At the BEREC Stakeholder Forum on October 15, Daniel Pataki, the GSMA’s Vice President for Regulation, argued for a major overhaul of the telecoms regulatory framework. Telecom markets have changed dramatically since the current framework was designed and a “re-think” is needed instead of a “review”, he stressed.
Daniel highlighted how rapid and profound changes occurring in the Internet ecosystem are creating obvious challenges for existing regulatory frameworks, which were typically designed around legacy technological platforms and static market structures. For the “re-think” of the telecoms rulebook, he suggested that policy makers follow three principles:
First, at the beginning of the reform, it is essential to thoroughly assess and discuss the vision and the regulatory objectives being pursued, and examine how those objectives can best be achieved. Only then is it possible to agree on measures.
Second, as many of today’s legacy regulatory structures are out-dated, policymakers should take a “clean-slate” approach that assesses current, as well as potential new regulations. They should identify the optimal means of achieving the regulatory objectives, without reference to legacy regulatory regimes and approaches. This approach recognises that changes in technologies and markets have likely altered both the need for regulation and its optimal form and focus.
Third, to enable dynamism and innovation, the new regulatory framework should prioritise flexible, performance-based approaches over command-and-control-style prescriptive standards. A dynamic model that focuses on ex post enforcement over ex ante prescriptive rules would better account for the pace and inevitability of technological and market innovation. Such a model allows the means by which regulatory objectives are realised to evolve over time, even while the objectives remain largely stable.