1. Impact of new technologies on regulation
Dr Tim Kelly, Head, Strategy and Policy Unit,
International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
15 March 2006

2. Challenge 1: Fixed/mobile convergence
Speed
Battleground for fixed/mobile convergence
Broadband
WLAN 3G
Source: ITU Internet Reports 2004: The Portable Internet.
Mobility

3. Challenge 2: Four key technological enablers
Tagging Things: RFID
enabling real-time identification and tracking
Sensing Things: Sensor technologies
enabling detection of environmental status and sensory information
Thinking Things: Smart technologies
building intelligence into the edges of the network
enabling smart homes, smart vehicles etc
Shrinking Things: Nanotechnology
making possible the “networking” of smaller and smaller objects

4. Challenge 3: Bundling and flat-rate pricing12
4'500
4'000 10
3'500 8
3'000
2'500
US$ per 100 kbit/s per month 6
Down speed (kbit/s)
Lowest sampled cost,
2'000 4
1'500
1'000
Median $ per 100 2
kbit/s
500
Average down speed
2003
2004
2005
Note: Based on 70 economies that had launched broadband services by Source: ITU “Internet of things”. Prices sampled in July/August.

5. Other important emerging policy challenges
Standards-setting and interoperability
Harmonization required particularly in the area of transmission protocols and RFID
Governance of resources
Naming, addressing and identification resources
Data protection and consumer privacy
Rules of data collection and storage
Spectrum trading
Encouraging use of market mechanisms while not conceding spectrum “ownership”
Content without frontiers
Updating 20th Century content “windows”