Advanced Communications over the Internet: Technology and Policy Tony Holmes BT Head of Naming, Numbering & Addressing Policy & Strategy

Challenges for telecom regulators The old environment Well understood technology Formal standards track with regulatory oversight Heavily regulated Well understood services Well understood value chain Well established players Well understood business models Established public policy Well established process Strict public/private demarcation Well understood timelines Control with Administrations The emerging environment New emerging technology Different approach to standards, industry driven and approved Few regulatory levers Numerous service variants New value chains Multiple new players/start ups New & emerging business models Little public policy Minimum process public/private blurring Dynamic! Control with industry VoIP & ENUM is just the beginning!

Regulatory impact & the converged market Impact and approach will be significant Past experience counts for little, the old model doesn’t fit Guessing the right approach is dangerous! Different drivers will see different scenarios emerging The VoIP example Many flavours: Carrier provided - motivation is cost saving Corporate - economic on new sites, good for early adopters ISP provided VoIP - often free on-net & cheap off-net VoIP independent of ISP - driven by margin between retail voice & term cost Self provided VoIP - dependent on Internet access Capital cost, broadband take-up, PSTN charges, indirect access, call/service bundling etc within an environment, will all shape the competition and the market download)

Technology and policy development - a personal perspective Keeping the balance is crucial Early regulation in an emerging market could tip the scales Policy development must not lead technology development Policy development needs to be progressed in a co-operative manner between industry and regulators Convergence offers many opportunities but benefits will only be realised if policy development can flex with the emerging market ‘The approach must match the pace of change’