The region’s ICT community will be watching as 14 contributions and proposals on topics such as: International Mobile Roaming, Mobile Money, Universal Service, Economic Impact of Over The Top applications, OTTs, and broadband and International Internet Connectivity are presented to the International Telecommunication Union ITU in the coming months. The contributions are the result of deliberation by delegates attending this year’s Regional Economic and Financial Forum of Telecommunications/Information Communication Technologies, ICTs, for Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Meeting of the ITU Telecommunications Sector’s (ITU-T) Study Group 3 Regional Group for Latin America held recently at the British Colonial Hilton in Nassau, Bahamas. The meetings were hosted by the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA) and organized by the Telecommunications Development Bureau (BDT) of the (ITU).

The forum provided a platform for dialogue and an exchange in knowledge between national regulators, policy-makers and other Telecommunication/ICT stakeholders on economic and financial issues for Latin America and the Caribbean. Other topics discussed included network neutrality, OTTs, and the regulation of broadband. In addition to these topics, members of URCA’s policy and regulation team made presentations on significant market power (SMP) and consumer protection. Those in attendance were able to learn of the progress made by URCA in the formulation and distribution of consumer protection regulations as well as the SMP framework as specified in the Laws of The Bahamas. SMP is a necessary condition that must be fulfilled in order for URCA to impose certain ex ante remedies or obligations on licensees.

The ITU’s collaborative work towards global ICT standards depends on the submission of contributions by delegates to the ITU-T. The Bahamas case study on the Regulatory Principles for Market Definition and Identification of Operators of SMP in The Bahamas and proposed textual edits to the region’s draft recommendation on SMP, is anticipated to have an impact on the ITU as it develops the necessary ICT’s standards.

The ITU-T Study Group 3 Regional Meeting is an annual meeting of the Latin America and Caribbean regional group which is one of six regional groups within ITU Study Group 3. Study Group 3 is responsible for studies relating to tariff and accounting matters (including costing methodologies) for international telecommunications services.