Page 108 - SAMENA Trends - March 2020

REGULATORY & POLICY UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

ITU Launches Global Network Resiliency Platform

The International Telecommunications trustworthy information and expertise
Union, (ITU) is launching a "Global on actions that telecommunication
Network Resiliency Platform" to help policy-makers, regulators and others
protect telecoms networks during the in the regulatory community can use
COVID-19 crisis. In a statement issued to ensure that their telecommunication
this morning the venerable organization’s networks and services serve the needs
current Secretary General, Hulin Zhao, of their country." The Global Network
says the initiative is designed to help Resiliency Platform is currently a static
both national governments and the information source but the ITU will will
private sector to ensure that networks soon transmute it into a continuously-
are "safer and stronger", "kept resilient" updated interactive platform for sharing
and are "more connected" to ensure that "throughout this crisis and beyond".
telecoms services remain "available Showing that the ITU is still relevant to
to all." Hulin Zhao added, "I have world telecoms
instructed my team to leverage without For the advice offered to be effective the
any delay ITU's existing regulatory and ITU needed to move fast and, to it's credit,
policy-maker platform to help countries it has done so. There can be no denying
and industry cope with the increasing that the organization’s influence has
stress being put on global networks.” declined since the turn of the millennium
The hope is that the dissemination of but, while it no longer has the popular impose massive cuts across the UK's national
information and the sharing of expertise pulling power it had back in its glory days and local health and social services the
will give those countries that still have of the huge exhibitions that attracted the emergency alert system was "kicked into
time to prepare for the full onslaught entire global industry to Geneva back in the long grass" and all but forgotten about
of the corona virus the opportunity to 1995 and 1999, today's announcement as government departments squabbled over
learn about and draw lessons from is evidence of its continued importance which of them would manage its development
the telecoms solutions that have been and relevance to world telecoms. Indeed, and deployment and which would pay for it.
deployed elsewhere around the globe. arguably it is even more relevant in Seven years of inexcusable inaction later, we
These, the ITU says, can range from this time of global crisis. The ITU is a are all paying for now. Meanwhile, Michael
emergency spectrum reassignments to special agency of the United Nations O'Reilly, one of the board of commissioners
guidelines for consumers on responsible and was founded as long ago as 1865 of the US telecoms regulator the Federal
use. Calling for worldwide industry to facilitate international connectivity Communications Commission (FCC) recently
solidarity from all ITU members in in communications networks. The has publicly been questioning the continued
both the public and private sectors the organization allocates global radio existence and value of the ITU and has been
secretary general said, "Never before spectrum and satellite orbits, develops calling for the establishment of a "G7-like"
have telecommunication networks technical standards that ensure alternative composed of the world richest
been so vital to our health and safety, networks and technologies seamlessly countries. Telecoms has always been a political
and to keep our economy and society interconnect. It should never be forgotten issue as well as a technological one and the
working, as during the COVID-19 crisis that the ITU is completely committed ITU has often been criticized for being overly
we are living through today. At stake is to connecting all the world's people, bureaucratic and partial to the interests of
our ability, as one human family, to give regardless of where they live or wherever smaller nations in general and the Third World
health workers everywhere the tools they they live or whatever their means. in particular. Well, the ITU has 196 members,
need to carry out their duties, to allow Today's ITU initiative was announced not seven. It isn't a spoiled rich boys club and,
all those that can to work from home, a matter of days after the organization as it should, it takes input from both sides of the
to trade online, to ensure that hundreds published new recommendations to aid Digital Divide and operates on behalf of all its
of millions of children and young people national governments and telcos in the members not just a few. It continues its work,
keep up with their studies, and to keep development of national emergency rather more quietly and with less flamboyance
in touch with loved ones, wherever they communications plans and systems - than it did in the 1990s and remains very
are." The new platform will help national something that is still conspicuously important to the global telecoms community.
policy-makers, regulators and industry lacking in the UK. Back in 2013 the There's room in the world for more than one
stakeholders to ensure "that network government here carried out successful telecoms regulation and technical standards
efficiency is maximised via the sharing of trials of a nationwide emergency alert organization. The ITU's voice should be heard
best practices and various initiatives put system. Under the now-abandoned and it has barked today. It's nice to be able to
in place during the pandemic. This will be decade-long austerity regime that saw report today that there's life in the old dog yet.
effected by the collection of "relevant and successive conservative governments

108 MARCH 2020