The Programme

Day One: Wednesday 11 June 2008

08:20 

08:30

Paul Brisby
Partner
Towerhouse Consulting

Opening remarks from the Chair

09:00

Meg Charles
General Counsel
GSMA

Examining the current and future trends in mobile regulations and competition law

• Reviewing the continued efforts by the industry to self
  regulate and how this is being achieved
  
• Describing the asymmetric impacts of the regulations on
  different groups of operators
  
• How the emerging regulatory landscape of price
  regulation will nurture innovation in service offerings

09:35

David Stewart
Competition Policy Director
Ofcom

Regulation and de-regulation in mobile: getting the balance right for consumers

• How can regulators best adopt strategic principles that
  ensure competition remains the main driver of consumer
  benefits and innovation, whilst addressing market
  failures?
  
• How does the changing view of mobile markets in 2008
  drive opportunities to make regulation more effective
  and better-designed?
  
• What are the emerging views of Ofcom's Mobile Sector
  Assessment?

10:10

Christian Jervelund
Partner
Copenhagen Economics

The waterbed effect: good or bad for consumers?

• Explaining what the waterbed effect is and
  when it occurs
  
• Examining whether the waterbed effect is a
  sign of effective competition or of ineffective
  competition as some authorities suggest
  
• Questioning whether consumer welfare should be
  evaluated service-by-service or as a bundle of services

10:45

Morning refreshments

11:15

Lynne Dorward
Deputy Chief Regulatory
Officer
Zain Group

Reviewing the emergence of competition regulation in the Middle East and Africa

• Why the EU model is not always a good fit for the region
  
• Competition safeguards verses competition
  law – compatible or conflicting?
  
• Market competition verses market control

Robin Saphra
Director: Commercial
Legal & Regulatory
Colt Telecom

The effect of the European Commission's proposal to abolish ex-ante regulation of Market 15 on fixed operators

• Customer demand for mobility services
  
• Existing status of regulation under the
  framework
  
• Is the mobile market effectively competitive?
  
• The lost opportunity for provision of
  improved pan-European mobility services for
  enterprises

Making the most of combined spectrum trading and liberalisation to generate substantial economic benefits

• Removing regulatory restrictions to accommodate
  the rapid technological development and growing
  consumer demand: spectrum reforms within the
  EU Framework Review
  
• Allocating the digital dividend: what can it be used for
  and how can its potential be maximised?
  
• Public sector use of spectrum: improving spectrum
  efficiency

Examining the emergence of symmetry and asymmetry resulting from Mobile Termination Rate regulation

• Highlighting Regulator, Operator and Consumer's perspectives
  
• Reviewing the status of competition in the
  mobile market and the challenges faced by
  new entrants
  
• Examining the potential outcomes of harmonising fixed
  and mobile and termination rates

Expanding on Mobile Termination Rate pricing structure and derived revenues for mobile operators

• Reviewing the current Mobile Termination Rate structure
  emerging for different groups of operators
  
• Reviewing the pricing structure of Mobile Termination
  Rates and potential challenges for compliance
  
• Evaluating the long term incremental cost for existing
  and proposed Mobile Termination Rate regulation

A more consistent approach to Mobile Termination Rate regulation

• The importance of a more consistent approach
  
• The contours of a more consistent approach
  to Mobile Termination Rates in Europe
• Striking the right balance between incentives
  for competition and new investment both by incumbents
  and new entrants

Price intervention as a regulatory tool

• The voice international roaming case: EU
  powers to intervene
  
• Common regulatory framework or exception to
  the regulatory framework?
  
• Exploring the next step in data roaming charges

Developing a commercial data roaming strategy: the operators perspective

• Determining the long term impact of regulatory
  intervention on the commercial strategies of
  operators
  
• Can similar outcomes of pricing for voice
  roaming realistically be achieved for data
  roaming
  
• Examining potential data roaming strategies for
  compliance and profi tability

The development of MVNO agreements under the new recommendation regime, regulatory and competitive implications

• Evaluating the current state of the market
  main facts and fi gures
  
• Development of MVNO and Service
  Provider agreements under the former
  Recommendation
  
• The political debate around market 15; perspective under
  the new Recommendation.

The experience of a newcomer in mobile communications and broadcasting

• How a newcomer can obtain the best conditions in termination: the role of AGCOM and the negotiation
  
• New frequency plan for TV and mobile;
  reforming, new frequencies and the value of the frequencies paid at the time of the auction
  
• How to have one of the best broadcasting networks in 18
  months

The impact of price regulation on competition and consumer welfare

• Describing the short term impacts of the
  Mobile Termination Rate regulations on
  diff erent operators and consumer welfare
  
• Examining the potential outcomes of data
  roaming regulation for competition and consumers
  
• Examining the competitive distortions in the mobile
  market and the short term challenges faced by late
  entrants

Examining the changes liberalisation has brought to the telecoms markets in the Middle East and Africa

• How regional operators are competing with
  multinational giants for a market share
  
• Highlighting the eff ect liberalisation has had
  for the consumer in the mobile market
  
• Predicting future trends

Examining the main regulatory implications of convergence and the role of regulators

• What is metadata?
• Automating using metadata
• Some CDISC initiatives using metadata
• In depth overview of metadata in a data management system
• Metadata in "re-usable coding" development

Closing remarks from the Chair and champagne prize draw