Global Next-Generation Networks Rules Seen Needing Development
GENEVA -- Rollout of next-generation networks (NGNs) is presenting major challenges for policy makers, officials said during a 2-day ITU workshop here, as emphasis turns from core ICT infrastructures to exploiting the service potential of the new environments.
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Govts. and regulators are now looking more closely at appropriate IP interconnection models, officials said. Some are considering more-regulated economic wholesale rates, officials said, while others are considering more of a peering and transit model. The underlying theme is that there seems to be some need for regulation in emerging NGN environments.
Network topologies, business models and interconnection points all change in NGNs, so competitive providers are concerned that incumbents may remonopolize on a global level, officials said. Large carriers and service providers may vertically integrate services and transport that could reduce competition because of service bundles, said Robert Shaw, deputy head of ITU’s Strategy & Policy Unit.
For certain issues, a light regulatory touch will probably be needed - as on identity management and better spectrum coordination, which could result in additional spectrum becoming available, said Michael Nelson of IBM, speaking as Internet Society vp-policy. Finding more alternatives for the last mile would increase competition.
“If you examine the NGN policy and regulatory echo system emerging around the world, you see a great commonality of requirements in national procedures or national consultations to deal with consumer protection issues, national security and critical infrastructure issues and law enforcement,” wrote Tony Rutkowski, vp-regulatory affairs & standards for Verisign, in a contribution. Ongoing regulatory, justice, and homeland security proceedings are happening in countries worldwide, he said: Besides identity management, the most important consideration is protecting the signaling architecture. The other important regulatory needs, he wrote, concern competitive requirements, such as signaling unbundling; public infrastructure protection requirements; and simple numbers-based universal service contributory mechanisms.
The White House national security telecom advisory committee wrapped up its focus group at the end of last week, Rutkowski said: That involved probably 3-4 industry and govt. participants who have met for the past year. “Its primary focus is on attempting to deal with vulnerabilities with the IP enabled NGN infrastructure and to provide NS/EP [national security emergency preparedness] capabilities that revolve around identity management,” said Rutkowski.
Top regulatory challenges for the Europeans are fitness of EC relevant markets list to deal with technological change and network/service convergence; access, which remains a crucial element in competition; interoperability; and internal market issues, said Davide Gallino, who’s European Regulators Group secy., but wasn’t speaking for the group.