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BEREC takes a more accessible approach

BEREC, the body of European telecoms regulators, has revamped its website and launched a presence on LinkedIn. Included on the website is a new section dedicated to BEREC publications. “The objective is to increase the knowledge of a broader audience on BEREC role in the EU electronic communications sector and to stimulate the interest of the stakeholders, including European... Read this full article

Uploaded: Feb 2014

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Italy’s twin wholesale access proposals

Italy’s telecoms regulator, Agcom, has approved a draft resolution on wholesale access to Telecom Italia’s (TI) fixed network for the period 2014-2017, notes TeleGeography. “The watchdog has submitted two proposals for public consultation; the first would maintain the current regulatory approach across the whole Italian market, while the second would split the country... Read this full article

Uploaded: Feb 2014

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Taiwan’s regulator rejects merger proposal

Taiwan’s telecoms regulator has rejected a proposal to merge Asia Pacific Telecom (APT) and Ambit Microsystems because the firms failed to provide details on a strategic alliance with Taiwan Mobile, reports Mobile World Live. “The rejection comes just a week after the country’s National Communications Commission (NCC) said it was investigating complaints by three rivals of APT... Read this full article

Uploaded: Feb 2014

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Call to speed up online services assessment

In a report outlining its vision for the EU’s digital economy, the UK government has called on the European Commission to “carry out an assessment of competition in online services markets”, reports Out-law.com. The findings should help determine “whether the competition framework meets the needs of the data-driven economy… The importance of data has changed the dynamic of... Read this full article

Uploaded: Feb 2014

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Ofcom proceeds with white spaces

UK regulator, Ofcom, has decided to go ahead with access to the unused parts of the radio spectrum in the 470 to 790 MHz frequency band. “Our decision follows extensive consultation with stakeholders and a pilot,” it says. “The new technology, known as white spaces devices, will share this band with the existing uses, digital terrestrial television (DTT), including local TV, and... Read this full article

Uploaded: Feb 2014

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Big cuts in Rwanda’s tariffs

Rwandan internet service provider ISPA has cut 4G tariffs by almost 70%, “following a public outcry due to the country’s prohibitively high LTE charges”, notes TeleGeography. “ISPA’s chief executive officer Peter Maridadi said that the new rates were agreed on with wholesale provider Olleh Rwanda Networks (ORN), the joint venture between the Rwandan government and... Read this full article

Uploaded: Feb 2014

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Germany first with 700 MHz mobile

Germany’s Federal Cabinet has approved an amendment to regulations to allow frequencies in the 700 MHz band to be used for the rollout of high speed mobile broadband in rural areas of the country, reports TeleGeography. “The move paves the way for the Federal Network Agency’s (FNA, also known as Bundesnetzagentur or BNetzA) auction of mobile spectrum in the 700 MHz... Read this full article

Uploaded: Feb 2014

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Ofcom varies mobile licences

Ofcom, the UK regulator, has varied the licences of the UK’s four mobile network operators to improve mobile coverage across the country. “This follows an agreement reached between the government and EE, O2, Three and Vodafone in December 2014 to increase mobile coverage. The licence variations commit the four operators to provide voice coverage across 90% of the... Read this full article

Uploaded: Feb 2014

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Smartphone theft down in the US and London

Thefts involving smartphones have declined dramatically in three major cities since manufacturers began implementing ‘kill switches’ that allow the phones to be turned off remotely if they are stolen, Reuters reports. “The number of stolen iPhones dropped by 40% in San Francisco and 25% in New York in the 12 months after Apple added a kill switch to its devices in September 2013... Read this full article

Uploaded: Feb 2014

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Fairness in broadcasting paper from the ACMA

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has released the second paper in its ‘investigation concepts’ series. The paper considers the requirements for fairness, impartiality and viewpoints as set out in the various broadcasting codes. The series was conceived to assist a broad range of stakeholders to better understand the ACMA’s... Read this full article

Uploaded: Feb 2014

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UK close to FM radio switch-off?

The Independent reports that in the UK “the day when the FM radio signal will be switched off is drawing nearer, the government indicated, after the UK reached a ‘tipping point’ in the conversion to digital radio”. Ed Vaizey, the culture minister, said that a doubling in the size of local digital transmitters, along with increased penetration of digital radio in cars, meant that... Read this full article

Uploaded: Feb 2014

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FCC’s chair makes net neutrality proposals

The FCC’s chairman, Tim Wheeler, has come out in favour of reclassifying broadband internet access service as a telecommunications service, ie. As a common carrier. But as a blog on the Electronic Frontier (EFF) site notes: “The goal was never just reclassification; that’s just an essential step for open internet rules to survive the inevitable court challenge. The real goal, though... Read this full article

Uploaded: Feb 2014

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Tim Berners-Lee defends net neutrality

Tim Berners-Lee, the founder of the web and of the World Wide Web Foundation, has defended net neutrality in a guest post on the blog of Andrus Ansip, the European Commissioner responsible for the digital single market. Among his comments: “Some companies and governments are arguing that we should depart from the principle of net neutrality. Until now, we’ve largely got along... Read this full article

Uploaded: Feb 2014

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‘Proof’ of net neutrality competitiveness

A briefing from consultancy Rewheel, which covers mobile connectivity competitiveness, notes that in the Netherlands, where zero-rating of content on the internet is not allowed, the telecoms operator KPN has doubled, free of charge, its mobile internet volume caps to encourage use of its online videos. “This is the first empirical evidence of the pro-competitive benefits of... Read this full article

Uploaded: Feb 2014

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Obama backs industry on cybersecurity

On 13 February, President Obama acknowledged the difficulties of respecting privacy and pursuing security concerns in the digital world, when addressing tech executives at a White House Summit on cybersecurity. Commenting on this, Simon Crosby, CTO and co-founder of security company Bromium, says: "The telling theme from Obama’s address was the idea that we are building a cathedral of... Read this full article

Uploaded: Feb 2014

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Facebook is the internet

“It was in Indonesia three years ago that Helani Galpaya first noticed the anomaly,” Leo Mirani writes in The Atlantic. “Indonesians surveyed by Galpaya told her that they didn’t use the internet. But in focus groups, they would talk enthusiastically about how much time they spent on Facebook.” In Africa, Christoph Stork stumbled on something similar. Looking at results from a survey on... Read this full article

Uploaded: Feb 2014

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Turkey heads Twitter removal requests

Turkey filed over five times more content removal requests to Twitter than any other country in the second half of 2014, reports Reuters. “The figures are likely to reinforce fears of a crackdown on internet freedom in the predominantly Muslim NATO state where President Tayyip Erdogan has said he is determined to stamp out what he sees as illegal online activities.” Twitter's transparency report... Read this full article

Uploaded: Feb 2014

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IIC 2015 Event Calendar

17-18 March
TMF, Brussels

26 May
Regional IRF, Miami

27-28 May
TMF, Miami

5-8 October
CPR Week, Washington, DC
5-6 October - IRF, hosted by the FCC
7-8 October - IIC 46th Annual Conference

Confirmed Speakers for Brussels 2015

Priorities, harmonization and vision for the Digital Agenda for Europe: Regulators and industry come together in Brussels to discuss policy and regulation for the future. Registration is now closed. Click here to view speakers from international regulatory authorities and organisations as diverse as Amazon, BT, Belgacom, Google, Sky Deutschland, Uber and Vodafone.

Fátima Barros

Chair of the Board, Autoridade Nacional de Comunicações (ANACOM), Portugal: Chair of BEREC 2015

Dr Theo Bertram

European Policy Strategy Team, Google

Mark MacGann

Head of Public Policy Europe, Middle East and Africa, Űber

Róża Thun

Member of the European Parliament

View all confirmed speakers for Brussels

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	IIC Policy World, February 2015 Our latest newsletter is now available to view online.
	Intermedia, Vol 42, Issue 4 The latest edition of Intermedia is now available to download (IIC member login required)
	Children's Digital Rights: A Priority The unfolding global research and policy agenda for children’s digital rights is discussed by Sonia Livingstone
	Ready for a New Ride With the internet, software and mobile ‘eating the world’ in three phases of convergence, the policy issues for communications services and the information society may now lie predominantly outside the sector, writes Brian Williamson. Read this full article now!
	ASEAN e-Commerce and Payments Alignment 27 November: A half day round table workshop hosted by the IIC Singapore, exploring e-Commerce opportunities and challenges that are springing up for SMEs in the region and regulatory implications. Read more
	The EU'S Policy Horizon November 26, the IIC UK chapter invited some of the more active participants in the EU telecom environment to share their views on what should be on the EU’s policy horizon... Read more
	The Future of the Electronics Communications Sector-Investment and Innovation in Italian Telecoms On 11 November, this half day seminar brought together investors and telecoms operators to examine whether Italy is lagging behind the rest of the world in broadband penetration and development of next generation networks. Read more