Page 12 - SAMENA Trends - January 2022

FEATURED SAMENA TRENDS

Fifth-Generation Policy & Regulatory Evolution Tracking Gained Momentum

In 2021, SAMENA Telecommunications
Council became a Member of the
Review Board of the “G5 Benchmark”,
also known as the Gold Standard for
Collaboration among Regulators.
The Benchmark of Fifth Generation
Collaborative Regulation helps fast-
track collaboration among regulators
and policy-makers from the information
and communication technology (ICT)
sector and other sectors to drive digital
transformation for all.

SAMENA Council contributed to the
econometric model and indicators
selection. The Benchmark enables
SAMENA Council as a Board Member
to directly track and grade Regulators
on the design and evolution of enabling
regulatory frameworks, and make
its recommendations on effective
regulatory approaches, aligned with the
needs of the region as well as those of
the Private Sector.
The G5 Benchmark aims to reveal
regulatory gaps, and help with and implementation shortcomings in grouped) indicators, grouped around
building custom roadmaps for pursuit of the 17 SDGs, and points to four pillars: (i) National Collaborative
navigating the digital transformation. how collaborative regulation can remedy Governance, (ii) Policy Design Principles,
It allows for the tracking of evolution of them. The G5 Benchmark is based on (iii) Digital Development, and (iv) Digital
regulatory frameworks with respect to data provided by ITU Member State Economic Policy Agenda. Each pillar
advancements in the digital economy Administrations through annual ITU focuses on a specific institutional,
and dives deep into policy trends. It surveys. process, and framework of regulation
enriches global policy debate and sets and policy making.
out new goals for regulatory excellence. The Benchmark’s overall score is
The G5 Benchmark identifies policy calculated based on 66 (52 when

Reasons as to why the G5 Benchmark is important at this time:
• Economies in the course of digital transformation in this decade follow a very different path, and Regulation must
change as digital markets mature
• G5 Benchmark’s three clear regulatory tracks expose new perspectives and new insights, previously not apparent
• Regulation is multi-layered and complex in the post-2020 digital age, and rules are increasingly giving way to
principles – which are made integral to the Benchmark
• It is necessary for sector and multi-sector regulatory authorities to collaborate; a core pillar of the G5 regulation
• Policymakers can benefit from a tool that can simply and quickly evaluate as well as model regulatory setups and
systems

12 JANUARY 2022