For about two decades now, the ICT policy worldwide has relied on the introduction of telecommunications competition and the lifting of strict regulations on wireless and other digital technologies to provide more incentive for investment and development. Overall, the approach has worked. In many countries, communications infrastructures have expanded as a result of the legal establishment of a competitive ICT market, the introduction and enforcement of competition and interconnection rules, the establishment of strong, independent regulatory agencies, the elimination of individual licensing requirements, and the reform of spectrum management, among other policies. InfoDev’s Practical Handbook for Telecommunications Regulators and its ICT Regulators Toolkit provide comprehensive materials on policy for telecommunications and ICT.

One of the many countries that have successfully approached telecom de-monopolization is Romania, where the National Telecommunications Regulator (ANRC) and the Ministry for Communication and Technology worked with the ICT business sector, civil society organizations, and the USAID-funded RITI Policy Project to reform the policy and regulatory environment for ICT. The transition from a monopoly market for telecommunications to a fully open competitive market continues in Romania and other countries, as national regulators seek the right balance of regulation and de-regulation that will foster competition, protect users, and encourage investment and innovation.

Telecom and ICT Policy Reform – Key Resources

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