  ANNOUNCEMENT: Course- Connectivity and Convergence: Alternative Regulatory Strategies Research ICT Africa, Lirne.net and the UCT Graduate School of Business will be giving the following course at the UCT Graduate School of Business from the 14 to the 16th of April. Last chance to register: contact mndlovu (at) the-edge.org.za or on 011 339 1757 Convener: Alison Gillwald
The current stage of telecom and ICT reform poses many challenges to governments, regulatory agencies, operators, and other stakeholders. The certainties of yesterday are no more: individual assignments of frequencies are being questioned in the light of new standards such as Wi-Fi and WiMax; the distinctions between wired and wireless are being blurred; classic price regulation is becoming less central to the missions of regulatory agencies and new market-friendly mechanisms for extending connectivity are beginning to be implemented (and their problems are becoming evident); and all industry players are being challenged to address content issues at various levels.
More is being demanded of the regulatory process and agencies, with the same resources. Operators have to understand the regulatory process well so that they can navigate its complexities. With telecom assuming a more prominent position in economies and societies, civil society and media have to equip themselves to participate in its governance. Knowledge to deal with these new challenges is vital; the opportunity to reflect on these issues in the company of peers and away from the daily demands of the office environment is essential.
As part of the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Infrastructure Programme, the first Telecom Reform course will be offered by LIRNE.net partners from the 14 to 17 April at the UCT Graduate School of Business on the Waterfront in Cape Town. LIRNE.net is a global collaboration of research entities specialising in ICT policy and regulation. The faculty on this course has considerable practical experience as regulators and policy makers as well being active in research and teaching. They include the course convener, Alison Gillwald, long time ICT policy and regulation academic and former broadcasting and telecommunications regulator in South Africa, Rohan Samarajiva, widely published academic and former Director General of Telecommunications (the regulator) in Sri Lanka, and Tracy Cohen, former Councillor of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa.
The programme is designed to enhance the strategic thinking of a select group of senior decision makers in telecom and related sectors in Africa and elsewhere. After having been offered in Europe, Asia, the Caribbean and Latin America, this executive course is now being offered in Africa to meet the challenges it faces.
the full programme can be downloaded here. |
