Foro de Interconexión Regional Políticas Públicas .

1. Foro de Interconexión RegionalPolíticasPúblicas. PRESENTER: Bevil M. Wooding Special Advisor, Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) LACNIC X, Isla Margarita, VE

2. Overview: The Caribbean Situation • In the very early stages of • Emerging from decades of monopoly service • National ICT Policy Development and Implementation • Development of local competitive environment • Developing relevant local content • Definition of a Regional Caribbean Agenda (in support of CSME) • Unavailability of critical supporting infrastructure • Regional fiber systems exist, however, in-country carrier-grade data centers and exchange points are rare.

4. A Multi-layered Challenge LEADERSHIP vision| values| strategy

5. Key Questions • How can infrastructure, content and policy initiatives beeffectivelysynchronised? • What specifically can be put in place to facilitate the negotiation of more favourable interconnection rates • Whatshoudbe the role of government/the state? • What impact canincreasedlevels of intra-regionalco-operation and partnershiprealisticallybring?

6. The Interconnection Link • The interconnect regime decided upon has a major impact on the development/rate of growth of market segments. • the decision in the UK about revenue sharing on local rate numbers was a contributory factor in the explosive growth in dial internet and • the asynchronous reciprocity that exists between fixed and mobile termination rates. • Source8 (an EU based consultancy)

7. Policy Options • Governments can assist in the closing of the gap with active policies. • Policies in favor of Internet development are: • Unbundling of last mile access, including Cable TV access • Reduced tariffs for Internet access • Fair rules for Internet peering between ISP's • Interconnection of ISP's with incumbent operators

8. Policy Options • Active policies could also include: • Creation of public "telecenters", mainly for schools, libraries, local counties in rural areas, • PC's acquisition incentives • Universal Service funds application towards ICT's diffusion • Development or even introduction of Internet into government activities • Introduction of new e-learning and e-health programs • Tax reduction for the ICT's development.

9. Other Considerations • Direct government policies should be concentrated in: • Deployment of modern telecommunications networks • Priority of Internet access in schools as universal objective • Implementation of educational programs for the use of informatics tools • Deployment of community "telecenters" to extend the Internet and other ICTs to lower income and rural population • Development of the e-Government tools

10. Other Considerations • Promotion of international Internet interconnection at low prices. •  International help can also be optimized, concentrating and rationalizing available resources from ITU, NGOs and other financial organizations. • Promotion of local NAP (Network Access Point) to reduce interconnection costs.

11. Controlling IXP Traffic • An IXP enables its member ISPs to interconnect with each other, but does not mandate that every member exchange traffic with every other. • It is up to each ISP connected to the IXP to determine whether, with whom, and on what basis (paid or unpaid) it will interconnect with another ISP to exchange traffic. • Careful use of BGP-4 allows an ISP to control whether its network will accept traffic from a given ISP

12. The Peering/Transit Dichotomy • international Internet connectivity operates according to the peering/transit dichotomy. • connectivity costs are allocated according to bilateral contracts, which can generally be classified as either peering or transit agreements • In other words, the perverse situation is that Developing Country Internet service providers -- small companies struggling to provide network services to the poorest populations in the world -- are effectively subsidizing the largest, richest ISPs in Europe and the United States.

13. Getting a Closer Connection • The localization of packet traffic - keeping the physical path traversed by packets as short as possible - produces measurable improvements in service cost, performance, and efficiency. • the business cases for domestic Internet enterprises improve dramatically - not just for ISPs, but for online banking, e-commerce sites, online government, enterprise VPNs, content hosting, web services, etc.

14. Central Inhibitors to neutral IXPs • Legal restrictions • prohibitions on non-regulated telecommunications facilities, • enforced monopolies on international connectivity, • restrictive licensing regimes, and • burdensome tax treatments • Telecommunications regulatory agencies • who seek to extend their statutory authority over telephony to Internet infrastructure • and monopoly telecom operators and dominant ISPs • who seek to prevent effective competition

15. Shift Required • Far too often, developing country ISPs behave like resellers: they buy connectivity from foreign suppliers, and resell to their domestic markets. • They must start seeing themselves as important stewards of a national (or regional) Internet backbone.

16. Regional Interconnection & Public Policy LACNIC X, Isla Margarita, VE