Telecommunications regulators generally are granted authority to carry out a broad range of functions through legal instruments such as the telecommunications law, subordinate regulations, and government decrees. These functions include the authority to conduct rulemakings and issue regulations, grant licences and other authorizations, undertake adjudication and enforcement matters, as well as address various telecommunications issues, including interconnection, price regulation, numbering, and spectrum management.
In a global survey conducted by the ITU, 165 countries were asked to identify the government entity or agency responsible for 11 key telecommunications regulatory functions. The chart presented below (Figure 7-A) summarizes the division of responsibilities for these regulatory functions based on the 189 responses received.1 Approximately 50 per cent of the respondents indicated that the telecommunications regulator has overall responsibility for the majority of the regulatory functions2 whereas 25 per cent of the respondents indicated that the regulatory responsibilities were shared between the regulator and a designated ministry. Another 20 per cent of the respondents indicated that the ministry responsible for telecommunications was charged with fulfilling the identified regulatory functions.
Figure 7-A: World Survey of Regulatory Functions
Source: ITU World Telecommunication Regulatory Database 2005.
In Botswana, for example, the Telecommunications Act of 1996, as amended, grants the Botswana Telecommunications Authority (BTA) responsibility for promoting telecommunications, licensing, type approval, consumer protection, frequency management, price control, promotion and maintenance of competition, and settlement of disputes. In addition, the BTA advises the government on general telecommunications policy and acts as the government representative before regional and international bodies dealing with telecommunications matters.3
Similarly, in Taiwan, the 1996 Telecommunications Act specifies that the Directorate General of Telecommunications (DGT) is responsible for developing an integrated telecommunications development plan, supervising telecommunications enterprises, and promoting the development of an information society so as to enhance public welfare.4
The rapid development of the telecommunications and information technology sectors, as well as the evolution of convergence, creates an increasing number of responsibilities for regulators regarding the manner in which to regulate (i.e., the appropriate structure and regulations), as well as the manner in which to treat new technologies and services. This has produced a need to reorganize administrative functions in the telecommunications sector. For example, as described in Chapter 6, many regulators are including information technology as one of the areas of focus, and therefore have created offices dealing with such issues. In other countries, regulators are also dealing with broadcasting issues. Moreover, in yet other countries, regulators are still charged with dealing with other sectors such as postal services.
ENDNOTES
1 Some countries indicated more than one possible answer for each question, resulting in more responses received than countries surveyed.
2 The two most notable exceptions are interconnection (where responsibility appears to be split between the operator and the telecommunications regulator) and universal service/access (where responsibility is more likely to be spread across several government entities, including the regulator).
3 See Botswana Telecommunications Authority.
4 Taiwan Directorate General of Telecommunications, available at http://www.dgt.gov.tw/english/flash/index.shtml