The South Asia, Middle East, North Africa region (Samena) Telecommunication Council shared its perspectives on the convergence of regulation at the ITU Telecom World 2013 held in Bangkok recently.

At the panel discussion, the council emphasised the need to create partnerships among various stakeholders to ensure the longevity and growth of the ICT industry and the necessity to be mindful of traffic generated on networks, services provided over networks, revenues generated from those services, and the use of the networks by other market players.

It described the current regulatory model as being unsustainable and that new regulatory imperatives, which are required to be fulfilled to drive digitisation across sectors and industries, must be enabled by futuristic regulations.

Bocar A BA, CEO of Samena, said: “In the new world where dominance by any single player has ceased to exist, and where the marketplace is driven by new demands for digital services, regulations must be aligned with the changed market dynamics and the continuing evolution. Telecom operators should not be subject to outmoded traditional regulations that impede innovation and investment.” - TradeArabia News Service