The overhaul of our public policy website has been a long time coming. Even as other sections of the GSMA website have been revitalised over the past year, our public policy pages have languished. So it is refreshing to have an updated web presence that reflects the important policy and regulatory issues affecting our sector and society, including a more usable library of research and analysis to inform better policymaking.
A new section on the site — New Regulatory Frameworks — is also concerned with ‘overhauling,’ this time in the context of regulatory reform. This relatively new area of GSMA advocacy work reflects the changing dynamics of the digital ecosystem driven by technological advances and internet economics, and the need to fundamentally reconsider policy and regulation for the digital age.
The starting point of this work is the recognition that most of the rules for our industry were conceived at a time when mobile telecoms comprised a well-defined set of inputs (e.g., infrastructure and spectrum investment) and outputs (e.g., mobile voice telephony and text messaging). Today, the picture is not so clear:
1. Digital convergence is blurring the lines between once-distinct sectors such as telecoms, broadband, broadcasting, computing and content, and firms now compete across a range of segments offering a growing range of services.
2. The influence of internet players continues to rise, as the largest content and application providers take advantage of network effects and monetise customer data to secure and expand their market position, changing the competitive dynamics.
There is no question that the digital revolution, underpinned by mobile broadband, has been profoundly positive for over half the world’s population. The problem is that, while the digital economy continually innovates and adjusts accordingly, mobile telecoms regulation remains anchored in a sector-specific view that no longer reflects the way companies interact and compete. For example, mobile operators find themselves on uneven footing with companies that offer internet-based communications services, having to comply with a host of obligations and constraints that apply only to the mobile sector.
In other words, mobile regulation is no longer fit for purpose, and governments require insight, analysis and practical recommendations on how to address the imbalance for the good of the economy and society. To this end, the GSMA is working with governments, industry and other stakeholders to ensure the issues are considered from all relevant angles. We work with our members and commission research to understand market developments and policy directions, which we use to inform and, we hope, bring policymakers around to a new way of thinking on topics that affect the mobile sector and the wider society.
We are beginning to see positive movement. The European Commission has embarked on a comprehensive review of the region’s telecoms framework and the Digital Single Market. While the ultimate outcomes are yet to be seen, we applaud these efforts to overhaul legacy regulatory frameworks and unleash investment, innovation and inclusive consumer value in the digital age.
For a deeper dive into this topic, please refer to the following GSMA reports: