June 15th, 2015

CTO intensifies its strategic support for board members of Commonwealth ICT regulatory agencies

Following the success of its 2014 board-level programme for ICT regulators, the CTO’s 2015 board programmes begins this week with participation from Botswana, Barbados, Fiji, Lesotho, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa and Sri Lanka.

London, 10 June 2015 – Twenty members of boards of national communications regulatory and specialised agencies took part in the CTO’s first regulatory governance programme for 2015 in London this week. “ICT Regulation: Understanding the Big Picture of ICTs for Development” is a workshop programme developed to strategically align, support and address the needs of Commonwealth ICT regulatory agencies and the critical role played by their board. Organised and hosted by the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO), the event is taking place on 8 – 12 June 2015 at the Organisation’s offices in London.

“What I learnt this afternoon has been mind-boggling, it has given me a better perspective of how as an organisation that is responsible for underserved areas, we could be contributing further in assisting governments to ensure that many more people can participate as beneficiaries in the telecommunications field. By the end of the workshop I will have learnt even more that will demystify ICTs.” said Pumla Radebe, Chairperson of the Universal Service and Access Agency of South Africa on the second day of the event.

“Great workshop! Very useful information delivered in an excellent manner. I would highly recommend this workshop to anyone who is interested in ICTs for development”, recommended Kumarasinghe Sirisena, Chairman of Sri Lanka Telecom Group.

This highly interactive workshop is delivered by experts from the ICT sector, featuring proven solutions that can be easily implemented by the visiting board members. The workshop also includes a number of industry visits to London-based organisations, including BT and Ofcom. Specific topics to be discussed over the five days include:

• The role of ICTs in development
• Influencing global decisions on ICTs – The role of international organisations
• The relationship between boards and the executive
• Consumer issues
• Inclusivity in the digital economy
• Economics of regulation
• Numbering as a public good
• The Internet and cyberspace
• Cloud computing
• Broadband access
• Regulation in practice

The next workshop will take place on 2 – 6 November 2015.