It applies to a number of developing countries that their regulatory organizations are weaker in terms of regulatory resources compared with the economically more developed countries. The implications are that the regulatory organizations will not be able to implement, for instance, time consuming and heavy market analyses (for instance the new EU market analysis scheme) and cost calculations (for example Long Run Incremental Cost calculations) as in a number of developed nations. Even though specific regulatory organizations in the telecom field in most cases do not have more than 10-15 years of experience in economically developed nations, regulatory organizations in developing nations have an even shorter history. They are at an early formative stage, but this also means that they can more easily be shaped to the convergence developments in the markets in an appropriate manner if there is the necessary political will. There is, in other words, a possibility for leapfrogging some of the developments that regulatory organization have gone through or are still going through in economically developed nations.
The most important thing in this connection is to put emphasis on the facilitating aspects of the assignments of regulatory organizations. The prime purpose of the regulators should be to support and keep open as many and different possibilities for the spread and use of communication technologies. This implies to create a level playing field in terms of competitive possibilities; it also implies an innovative use of frequency resources, and it implies a support for the communication technology initiatives by, for instance, local and other communities. There should be more focus on proactively supporting technology take-up and use than on a reactive watchdog role.
The activities related to universal access and service promotion thus have a central position in the range of regulatory assignments of regulators. This means that other regulatory areas concerning interconnection and limited resources, including frequencies, and the possible licensing practices of regulators should be seen in the light of expanding access to communication resources. This can be seen as a re-conceptualization of the relations between the different fields of regulatory assignments. Regulatory activities must be directed towards an increased take-up and use of communication technologies by means of the facilitation of the activities of as many commercial and non-commercial actors as possible[1].
ENDNOTES
[1] This approach can, for instance, be found in a report by Seán Ó Siochrú and Bruce Girard, ‘Innovative Technologies and Community Ownership: A New Mode of ICT Access for the Rural Poor’, UNDP, April 2005. The approach is also the basis for the 3d cycle of research activities of the World Bank supported World Dialogue on Regulation for Network Economies on ‘Diversifying Participation in Network Development’, see http://www.regulateonline.org