The GSR is an annual event bringing together heads of national regulatory authorities from both developed and developing countries and has earned a reputation as the global venue for regulators to share their views and experiences as part of the worldwide community of regulators. The meeting fosters an open dialogue between regulators and key ICT stakeholders: the private sector, investors and consumers.
The second annual Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR) was held from 3 to 5 December 2001. It was organized around the theme of ‘effective regulation’ and sought support for affordable and geographically-accessible skill-building for regulatory staff particularly in the legal, economic and accounting fields. GSR 2001 attracted 369 delegates from 72 regulatory authorities and 21 sector members and other organizations representing a total of 102 Member States. The first day of the symposium was open to the private sector. The remaining two days were reserved for the regulators and policy-makers, offering them the opportunity to discuss experiences, share their concerns and arrive at globally transferable solutions.
GSR 2001 provided the opportunity for regulators to review the functioning of the electronic conference and hotline on the Global Regulators’ Exchange (G-REX), which was implemented as a result of last year’s symposium. G-REX has been well received by regulators. A consensus was reached to open the G-REX component of the conference on an experimental basis to learning institutions and consultants as a way of enriching the discussion. A steering group was tasked with reviewing the subjects presented on G-REX before the year-end and presenting action points to the World Telecommunication Development Conference (Istanbul, 2002).
Part of the conference was dedicated to the presentation of country case studies by a number of telecommunication agency heads. In addition, there were roundtable discussions on the regulators, institutional frameworks for regulation, transparency and fairness, regulatory functions as well as staffing and financing issues. There was also a call for more case studies from stakeholders in the regulatory process, including private sector vendors, operators and investment banks, on their experiences with regulation. Overwhelmingly, regulators called for regional sub-groupings and regional aggregation of expertise to enhance the credibility and effectiveness of individual regulators’ decisions. |