Telecommunications Policies for the Americas

The Blue Book on "Telecommunications Policies for the Americas" originated at the Regional Conference of the International Telecommunication Union on Telecommunications Development in the Americas Region, held in Acapulco in 1992, at which recommendations were adopted to promote the telecommunications sector throughout the region.

The Blue Book is designed to serve as a tool for countries of the region in the process of managing the communications and information sector. The telecommunications environment is constantly evolving, and it is essential to have a telecommunications policy that takes into account the opportunities offered by new information and communication technologies. This new edition of the Blue Book will help policymakers to take the initiative in achieving this objective.

The new edition of the Blue Book also seeks to update the regional vision of telecommunications on the basis of accumulated experience with operation of the sector, in the context of new legislation and the consolidation, despite various setbacks, of a model based on the predominance of market forces and the private sector.

The 1999 version of the Blue Book warned that liberalization must not be confused with privatization, and that the two are quite different concepts. In general terms, liberalization means the freedom to create and offer new services and to improve existing ones, within the context of an open market.

It also pointed out that liberalization does not mean that the regulatory body or the State itself must give up all control over services and service providers. Competition and regulation, it was noted, can and must go hand-in-hand in order to ensure a competitive market and to serve the public and social interest effectively. Nevertheless, users must be able to enjoy all the benefits that liberalization currently offers and that have been made possible through technological advances.

Support for the development of telecommunications in less-developed economies must take into account the conditions both of supply and of demand. The low-income and rural telecommunications market has its own characteristics that require specific regulatory measures within the broader sector, and this makes it important for countries of the Americas to exchange views so that the updated Blue Book will be truly useful.

Consistent with the work plan that is being implemented, the first draft of the third edition was prepared by an expert from the International Telecommunication Union, on the basis of contributions received up to March 31. A second draft is now being prepared and will be distributed shortly for review by all countries of the region, which are invited to submit their comments and contributions for improving it.

During the 10th Meeting of the COM/CITEL Coordinating Committee on May 20 5-28, 2004, in Washington, the Second Regional Dialogue was conducted by videoconferences, and involved representatives of administrations at the CITEL headquarters and it's for regional offices (in Chile, Nicaragua, Peru and the Dominican Republic). The purpose of that videoconference was to examine the first draft of the Blue Book. That regional dialogue used the global dialogue platform of the World Bank's Global Development Learning Network.

During the meeting of the COM/CITEL Coordination Committee an informal working group was held among representatives of Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Uruguay, the United States and Venezuela, intended to move forward with the updating of the Blue Book by examining the various proposals submitted during the process.

Following that meeting it was decided that the new version of the book will consist of 13 chapters, structured as follows:

1.            Introduction

2.            The impact of telecommunications on economic growth with equity.

3.            The role of national states.

4.            The private sector role

5.            Technological developments

6.            Regulation and deregulation

7.            Administrative procedures

8.            Concessions and license renewals

9.            Internet and IP services

10.          Trade in telecommunications services and equipment

11.          The connectivity agenda and strategies for the information society

12.          Security for critical telecommunication networks and systems

13.          Consumer/user protection

While hoping that the administrations of the various member countries will review this new draft and submit their comments as well as their contributions, it is also important that countries should participate in the drafting meeting that is scheduled for the end of September in Argentina, where the new version of the Blue Book will be reviewed and revised.

Rodrigo Robles
Coordinator
Update of the Blue Book
"Telecommunication Policies for the Americas"