Proposals on Investment, Fraud, Numbering and Security Floated in ITU Treaty Update Preparations

The regulations should continue to be a “high-level framework” that avoids the need for frequent, future updates, said SAMENA, a consortium of 45 operators and dozens of members from 25 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, in a submission. The regulations should avoid specific measures not suitable for a “static treaty” and the “highly dynamic” Internet ecosystem, it said. The revised ITRs should only contain provisions regarding “obligations of Member States, and not direct the activities of private parties,” a European submission said. The U.S. and European countries want no change to the definition of telecommunication in the treaty. Arab countries have proposed including information and communications technology (ICT) and processing in the definition, a suggestion that has prompted opposition. Sources had said the proposal would greatly expand ITU’s mandate.

Free market economics and competition should be encouraged, not hindered by global regulatory interventions, SAMENA said. The regulations must encourage investment and innovation in accordance with national rules, and avoid measures that hinder traffic growth, or inhibit or restrict market-driven innovation, it said. The new regulations must adopt strategic approaches that encourage and promote pro-competitive market practices, SAMENA said.

Countries should support a new IP interconnection ecosystem that provides both best-effort delivery, and end-to-end quality of service delivery, to ensure more efficient use of networks, and to allow for new business models to better reflect future demand, the European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association said in a submission. Best-effort delivery should continue to form “the basis of international IP traffic exchange,” it said. “Nothing shall preclude commercial agreements with differentiated quality of service delivery to develop,” the proposal said.

An Arab group submission proposed new articles that call on countries to boost confidence and security in telecom and ICT, to address cybersecurity, cyber and other online crime, cyber and denial-of-service attacks, and countering spam and phishing. Other officials and documents had said criminal matters are national issues that are outside ITU’s mandate and the scope of the regulations. Countries “should have the flexibility to add precautions for national cybersecurity, based on national sovereignty,” SAMENA said. It is “reasonable to pursue a globally coordinated effort to address issues relating to cybersecurity and safety,” it said.

Unlawful acts carried out on international telecom networks and affecting operating agencies and subscribers located in different jurisdictions can only be combated on the basis of an international agreement, namely the ITRs, and through harmonization of the relevant national legislation, Russia said. Fraud is one of the “very critical” issues to be dealt with under the revised regulations, a document said. Others have said the subject of fraud is outside the scope of the treaty.

Fraud is a matter defined and dealt with under national jurisprudence, and therefore its application to telecommunications remains a national matter, a European submission said. Arab countries are merging their view with the views of countries in Africa and from the former Soviet Union, an Arab group submission said. Many cases of fraud are associated with the non-transmission of calling party identification, it said. Origin identification is required for prevention and also for security reasons, it said.

Countries must ensure that operating agencies implement Calling Line Identification (CLI) features, where technically possible, including, at least, presentation of the country code, national destination code or equivalent origination identifiers, said a draft document summarizing all proposals put together by the working group. The original proposal had come from Egypt. They should also ensure that integrity of the CLI is maintained end-to-end, that associated data and privacy protection requirements are met, but such masked information shall be made available to duly authorized law enforcement agencies, it said. The regulations should avoid references to technical aspects associated with international CLI, and instead require policy statements and requirements to be included, a European submission said.

Countries “shall, if they so elect, be able to control all naming, numbering, addressing and identification resources used within their territories for international telecommunications” and ICT, a submission from the Arab group of countries said. Adequate, efficient and trusted management of the naming, numbering and addressing resources shall continue to be ensured, it said. Administrations shall take appropriate measures to ensure the confidence in using these “important resources,” it said.

African countries do not support the concept of administrations imposing routing requirements, an African group submission said, referring to a proposal that said administrations and operating agencies must have the right to know which international routes are used for carrying traffic. An administration must continue to be able know how its traffic is routed, mainly for purposes of security and preventing fraud, the Arab submission said. The definition of international route is no longer required because it does not reflect reality, a European submission said, referring to the “multitude of routing arrangements” available. Routing of traffic is a question of commercial arrangements and therefore a provision on it could result in uncompetitive outcomes, it said.

Countries in the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations believe that regulating the costs of international Internet interconnectivity is not the best option to increase international interconnectivity, a submission said. The establishment of national and regional Internet exchange points is an effective way for countries to reduce international connectivity costs, it said.

The December conference should also address double taxation, SAMENA said. The regulations could be a framework for reduced taxation on “international telecoms goods and services,” it said. Reducing taxes could spur long-term investment, it said. Eliminating dual taxation for voice and broadband services would lower prices for users, Russia said. A regional group of African countries proposed a new article that said fiscal taxes on telecom gear and services should not be excessive. Proceeds should be used to finance the development of telecom services, it said. A large percentage of participants at the last meeting of the African group, in May, came from the least developed countries. Two executives from Huawei and another from the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers also attended part of the meeting.