Regulatory Website Survey

A National Regulatory Authority (NRA) is one of the important government agencies in any country, especially in the context of information society reforms. It is responsible for the healthy growth of the telecommunication sector and the diffusion of telecommunication services to the public at all levels. It serves a large group of stakeholders varying from citizens to businesses and prospective investors to incumbent telecom operators. The website of an NRA should serve as an information gateway to all stakeholders. In addition to serving as an instrument for transparency and accountability, a well-designed and informative website can also demonstrate the extent and facility with which the NRA uses the technologies and services it regulates. A well-maintained website increases confidence in the regulator’s skills and capacities. Moreover, an effectively run website with useful, up-to-date information and functionality can be an effective communication tool that not only speeds up communication, but decreases time and costs incurred for regulatory compliance.

This study systematically benchmarks such websites in the Asia-Pacific region, evaluating their usefulness to telecom operators, investors, consumers, researchers and even the general public. Each website is awarded marks for the availability of information and features that are useful to the regulator’s stakeholders. A total of 27 websites are evaluated from a region that includes 62 economies. The results of the website survey indicate that the website of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority tops the surveyed group.

This research was conducted by Chanuka Wattegama  

The final report for this study Benchmarking National Telecom Regulatory Authority websites of Asia-Pacific Region (Version 2.0 - pre-publication) can be downloaded HERE (PDF document). Comments can be posted HERE.

An earlier version (Version 1.3, a more detailed version of the report) is also available HERE.

The findings of this research have been presented at the following events:

• Catalyzing Change:  Strategies to Achieve Connectivity and Convergence, 10^th LIRNE.NET/LIRNEasia training course on telecom reform, 25-30 September 2005, The Elizabeth, Singapore
• WDR Expert Forum, 30 September 2005, The Elizabeth, Singapore
• LIRNEasia Networking Meeting, 2 October 2005, Jakarta Hilton, Indonesia
• Pro-Poor, Pro-Market ICT Policy and Regulation forum at the WSIS, 17 November 2005, Kram Center, Tunis, Tunisia
• Usable Knowledge for Growing the Sector: ICT Policy and Regulation Research from LIRNEasia, 19 December 2005, Galle Face Hotel, Colombo, Sri Lanka
  

News release, December 19, 2005

Kategorie: General, Aktualisiert am 10/3/2007 von Divakar Goswami | Log in