harmonised test & measurement methods
Page 3/8
Globalisation, Standards & Regulation
Universe of items (products, features or services)
to be regulated
to be standardised
Nice to have
Nice to have
Extra performance
Wished
High level of Quality
Strongly
wished
Functionality, reliability of
products (covered often by
consumer protection laws)
Unacceptable
The “must’s”
ElectroMagnetic
Compatibility
LAC
Legitimate Authorities’ Concerns
Safety,… etc
Health risks for
users
Parameters, requirements
Extra performance
Items
Wished
High level of Quality
Strongly
wished
Functionality, reliability of
products (covered often by
consumer protection laws)
Unacceptable
The “must’s”
Health risks for
users
Safety,… etc
Items
Page 4/8
ElectroMagnetic
Compatibility
Globalisation, Standards & Regulation
Regulations (legal requirements) are related to
 Market access
 Market surveillance
 Technical Regulations, Standards & product specifications
 Accreditation schemes, compliance with standards & test & measurement methods
 Product labelling and identification methods
 Consumer protection
 …
To reduce Barriers to Trade
 The reference to harmonised standards is only one step
 Procedural and other aspects are also very important
 …
 The harmonisation of all regulatory measures is very important
 While harmonisation of all regulatory measures is not possible, ways of
o Converging regulatory measures and
o Increasing co-operation…
… represent positive steps…
Page 5/8
Globalisation, Standards & Regulation
Sector arrangement for Telecom products, regulatory principles used in the TI
 The TI is the 1st implementation of UNECE, WP.6, recommendation L
 TI is based on global experience of the European Industry; RA are studying it
 Most relevant types of products causing the less difficulties were selected to start
 Common Regulatory Objectives [CRO] assume the function of TRs in TI
 Every CRO will have 2 parts as represented in the picture
Some “take with me”/“for everyone” product types
GSM:
most common mobile telephone
IMT-2000: next generation of mobile Telecom
Bluetooth: home & business radio link (replace cable)
WLAN:
business & home radio Telecom networking
PSTN/POTS: most common telephone/ modem
Personal Computer: most common/clever human tool
 Part 1:
is common to all CRO and cover the procedural and administrative LAC
 Part 2:
cover product specific LAC and has requirements like “health & safety of
persons”, “Radio Spectrum protection & Electro-Magnetic Compatibility”
Page 6/8
Globalisation, Standards & Regulation
Benefits of the Telecom Initiative [TI]
 Consumers
o Lower price for products covered, reduce “digital divide”
o Higher quality of the products
o Earlier access to products based on new technologies
o Consumers can use their own products in their country and abroad
o Better and quicker access to source information (the “Information Society”)
o Earlier, better and low cost access to all current Telecom services: e-health, ecommerce, e-learning, e-banking, e-surveillance, e-government…
o Increase of productivity for individuals & enterprises
o Cultural exchange and diversity enhancement at a lower price
 Regulators
o Lower (shared) investments for a quicker and better set of regulative measures
o Quicker and better coverage of new technologies
o Easier and more efficient market surveillance
o e-government: closer to citizens at a lower cost and higher effectiveness
o Easier and more clear compliance with national adopted WTO policy
 Industry
o Economies of scale, particularly by sharing fix costs for development & distribution
o Better Return on Investment figures
Page 7/8
Globalisation, Standards & Regulation
Thank you
for your interest
Page 8/8