Regional communications regulators to meet in Sydney

The Australian Communications and Media Authority and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) will host representatives from 25 communications regulators across the region in Sydney this week at the fourth Asia Pacific Regulators’ Roundtable.

The roundtable will see strategic discussion and information sharing by the leaders of telecommunications, broadcasting and converged ICT regulators. This year’s theme is ‘Beyond Convergence - the Networked Society’, and will concentrate on the era beyond convergence and how regulation needs to more rapidly adapt to address a digitally connected society.

“This senior-level engagement allows us to fully explore looming imperatives such as regulator agility and adapting to remain relevant. We share real experiences and discuss emerging challenges in achieving coherent regulatory outcomes in network-enabled industries,” said ACMA Chairman Chris Chapman.

“It also allows us to share possible solutions to these emerging challenges and discuss increasing opportunities for regional collaboration as we strive to build the capacity and capability of the region to enable the wide-ranging benefits that accrue from a fully connected digital society.”

The roundtable will be opened by Chris Chapman and Sameer Sharma, the ITU’s Asia Pacific regional director. Countries being represented include India, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and Pakistan.

Following on from the roundtable will be the ITU/ACMA International Training Program, a series of workshops that will update attendees about ACMA’s work and foster discussion of communication developments in other countries. More than 70 participants are registered. This year’s theme is ‘Convergent Regulation Through First Principles Thinking’.