Introductory Note to the Final Acts of the World Conference on International Telecommunications

On December 14, 2012, member states of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approved the Final Acts of the World Conference on International Telecommunications. The ITU is the specialized agency of the United Nations fostering cooperation on information and communication technologies, and, through world conferences, it periodically revises the International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs), a treaty the ITU adopted in 1988.2 However, in December 2012, the Final Acts, the manner in which they were approved, and the World Conference proved controversial, and these controversies will adversely affect the impact of the Final Acts and the revised ITRs on international telecommunications law

Conceptualising Regulatory Change - Explaining Shifts in Telecommunications Governance

Drawing on perspectives from telecommunications policy and neo-Gramscian understandings of international political economy, this paper offers an explanation and analysis of the shifting patterns of regulation which have been evident in the telecommunications sector in recent years. It aims to illustrate explain and explore the implications of the movement of regulatory sovereignty away from the nation-state, through regional conduits, to global organisations in the crystallisation of a world system of telecommunications governance. Our central argument is that telecommunications governance has evolved from a regulatory arena characterised, in large part, by national diversity, to one wherein a more convergent global multilayered system is emerging. We suggest that the epicentre of this regulatory system is the relatively new World Trade Organisation (WTO). Working in concert with the WTO are existing well-established nodes regulation. In further complement, we see regional regulatory projects, notably the European Union (EU), as important conduits and nodes of regulation in the consolidation of a global regulatory regime. By way of procedure, we first explore the utility of a neo-Gramscian approach for understanding the development of global regulatory frameworks. Second, we survey something of the recent history - and, in extension, conventional wisdom - of telecommunications regulation at national and regional levels. Third, we demonstrate how a multilayered system of global telecommunications regulation has emerged centred around the regulatory authority of the WTO. Finally, we offer our concluding comments.Comment: 29th TPRC conference, 200

Issues and Policies for Universal Service and Net Neutrality in a Broadband Environment

The purpose of this paper is to identify the key issues surrounding ubiquity or universal service and equity or net neutrality in telecommunications with applications for New Zealand. This paper in its initial form was presented at the conference "Telecommunications: Ubquity and Equity in a Broadband Environment" held in Wellington 26-28 August 2010.This paper provides a higher-level overview of the issues and identifies key questions that must be answered when developing policies regarding universal service and net neutrality. With the understanding that policies must recognise differences among countries yet can still benefit from international experience the paper will then based on the conference addresses and papers offer some analysis and policy recommendations to assist New Zealand in making informed policy choices