International Regulators
 

November 15-18, 1993
Sponsored by the Columbia Institute for Tele-Information. Co-sponsored by the Committee on International Relations of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, USA.

Summary Program

Around the world telecommunications regulation is changing. Whereas in the past operations and regulation were united within the same organizations, these activities are now being separated. In con sequence, ministries everywhere confront new tasks in establishing procedures and policies. This series of workshops and training sessions focused on practical methods of addressing key issues and problems. Rather than engaging in policy disputes a nd ideological discussions, the primary goal was to provide telecommunications officials with the tools necessary for evaluating options and implementing effective measures.

The second biennial regulators training workshop gathered over 100 attendees from 36 countries and included speakers from from the regulatory authorities of Japan, Hong Kong, Zimbabwe, Hungary, and the Commission of the European Communities. The first such event was held in 1991 and included contributions from Sir Bryan Carsberg, Alfred Kahn, Felipe Noguera, and Alfred Sikes. This year's special lecturers included Alex Arena, James Chiddix, Patricia Diaz Dennis, Sandor Gyurkovics, Peter Huber, Larry Irving, Norimoto Kimata, Luis Lauredo, Timothy Nulty, Ivan Seidenberg, and Herbert Ungerer.


Monday, November 15, 1993

Opening Remarks
Professor Eli Noam, Columbia University
Commissioner Luis Lauredo, Florida Public Service Commission

Accounting
Joel Berk, Financial Accounting Institute

  • establishing accounting systems
  • financial reporting standards
  • cost allocation methods
Special Lecture: The Future of Media Network Technology
James Chiddix, Senior V P, Time Warner

Determining Revenue Requirements
Joel Berk, Financial Accounting Institute

  • methods of establishing revenue requirements
  • depreciation
  • operating expenses, interest, taxes

Costing Concepts and Methods
Richard Emmerson, Emmerson Enterprises

  • economic principles of costing
  • types of costs (economic, accounting, social)
  • costing methods and practices
  • cross-subsidy concepts
  • costs of market entry and stand-alone costs
Special Lecture: Seeking and Managing Foreign Investment in Telecommunications Infrastructure
Timothy Nulty, International Finance Corp., World Bank

Tuesday, November 16, 1993

Special Lecture: Supranational Regulation
Herbert Ungerer, Head of Division, Commission of the European Communities, DG XIII, Brussels

Pricing Principles and Practice
Bridger Mitchell, RAND Corporation

  • economic principles of pricing
  • cost-based pricing
  • price discrimination
  • new approaches to pricing
  • tariff rebalancing
Special Lecture: Regulating Competition in Japan
Norimoto Kimata, Associate Director-General, Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, Japan

Incentive Pricing
John Haring, Strategic Policy Research

  • price level indices
  • productivity and efficiency measures
  • service definitions and categories
Finance
Bruce Greenwald, Columbia University
  • capital structure
  • risk (systematic and non-systematic) analysis
  • foreign direct investment

Special Lecture: Regulating Private Carriers in Developing Countries
Dr. Sandor Gyurkovics, Secretary of State, Ministry of Transport, Communication and Water Management of The Hungarian Republic, Budapest

Public Evening Symposium
The Next Agenda for Telecommunications Regulation
Alex Arena, Director General, Telecommunications Authority, Hong Kong
Patricia Diaz Dennis, Sullivan & Cromwell, USA; Former Commissioner, FCC; and Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights
Peter Huber, Senior Fellow, Manhattan Institute, USA
Larry Irving, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Telecommunications and Infrastrucutre, USA
Eli Noam, Director, CITI; Columbia University, US
Dr. Sandor Gyurkovics, Secretary of State, Ministry of Transport, Communication & Water Management of The Hungarian Republic, Budapest
Norimoto Kimata, Associate Director-General, Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, Tokyo
Herbert Ungerer, Head of Division, Commission of the European Communities, DG XIII, Brussels

Wednesday, November 17, 1993

Managing the Regulatory Process
Phylicia Fauntleroy, DC Public Service Commission, USA

  • establishing regulatory structures
  • setting regulatory goals and priorities
  • conducting management and operational audits
Special Lecture: Regulating a Competitive Local Loop
Alex Arena, Director General, Office of the Telecommunications Authority, Hong Kong

Regulating Access and Interconnection
William Pollard, National Regulatory Research Institute
Henry Levine, Levine, Lapaga & Block

  • economic issues of interconnection
  • interconnection arrangements for private, value-added, and cellular networks
  • non-discriminatory access regarding content
  • numbering plans

International Settlements and Tariffs
Albert Halprin, Freedom Technologies

  • international resale
  • reciprocal access
  • tariff arrangements
Regulating Modernization and Investment
Bruce Egan, CITI, Columbia University
  • investment evaluation and network modernization
  • regulating diverse networks

Thursday, November 18, 1993

Special Lecture: Sharing Responsibilities in a Competitive Environment
Ivan Seidenberg, Vice Chairman, NYNEX

Consumer Protection and Education
Lisa Rosenblum, Vice Chairman, New York State Public Service Commission

  • universal service goals
  • consumer complaints and dispute resolution
  • privacy and security provisions

Performance Monitoring and Evaluation
Paul Hartman, Hartman & Associates

  • evaluating service goals, information requirements, monitoring, and tracking methods
  • regulating network standards and performance
  • innovation policy
  • establishing quality-of-service parameters
Special Lecture: The Future
Peter Huber, Senior Fellow, Manhattan Institute



Organized by:
Eli M. Noam, CITI
Aine NiShuilleabhain, CITI