The Cost of Regulation in a Small Nation

Alee Fa’amoe is an independent consultant.  He was the Deputy CEO and Executive Director ICT for OfReg, the newly formed (January 2017) converged utilities regulator overseeing ICT, fuels, electricity, and water industries in the Cayman Islands until August 2020.

Mr Fa’amoe has a broad background in technology, operations, and management and has spent 20 years in the telecommunications industry, working as an industry expert on telephone numbering and network operations. He spent several years at Deloitte Cayman as Chief Operating Officer where he was responsible for HR, marketing, IT, operations, and finance departments. He also served as a subject matter expert on client consulting engagements, and worked with Deloitte offices in several Caribbean locations with operational matters.

Mr Fa’amoe was previously appointed Managing Director of the Information and Communications Technology Authority (ICTA) in 2013, which has since become part of OfReg.

Professor Anthony Clayton is Chairman of the Broadcasting Commission Jamaica and has over thirty years of international experience in policy development in national security and policing, energy security, environment and resources; futures studies and scenario planning.

Professor Anthony Clayton is also the Alcan Professor of Caribbean Sustainable Development at the University of the West Indies, Visiting Professor in the School of Engineering at the University of Surrey, and Affiliated Scholar at the Institute for Public Policy at Florida International University.

He is a former Visiting Professor at the Institute for Studies of Science, Technology and Innovation at the University of Edinburgh, Adjunct Distinguished Professor of Sustainable Development at the University of Technology, and International Associate in the School of Management at the University of St Andrews. He is a Fellow of the Caribbean Academy of Sciences, Fellow of the World Academy of Sciences, and holds the Order of Distinction in the Rank of Commander.

Celene Craig is Deputy Chief Executive of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI), since its establishment in 2009, in addition to having worked with its predecessors the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) and the Independent Radio and Television Commission (IRTC).

A significant dimension of her work in the BAI has been her responsibilities for the formulation and review of a wide range of broadcasting/media-related policies and for advising on the implementation of legislative and policy changes in the audiovisual field at national and European levels. Most recently, she has led the development of the BAI’s Policy Position on the Implementation of the revised Audiovisual Media Services Directive and on the Regulation of Harmful Content on Online Platforms.

Ms Craig has had responsibility for regulatory oversight of public funding for the Irish public service broadcasters, RTÉ and TG4, and has acted as an Authority nominee to the BAI’s statutory committees for Contract Awards and for Compliance.

From 2015 to May 2019, Ms Craig was Chairperson of the European Platform of Regulatory Authorities (EPRA) and is an active participant in European fora, such as ERGA, on audiovisual legislative and regulatory matters.

George Michaelides has more than 20 years of experience in ICT, and currently heads the Cyprus national regulatory authority (OCECPR) for Electronic Communications and Postal Services as well as the regulatory authority for Network and Information Security (NIS) for Critical Information Infrastructures (CIIs). In addition, he is tasked to setup and operate the National CSIRT. His office is also the coordinating body for the implementation of Cyprus Cybersecurity Strategy.

As part of his regulatory duties Mr Michaelides is a Board member of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC), the European Mediterranean Regulators Group (EMERG) and the European Regulators Group for Postal Services (ERGP). For more than 14 years he has been working for multinational organizations holding various regional senior ICT roles, accountable for the provision of impeccable service through reorganizations, outsourcing and the implementation/adoption of IT Best Practices.

Mr Michaelides holds a B.Eng in Computer Engineering and an MSc in Communications Systems.

Kim Mallalieu is Deputy Chairman of the Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago, TATT, a Fulbright Fellow and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at The University of the West Indies where she leads the academic, commercial and outreach programmes in Communication Systems.

Dr Mallalieu has previously held the position of Head of Department and led the development of the Master’s in Telecommunications Regulation and Policy, MRP (Telecommunications), coordinating its delivery to participants from over thirty developing countries around the world. She has led many institutional, national and regional initiatives designed to build capacity for ICT-enabled developmental interventions and innovation and was a founding member of Diálogo Regional sobre Sociedad de la Información (DIRSI). As Principal Investigator of the Caribbean ICT Research Programme, she is engaged in multidisciplinary action research revolving around regionally appropriate strategies and technologies in support of development, with an emphasis on longitudinal pathways for equity and inclusion.

Dr Mallalieu holds a BS Electrical Engineering from MIT; MS Optics from the University of Rochester (Institute of Optics) and a PhD in Electronic and Electrical Engineering from University College London. She is a licensed amateur radio operator and the recipient of local, regional and international teaching awards as well as several other awards of distinction.

Paul Canessa was Chief Executive Officer of the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority (GRA) from October 2000 to October 2021.

Mr Canessa was responsible for regulating the electronic communications sector in Gibraltar, which includes the licensing of the radio spectrum, satellite communications and broadcasting.

Mr Canessa was also the Information Commissioner.

The GRA is governed by a Board made up of five members. Mr Canessa was Chairman of the Board during his term.

Mr Canessa’s background is in broadcasting, having been a television producer/journalist and then Head of News and Current Affairs with the Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation.

Dr Rainer Schnepfleitner currently heads the Office for Communications in Liechtenstein, where he is responsible for the regulatory frameworks of Electronic Communications, Audio-Visual Media, Signature and Trust Services and Post.

Dr Schnepfleitner started his career in telecommunications with the Austrian Regulatory Authority. Later he gained expertise in European antitrust and state aid provisions while working with the European Commission in DG Competition. In 2003 he moved to Swisscom, where he was responsible for fixed and mobile regulatory accounting, before continuing his career as project and product manager where he introduced various mobile navigation solutions. From 2008 to 2018 Dr Schnepfleitner worked for the Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA) in Doha, Qatar, where he was responsible for the regulatory frameworks of Telecommunications, IT, Access to Digital Media and Post.

Dr Schnepfleitner received a Master of Business Administration and a PhD in Economics from Vienna Economic University. He also holds a post graduate degree in European Competition Law from King’s College in London.

After completing an Economics degree from the University of Kingston, London in 2001, Stewart Brittenden embarked on his career in regulation with the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority in 2004. Specialising in communications regulation, Mr Brittenden has witnessed the full transition of a telecoms monopoly to full competition over the course of 15 years. He has extensive experience in dealing with the European Commission on matters relating to Market Reviews and on the specific issues relating to the smallest jurisdictions both in and out of the European Union. Mr Brittenden has also dealt with matters on competition law and broadcasting and, more recently, postal service regulation.

Susannah Nightingale joined Ofcom in January 2021 where she works in the Public Policy Team. Prior to this Ms Nightingale was the Falkland Islands Communications Regulator from September 2017 to December 2019. She was the first person to be appointed to this post in a full time capacity. She had sole responsibility for implementing a regulatory framework ranging from quality of service and mechanics of a price cap to spectrum management. Since completing her term in the Falkland Islands Ms Nightingale has worked with the St Helena Government drafting a policy for networks and communications in advance of the arrival of the submarine cable and has engaged in a number of consultancy projects most notably drafting an ICT strategy for Libya, through an ITU project.