Page 84 - SAMENA Trends - October 2021

REGULATORY & POLICY UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

GSMA Forms 5G Regional Group in Asia

The GSMA established the APAC 5G to combat the continued impacts of report from GSMA Intelligence released
Industry Community, designed as an Covid-19 (corornavirus). “As digitalization at the event shows how collaboration can
ecosystem to support industry innovation has accelerated, it has become clear help countries in Asia Pacific continue
and business opportunities across that digital inclusion is of the utmost to progress towards fully-fledged digital
next-generation networks, edge-cloud importance. Collaborative approaches societies. The Digital Societies Report
services and enterprise IoT. The APAC will be key as more 5G networks are in Asia Pacific: Accelerating progress
5G Industry Community comprises 12 launched in the region as they unlock new through collaboration tracked the progress
contributing members across the mobile and innovative technologies.” Initially, the of Australia, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia,
value chain as well as the existing IoT and Community set up three industry interest Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore,
5G emerging market community, which groups covering manufacturing and South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.
has some 500 members in more than 30 logistics, ports and transportation, and
countries. GSMA head of Asia Pacific healthcare to support members. A new
Julian Gorman explained in a statement
the group aims to “unlock the power of
5G connectivity so people, industries
and society thrive”, noting the industry
association is committed to playing “a
leading role in supporting and amplifying
the vital work our industry is doing at this
time”. The contributing members are:
Thailand’s Digital Economy Promotion
Agency; Malaysia Digital Economy Corp;
Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication
and Information Technology (Kominfo);
AIS; Axiata Group; Globe Telecom; Maxis;
Telkomsel; Viettel; DHL; Huawei; and
Schneider Electric. Gorman noted 2021
showed how critical digital transformation
can be, as it enabled people and businesses

ComReg and eir Clash Over Role of Independent Watchdog

Irish telecoms regulator the Commission and unambiguous set of measures, Commission’s decision which criticised
for Communications Regulation arrangements, structures and internal ComReg’s over-regulation of eir’. The issue
(ComReg) and fixed line incumbent eir controls are in place’ to ensure that the is understood to have now been referred
are reportedly at loggerheads after the telco is complying with its regulatory for mediation. TeleGeography notes that
former raised doubts over the ability of an obligations. Its concerns have been raised that the establishment of the IOB formed
independent watchdog to properly assess following the publication of the IOB’s first part of a EUR3 million (EUR3.5 million)
the relationship between eir’s wholesale annual report on the implementation and settlement by eir in December 2018, after
and retail units. According to The Irish effectiveness of an undertaking by eir in ComReg had initiated a legal action over
Independent, ComReg has suggested it relation to its regulatory governance. For the lack of proper controls between the
could introduce new regulatory controls its part, eir has suggested that ComReg’s company’s retail and wholesale divisions.
on eir, as it believes that the independent concerns regarding the IOB are ‘very ComReg had taken the operator to court
oversight body (IOB) established in May confusing’, with the telco pointing out following ongoing complaints from rival
2019 as part of a High Court settlement that the regulator had helped to design operators, which had claimed eir was
between the parties is unable to assess and establish the oversight body. In a giving favourable treatment to its own
the effectiveness of the company’s statement, eir claimed that ComReg’s retail arm, despite its wholesale division
regulatory governance model. ComReg disappointment with the positive IOB being legally obliged to give equal priority
apparently lacks confidence that a ‘clear report was ‘consistent with the recent EU to all providers.

84 OCTOBER 2021