LIRNEasia dissemination event and tutorials, Singapore, 21-22 June 2010
Monday, 08 March 2010,
Organized by LIRNEasia and the Department of Communication and New Media (CNM), National University of Singapore, supported by the International Development Research Centre, Canada (IDRC) and the Department for International Development, UK (DFID)
Call for applications for Young Scholar awards
Fifteen Young Scholars from the Asia-Pacific region will be selected to participate in tutorials and a research dissemination event scheduled to be held before the 2010 International Communication Association (ICA) conference in Singapore These events will be taught and conducted by recognized scholars and practitioners at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Kent Ridge Campus. The selected Young Scholars will also attend the conference and have their travel and accommodation expenses covered. This is an exceptional opportunity to learn about conducting policy-relevant research and to participate in a leading international scholarly conference.
Who would qualify?
- Entry level officers of government/regulatory agencies
- Entry/mid level officers of private companies in the communication industries
- Masters/PhD students in Economics, Public policy, Communications and Journalism disciplines
- Recent graduates in Economics, Public policy, Communications and Journalism disciplines
- Entry/mid level officers in NGO/INGO
- Researchers from think tanks and policy institutes
- Journalists interested in regulation and public policy, with an emphasis in communication
Application guidelines
Applications should be submitted electronically to info [at] cprsouth [dot] org on or before 11 April 2010 and must contain the following:
- curriculum vitae (one page)
- a one-page write-up outlining why you wish to be an Asia-Pacific based expert capable of contributing to ICT policy and regulatory reform in the region
The document should be named Tutorials_YoungScholar_YourLastName. Please note that the write up and bio should be in one single document.
Notification of acceptance will be emailed on or before 25 April 2010, with instructions on travel arrangements
Review criteria
Applications will be reviewed according to the following criteria:
- Content of application
- Evidence of interest in, and commitment to, policy-relevant research for the Asia-Pacific
- Quality of writing
- Gender and country representation
The selection committee may contact your supervisor or mentor before making the final selections.
The selected Young Scholars are expected to participate in the ICA conference from 22 – 26 June followed by a debriefing session moderated by LIRNEasia CEO, RohanSamarajiva (PhD) where they are expected present a five minute summary of what they learned at ICA and at LIRNEasia events.
Funding
Selected applicants will be provided with least-cost travel to and from Singapore, twin-sharing accommodation and meals for the duration of the tutorials, the dissemination event and accommodation during the main conference, (i.e. 21-26 June 2010); and will be given adjusted per diem (less hotel and paid for meals) in two installments (half upon registration at the tutorial and the remainder at the debriefing session at the end of the ICA conference). .
Previous tutorials
Please see www.cprsouth.org, archives for details and examples of previous tutorials.
Key Dates
Deadline for applications: 11 April 2010
Visas
Citizens of most countries are able to obtain visa on arrival to enter Singapore, with a few exceptions (http://ica.gov.sg/page.aspx?pageid=96&secid=94). It is the participant’s responsibility to obtain visas if necessary. Letters will be provided for this purpose after participant selections have been made. Participants are strongly advised to initiate visa approval procedures immediately thereafter.
About LIRNEasia
LIRNEasia is a regional information and communication technology (ICT) policy and regulation think tank active across the Asia Pacific. It’s mission is to improve the lives of the people of the emerging Asia-Pacific by facilitating their use of ICTs and related infrastructures; by catalyzing the reform of laws, policies and regulations to enable those uses through the conduct of policy-relevant research, training and advocacy with emphasis on building in-situ expertise.
It serves as the administrative partner for CPRsouth
Visit www.lirneasia.net for more information.
About CPRsouth
Communication Policy Research: south (CPRsouth) intends to build human capacity in the South by reinforcing and developing the values and commitment of scholars in the region or with substantial interest in the region. The overall objective is to create policy intellectuals capable of informed and effective intervention in ICT policy and regulatory processes in specific country contexts.
Contact information
Mail: CPRsouth, C/o LIRNEasia, 12 Balcombe Place, Colombo 00800, Sri Lanka
Telephone: +94 11 267 1160
Fax: +94 11 267 5212
Email: info [at] cprsouth [dot] org
Website: www.cprsouth.org
The SA Supreme Court of Appeal upholds the Competition Commission
Monday, 01 March 2010,
The SA Competition Commission appealed to the Supreme Court against a decision of the High Court of Pretoria to review and set aside its decision to refer complaints of anti-competitive conduct by Telekom to the Competition Tribunal. The SA Supreme Court upheld the appeal, held that the Commission had the jurisdiction to refer the complaint of anti-competitive conduct and the competent Tribunal to adjudicate on it.
Download the Media Summary by the Supreme Court of Appeal
African countries database on ICT indicators
Saturday, 13 February 2010,
The African countries database on ICT indicators is on-line: http://www.researchictafrica-data.net/.
To access the database, log in using "Guest Account" and choose "RIA_country_database".
IEEE/ACM International Conference on ICTD - Call for papers and call for sessions
Wednesday, 03 February 2010,
The IEEE/ACM, on the occasion of the IEEE/ACM International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development, has launched a call for papers and a call for sessions.
For further information about the calls and the submission procedure, please consult the following documents:
Christoph Stork wins best paper at CPRSouth
Tuesday, 22 December 2009,
Christoph Stork, Researcher at Research ICT Africa has won the best paper award at CPRSouth4 held in Negombo, Sri Lanka. Read the paper here, and see the other papers here.
Spectrum Auctions: Lessons Learned from Around the World
The following presentation was delivered by Karen Wrege of KB Enterprises at a South Africa Connect public seminar on the 21st of October 2009.
Spectrum auctions were first introduced in 1989 in New Zealand and since then dozens of countries have used competitive bidding procedures to award spectrum licenses for commercial services. In many places auctions have become the standard for assigning spectrum in commercial bands. Over the last twenty years, regulators have used various auction designs to assign spectrum and a wealth of white papers have emerged that describe auction successes and failures. The founders of Knowledge Based Enterprises (KBE) developed the auction program in the United States for the Federal Communications Commission. From its inception in 1994 until early 2005, Karen Wrege managed all aspects of the program and supporting software platform that was owned and operated by the US Federal government.
Auctions are a popular assignment method where the demand for the spectrum block(s) exceeds the available supply. Auctions have grown in popularity for several reasons, including recouping a portion of the value of the use of the spectrum and utilizing a more objective market-based approach as opposed to a more subjective administrative mechanism for assigning spectrum licenses.
It is important to note that the assignment phase is a small part of the complete realm of effective spectrum management which is seen as having five major components: allocation, service rules, assignment, monitoring and enforcement. To review briefly, the first step involves dividing (in the frequency dimension) the range of usable spectrum into blocks or bands of frequencies called allocations. These frequency allocations, which are often guided by the International Telecommunications Union’s radio regulations, determine the type of use allowed within that block or band. For example, the allocation might be for television broadcasting, land mobile radio systems, or radio navigation systems. The second step is to develop and impose service rules that are associated with a particular allocation. These may include technical rules that specify, for example, how the band is to be channelized to accommodate individual transmitters and the maximum transmitter power that can be used in such a channel within the band. The rules may also include non-technical constraints such as rules that determine who or what entities are eligible to receive licenses or authorizations to operate in the allocation. The third step involves assignments – granting the authority (e.g., in the form of a license) for a specific individual or entity to operate a transmitter on a specific channel at a specific location under the applicable service rules. The fourth step involves monitoring frequency use and compliance with rules, and the final step involves the enforcement of the rules and regulations established for the allocation.
Each of the steps of spectrum management is important and interrelated to the other steps in the process. In effective spectrum management, it is critical for regulators to first define their goals and objectives and create policies in each step identified above in line with those overall goals and objectives. Although they are market-based mechanisms, a spectrum auction alone cannot create a competitive telecommunications market; it is only through fair, transparent policy decisions throughout the entire spectrum management process that a regulator can hope to foster a competitive market for its consumers.
In the presentation, Ms. Wrege will identify some of the goals and objectives that countries have developed for their spectrum management activities, focusing on spectrum auctions as an assignment mechanism, and will give real world examples of success and failure.
Karen Wrege, co-founder of KB Enterprises LLC and founder of Wrege Associates has twenty years experience in implementing high stakes, complex government auctions of non-tangible assets. Beginning in the early 90’s, she developed the first combinatorial auctions for the US government, selling non-performing loans from defunct savings and loan companies for the Resolution Trust Corporation.
In 1994, Ms. Wrege developed the FCC auction program and supporting software system for the US federal government. She managed dozens of auctions for the FCC that resulted in billions of dollars of revenue to the US Treasury. In early 2005, Ms. Wrege began formed a consultancy specializing in auction software and implementation, and currently advises governments and bidders in auction design, conduct and participation. In addition, Ms. Wrege headed a team of telecommunications experts in conducting a global study of spectrum liberalization and the results of the study will be released at www.KBEauctions.com in September.
Presentation at the Public Hearing on Termination Rates hosted by the Portfolio Committee on Communication
Thursday, 15 October 2009,
On the 14th of October 2009, Dr. Christoph Stork of Research ICT Africa gave the following presentation at the Public Hearing on Termination Rates hosted by the Portfolio Committee on Communication of the South African Parliament. The presentation may be downloaded here, or viewed below.
End of Roaming Charges: Lessons from East Africa
Tuesday, 13 October 2009,
End of Roaming Charges: Lessons from East Africa
Presentation by Alison Gillwald and Muriuki Mureithi
e-Parliaments: Concepts, Policy and the Reality 12 October 2009, Cape Town
Alison Gillwald's Presentation at iWeek
Monday, 07 September 2009,
Alison Gillwald's presentation delivered at iWeek on the 2nd of September, entitled 'Good intentions, poor outcomes: SA relecom reform in review' can be accessed here.
Executive training. Connectivity and Convergence: Alternative Regulatory Strategies
Monday, 08 March 2010,
Programme summary:
Successfully offered for the first time through the UCT GSB Management in Infrastructure Reform and Regulation Programme in association with LIRNE.net in 2009, this new programme is designed to enhance the strategic thinking of a select group of senior decision-makers in telecom and related sectors in developing countries and emerging economies. The aim of the programme is to address the many challenges posed by the current stage of telecom and ICT reform to governments, regulatory agencies, operators and other stakeholders. The certainties of yesterday are no more: traditional approaches to the licensing of networks and services is being challenged by converging technologies services and innovative business models; 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; new pro-poor business strategies are challenging conventional universal service models; and all industry players are being challenged to address content issues at various levels.
Delegate profile:
Decision-makers in telecommunications and related sectors in Africa including government; regulatory agencies; operators; unions, ICT journalists, consumer groups and NGOs active in the sector.
Programme benefits:
- Delegates will learn how to respond to the growing demands on the regulatory process and agencies, with the same resources.
- Policy makers will gain the knowledge of developments within the sector to think in alternative ways about creating an enabling environment for development and growth.
- Regulators will be provided with alternative approaches to regulation, particularly in developing countries with resource constraints, to facilitate more effective regulation.
- Operators will gain a deeper understanding of the regulatory process so that they can navigate its complexities.
- With telecom assuming a more prominent position in economies and societies, civil society and media can learn how to equip themselves to participate in its governance.
- Knowledge on how 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 Infrastructure Management Programme, the course will be offered by LIRNE.net, a global collaboration of applied research and training entities specialising in ICT policy and regulation, led by Research ICT Africa.
Faculty:
The faculty on this course is not only well known academics in the field of ICT policy and regulation, but several have practical experience as regulators and policy makers. They include the course convenor & Research ICT Africa Director: Dr. Alison Gillwald ( also former broadcasting and telecommunications regulator in South Africa); CEO of LIRNEasia Dr Rohan Samarajiva, who was the former Director General of Telecommunications in Sri Lanka when major reform gains were achieved; Helani Galpayi: COO of LIRNEasia and former telecom consultant; and Dr Christoph Stork, financial economist and Research ICT Africa’s senior researcher.
Dates: 12th April - 16th April - Applications close 26th March 2010.
Tuition fees: R14 950.
Contact: Junita Abrahams (junita [dot] abrahams [at] gsb.uct.ac [dot] za)
Website: www.gsb.uct.ac.za/telecoms
Downloads:
2. GSB Executive training: Connectivity and Convergence (flyer).
