Bringing Competitors Together to Cross the Digital Divide
The APEC Telecommunications Working Group (APEC TEL) has developed a program that, with the support of governments, will encourage competing telecommunications companies to interconnect to get a better deal for customers.
The Interconnection Training Program (ITP) has been developed to assist business and governments to negotiate and formalize interconnection arrangements faster and more efficiently.
"Telecommunication is a business in which competitors must cooperate to link networks while maintaining robust competition in the marketplace," said Colin Oliver, Director for Regional Cooperation at the Australian Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, who has been appointed as the project overseer of the ITP.
"Effective arrangements for interconnection require sound regulatory arrangements and the appropriate people trained to negotiate agreements and resolve disputes.
"APEC TEL is helping members in the private and public sectors to encourage investment in the extension of telecommunications networks.
"Greater investment in telecommunications infrastructure, particularly in developing economies, is essential for reducing the digital divide and building a regional knowledge based economy."
The final training session was conducted in conjunction with the APEC TEL Working Group Meeting, TEL 27 which has been taking place in Kuala Lumpur this week.
The training workshops began in Bangkok, before moving to Jakarta and then Kuala Lumpur.
The senior instructor for the program, Jim Holms, said skills that were learnt over the two days of sessions are able to be immediately implemented in APEC economies.
"The workshops equip participants to deal with a range of disciplines and market conditions they will encounter in the modern telecommunications industry," Mr Holms said.
"The ITP was targeted at increasing skill levels for senior regulatory managers in government agencies, existing businesses supplying telecommunications services and new market entrants."
Materials from the project and related resources are available on the web at: http://interconnect.ovum.com/index.htm