Dear Secretary General, Excellencies, Industry Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a real privilege for me to offer some views on the issues arising from the emergence of new telecommunication and ICT services and technologies, for which we require future-friendly policies and evidence-based regulatory regimes. 

In the current times, our collective efforts need impactful outcomes, which should be as equally connected to the success of governments as well as the success and sustainability of the Private Sector.

There are many opportunities where emerging technologies that scale on broadband networks and which drive digital transformation, can be leveraged to contribute to addressing some of our most pressing challenges across many sectors and society.

First and foremost, however, 3.6 billion of the world’s population remain offline and need to be connected. Thisrequires tremendous collective efforts for all ecosystem stakeholders, includinginvestment, resources, new methods, and mechanics, and, most importantly, a multilaterally driven collaborative mindset that must prevail across the board.

Policy makers and regulators face the challenging task of adopting new and innovative collaborative regulatory frameworks, including regulatory sandboxes, sustainable financial approaches to providing universal digital access, better cross-border data policies, and many more, set against the backdrop of a changing world, where old frameworks, policies and models no longer hold or fail to address what they were created for.

Given the global nature of the digital economy and its trends, it is imperative that there be global level responses to the connectivity gap and to data governance to ensure that no-one is left behind, requiring an objective-minded re-alignment of shared priorities and responsibilities.

In this regard, I would like to stress upon two particularly important aspects for future policymaking and governance. These relate to the need for:

• Firstly, innovative and sustainable funding, financing and investment models that are broader and include contributors and predictable and sustainable contributions from all those that benefit from the investment: here, it gives me immense pleasure to share with you that the UN Broadband Commission has released a new Report which points to some important recommendations that may help overcome the shortage of required information and knowledge to deal with prevailing connectivity provisioning and funding issues. The recommendations act as a foundation for driving a «universally connected world» and shine a light on a growing narrative around connectivity – one that emphasizes the shared benefits we all enjoy, our collective responsibility, the commitment required, the reform we must face, and the opportunity to enable global connectivity for all.

• And, secondly, globally harmonized middle-ground approaches to cross-border data flows and better governance, as the expansion of data flows matters for a more equitable and sustainable way of digital transformation and the achievement of many of the SDGs.

In the age of “collaborative regulation”, policy and regulatory approaches should effectively address the needs of the private sector, in particular telecom network operators, to enable them to achieve reasonable scale. This is very important in the context of the implementation of new connectivity streams, including through 5G and IoT to ensure that the full potential of new technologies and networks and their many use-cases can materialize and contribute to achieving the SDGs.

On the same note, representing the needs of the Private Sector, priorities for policymakers and regulators should include global or regional harmonization of data categorizations and the creation of common technical data standards; exploring data governance; agreeing on data rights and principles; and many more. In the absence of global arrangements, we propose consideration of extending the regulatory sandbox concept either based on equivalence or using Binding Corporate Rules.

As we approach 2022, it is time to reflect and focus our efforts on building better communication services that are inclusive, providing enhanced digital experiences, increasing business productivity, and fostering sustainable investments. In this regard, it is almost inevitable that we should also focus specifically on the need for reducing Taxation and increasing incentives in investment, adopting future-friendly Spectrum allocation approaches and rectification of Spectrum Interference issues and supporting innovation in the creation, adoption, and championing by the government of new digital services.

With this, I conclude my note, and wish to extend in advance a very Happy New Year to you all, with best wishes for your health and well-being.

Thank you