Policy Areas Archives

APEC Leaders’ Commitment to Reduce Barriers to Information Flows Welcomed

Published on November 15, 2011
APEC leaders in Honolulu.
APEC leaders in Honolulu.

USCIB applauded APEC leaders for agreeing at their just-concluded summit in Honolulu to begin to put into operation a long-awaited system to recognize corporate privacy practices in order to facilitate international commerce.

In their joint communiqué, APEC leaders pledged to “implement the APEC Cross-Border Privacy Rules System to reduce barriers to information flows, enhance consumer privacy, and promote interoperability across regional data privacy regimes.”

“Cross-border data transfers are vital to conducting business in a global economy,” said Heather Shaw, USCIB’s vice president for information, communications and technology policy.

“However, differing government regulations on transfers of personal information can create impediments to the flow of information across borders, which is the lifeblood of today’s dynamic global economy.  We are pleased that, with the APEC Cross-Border Privacy Rules System, companies will be able to transfer customer or employee information for processing across the region based on a one-stop validation mechanism against the APEC principles, simplifying processes and reducing costs.”

Following the adoption of the APEC Privacy Framework in 2004, USCIB foresaw the potential benefits of such a mechanism to improve conditions for expanded trade and investment in the APEC region.  USCIB and its member companies have supported the development of a cross-border privacy rules system, as an active participant in the APEC working group charged with developing the rules, and have been key contributors to many components of the newly announced system.  At a preparatory meeting to the Honolulu summit, USCIB organized a workshop on the new system.

“We are particularly pleased to see an ongoing commitment to promoting interoperability across regional data privacy regimes, which will further increase the benefits and reduce the costs of participating in this program,” said Ms. Shaw.

Ms. Shaw noted the business community’s appreciation for the important roles played by Australia in chairing the APEC Data Protection subgroup, by Canada in its work in APEC and the OECD on regulatory cooperation, and by the U.S. government in helping support and coordinate the Pathfinder project.  She also recognized key input from other APEC governments that took part in the development of the system as well as constructive input from civil society groups.

Staff contacts: Heather Shaw

More on USCIB’s Information, Communications and Technology Committee

USCIB Welcomes President’s Commitment to Robust TPP Agreement

Published on November 12, 2011

Honolulu, November 12, 2011–  The United States Council for International Business (USCIB) welcomed President Obama’s comments at the APEC CEO Summit in Hawaii today supporting an ambitious and comprehensive Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement and commended all TPP countries for issuing an outline to complete the negotiations in 2012.

“The president’s strong statement for a comprehensive and forward-looking 21st-century trade agreement will help maintain the momentum for completing the TPP negotiations,” stated Rob Mulligan, USCIB’s senior vice president and head of the Washington office, who is attending the APEC CEO Summit.  “The business community has been meeting with leaders from all of the TPP countries over the last few days to urge them to move forward expeditiously with a high-standard agreement that covers all sectors and products.”

Mr. Mulligan further noted: “Japan’s interest in joining the TPP talks highlights the importance of the negotiations for opening markets in the Asia-Pacific region.  If Japan is ready to take on the high-standards, comprehensive commitments that the U.S. business community is seeking in a TPP agreement, then this would be a significant addition to the negotiation.”

Mr. Mulligan said USCIB looks forward to working with U.S. leadership and its partners in the business community to ensure that the final TPP trade agreement produces new economic opportunities and exports to sustain and increase American jobs and the maximum commercial benefits of the growing Asia-Pacific market.

About USCIB
USCIB promotes open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development and corporate responsibility, supported by international engagement and prudent regulation.  Its members include top U.S.-based global companies and professional services firms from every sector of our economy, with operations in every region of the world.  With a unique global network encompassing leading international business organizations, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide, and works to facilitate international trade and investment.  More information is available at www.uscib.org.

Contact:
Jonathan Huneke, USCIB
(212) 703-5043, jhuneke@uscib.org

More on USCIB’s Trade and Investment Committee

Benefits of Self-Regulation in Marketing Put Forward at Chile Conference

Published on November 2, 2011
At the workshop in Santiago, Chile (L-R): Chris Martin (USCIB), Sebastian Goldsack Trebilcock (DMA Chile), Alvaro Díaz (AMF Variable Printing); DMA Chile President Rodrigo Edwards (Edwards Associates), Juan Pablo (Viva!), Martín Baeza (COPESA).
At the workshop in Santiago, Chile (L-R): Chris Martin (USCIB), Sebastian Goldsack Trebilcock (DMA Chile), Alvaro Díaz (AMF Variable Printing); DMA Chile President Rodrigo Edwards (Edwards Associates), Juan Pablo (Viva!), Martín Baeza (COPESA).

With business facing calls from Chilean legislators for significant new regulation in marketing and advertising, Chile’s Direct Marketing Association invited Chris Martin, USCIB’s manager for marketing and ICT policy, to address an October conference promoting self-regulation as a better alternative.  USCIB’s Marketing & Advertising Committee is focused on promoting strong and effective marketing self-regulation around the world.

In response to some privacy concerns around the potential tracking of consumer information, Chile is considering an across-the-board “opt-in” provision, which would require consumers to opt in to marketing communications on any platform, including mail, telephone, and digital.  While some countries have privacy laws around marketing and advertising, very few have in place or are considering quite as sweeping regulation as that being proposed in Chile.

“It is important for Chilean businesses and policymakers to understand how self-regulation is addressing similar privacy issues in other jurisdictions like the U.S. and Europe,” said Mr. Martin.  “Especially with regard to digital advertising, the U.S. business community has pioneered self-regulation that responds to privacy concerns and USCIB has been a forceful advocate for harmonizing a global self-regulatory approach, one that balances these important privacy issues with the need to ensure that innovative content and services on the Web can continue to be funded through advertising in order to keep them free or low-cost to consumers.”

As the U.S. affiliate to the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), USCIB actively promoted new principles and standards around online advertising in the ICC’s recently revised Marketing & Advertising Code.  Available and searchable online at www.codescentre.com, the Code sets the international gold-standard for ethical standards in marketing by providing guidance to global industry and self-regulatory initiatives.

“The problem in Chile, as well as other regions that are considering privacy-focused regulation, is that policymakers often do not understand the impact of the laws they are proposing,” said Sebastián Goldsack Trebilcock, Executive Director, DMA Chile.  “Having USCIB come down and speak in Chile about what business is doing in the U.S. and globally helps us in our local efforts to educate regulators and inform the business community about self-regulatory models being deployed in other markets.”

While it may seem counter-intuitive to put forward self-regulation as an effective means of addressing privacy concerns, it has proved effective in many ways, according to Mr. Martin.  “What would the Internet look like today if strident privacy regulation had been in place at the outset of the Internet?” he asked.  “Would we have all the free content and services we enjoy today, like Google, Facebook, Twitter, Pandora, free news sites and any number of these things that we take for granted?  It is worth considering.  I hope the next big idea has just as much opportunity to take hold and change our world.”

Staff contact: Chris Martin

More on USCIB’s Marketing and Advertising Committee

Silicon Valley General Counsels Learn About Emerging Global Legal Challenges

Published on November 1, 2011
USCIB’s Charlene Flick
USCIB’s Charlene Flick

On October 21, Charlene Flick, director of intellectual property and competition at USCIB, addressed the Silicon Valley Association of General Counsel in Santa Clara, California.  Ms. Flick discussed emerging legal challenges for U.S. companies as they expand internationally, and specifically how USCIB helps American industry navigate an increasingly complex global marketplace.

USCIB recently updated its Legal Issues Overview, which presents a number of key international policy issues with strong legal components as a reference for corporate counsel and other legal professionals.

“The objective of USCIB’s work,” Ms. Flick noted, “is to foster fair and predictable legal and regulatory regimes across borders to enhance seamless transactions across borders.”  Ms. Flick discussed how USCIB capitalizes on its extensive industry network to influence policy at both national and international institutions.  She then offered a selection of legal challenges that she confronts regularly in her work at USCIB, ranging from questions of jurisdiction and extraterritoriality to the adequacy of a country’s intellectual property regime and whether or not the U.S. notion of due process is respected in foreign jurisdictions in the course of a foreign enforcement action.

“Of particular interest to the general counsels was the realization that legal privilege as U.S. lawyers understand it – that communications between corporate executives and in-house lawyers are privileged and not discoverable — does not apply in all foreign jurisdictions,” Ms. Flick observed.  “The European Union, for example, does not accept this notion of legal privilege, and it is important for American companies to understand that communications internally across borders may be subject to different legal norms in the course of a foreign investigation, and how best to deal with this reality.”

Ms. Flick emphasized that advocacy should not be limited to the legislative bodies, but that influencing policy objectives should be approached on the executive and judicial fronts, as well.  She noted that as the markets globalize, policymakers will be forced to harmonize their own regulatory landscape with that of other countries to benefit their own economies.  “U.S. industry is global industry,” Ms. Flick concluded, “and it should insist upon being at the table where regulations and policies are conceived that will dictate global business.”   This, of course, is where USCIB really provides value to its members.

Staff contact: Helen Medina

USCIB Legal Issues Overview

More on USCIB’s Intellectual Property Committee

More on USCIB’s Competition Committee

USCIB Welcomes Rep. Camp’s Tax Proposal

Published on October 31, 2011

Washington, D.C., October 31, 2011– The United States Council for International Business (USCIB), a pro-trade group which represents America’s top global companies before the U.S. government and in major international forums, welcomed proposed tax reform measures put forward by Rep. David Camp (R – Mi.), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.

“We are pleased to see Chairman Camp’s proposal on tax reform,” said USCIB President and CEO Peter M. Robinson.  “The high rates and worldwide system of taxation of the United States are out of step with the rest of the world.  U.S. business supports efforts to achieve reform of these rules.  Chairman Camp’s proposal represents an important first step.”

Mr. Robinson underscored the importance of maintaining a level playing field for all companies in the context of U.S. tax reform.  “We must ensure that legislative alternatives intended to protect the tax base do not disfavor U.S. companies versus their competitors,” he said.  “We look forward to working with Chairman Camp and other members of Congress and the administration to achieve bipartisan business tax reform.”

Through its affiliation with the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD, USCIB works closely with the U.S. and other governments to provide business input and promote closer international cooperation on tax matters, including the OECD Model Tax Treaty and the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines.

USCIB promotes open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development and corporate responsibility, supported by international engagement and prudent regulation.  Its members include top U.S.-based global companies and professional services firms from every sector of our economy, with operations in every region of the world.  With a unique global network encompassing leading international business organizations, including BIAC, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide, and works to facilitate international trade and investment.  More information is available at www.uscib.org.

Contact:
Jonathan Huneke, USCIB
+1 212.703.5043, jhuneke@uscib.org

More on USCIB’s Taxation Committee

New Report Proves Trade Finance Is Low-Risk, Asks Regulators and G20 to Unlock Trade

Published on October 26, 2011

4182_image002Beijing and New York, N.Y., October 26, 2011 –The rules set by bank regulators impose unwarranted capital requirements that choke trade and have adverse impacts on growth. A new report issued today by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) shows that trade finance is a relatively low-risk asset class that should not be feared by banks, nor over regulated by governments, according to ICC’s American national committee, the United States Council for International Business (USCIB).

ICC also said it was pleased that the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision had announced measures yesterday that recognize trade finance as a low-risk activity for banks, and said that there is opportunity to further refine the rules to foster the development of trade and the support of SME clients. ICC asserted that treating trade finance as a unique asset class to accurately reflect its low risk will help foster more trade and create jobs.

“The ICC report provides a compelling case for the Basel Committee to reduce the proposed capital requirements, which by some estimates effectively increase the cost of trade finance by 30 to 40 percent ,for importers and exporters around the world,” said Michael Quinn, managing director with JP Morgan and chair of the USCIB’s Banking Committee.  “As the rules have yet to be finalized, this ICC effort will hopefully address major concerns in the Basel Committee’s original recommendations.”

The new ICC report calls on standard setters and policy makers to carefully study the potential unforeseen impact of proposed Basel III changes on trade finance from the Basel committee and to make trade finance more accessible and affordable.

Reliable and cost-effective finance and guarantees to companies looking to import or export commodities, consumer goods, and capital equipment are critical to keep trade flowing within and between counties. World trade is, in turn, key to global economic growth.

The outlook on the risks of defaults in trade and finance were revealed in the ICC report Global Risks – Trade and Finance, issued on the occasion of a major ICC Banking Commission meeting taking place in Beijing from October 24 to 28.

The report was based on analysis of the ICC Trade Finance Register, the most comprehensive dataset available on the market. It contains data from major international banks reflecting a minimum of 60-65% of traditional global trade finance activity, worth about USD2-2.5 trillion. Fewer than 3,000 defaults were observed in the full data set of 11.4 million transactions.

The report also showed the short-term nature of trade transactions and recommended using the actual maturity of trade transactions to calculate risk requirements as opposed to the one-year standard proposed by regulators.

In the midst of the current global economic crisis, the ICC Banking Commission meeting brings together some 350 eminent banking professionals, international organizations and supervisory bodies from over 50 countries to examine the key trade and finance challenges faced by the industry.

The trade and finance experts at the ICC meeting also worked to frame business input to the G20 on stimulating jobs and growth, ahead of the upcoming G20 Summit in Cannes. The discussions were part of a series of regional consultations led by the ICC G20 Advisory Group around the world. Since its creation in May 2011, the G20 Advisory Group has been leading ICC’s efforts to develop policy input to the G20 process in areas including: trade and investment, financial regulation, anti-corruption, the international monetary system, commodity price volatility and green growth.

“Trade will play a key role in tackling the jobs crisis,” said Jean-Guy Carrier, ICC’s secretary general. “Economic growth depends largely on the capacity of G20 governments to improve the conditions for international trade, including easing trade finance rules. However, what we’re seeing is that protectionist measures are growing within the G20. This trend must be reversed and more needs to be done to dispel the myths that trade results in job losses. Trade is a dynamic process that contributes to job creation.”

Global Risks – Trade Finance 2011 is a useful tool for both policy-makers and senior executives in financial institutions around the world. It will enable institutions to better understand the level of risks involved in different trade finance products and allow bankers to benchmark their activities in a more rigorous fashion.

“I hope that by focusing on the critical connections between default levels in trade finance and the shaping of new regulatory recommendations, decision-makers will be able to engage collectively in efforts to improve the global financial system’s overall resilience,” said Kah Chye Tan, global head of trade and working capital, Barclays Corporate, and chair of the ICC Banking Commission.

To read the ICC response to the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision announcement on trade finance, please visit www.iccwbo.org.

About the International Chamber of Commerce

ICC is the world business organization, representing enterprises from all sectors in every part of the world. It promotes cross-border trade and investment and the multilateral trading system, and helps business meet the challenges and opportunities of globalization. Business leaders and experts drawn from ICC’s global membership establish the business stance on broad issues of trade and investment policy as well as on vital technical subjects. ICC enjoys a close working relationship with the United Nations and other intergovernmental organizations, including the World Trade Organization and the G20. ICC was founded in 1919. Today it groups hundreds of thousands of member companies and associations from 120 countries. For more information please visit www.iccwbo.org.

About USCIB

USCIB promotes open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development and corporate responsibility, supported by international engagement and prudent regulation.  Its members include top U.S.-based global companies and professional services firms from every sector of our economy, with operations in every region of the world.  With a unique global network encompassing leading international business organizations, including ICC, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide, and works to facilitate international trade and investment.  More information is available at www.uscib.org.

More on USCIB’s Banking Committee

USCIB’s Adam Greene Named to Labor Department Advisory Committee

Published on October 26, 2011
USCIB's Adam Greene
USCIB’s Adam Greene

New York, N.Y., October 26, 2011 – Adam Greene, USCIB’s vice president for labor affairs and corporate responsibility, has been named by Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis to serve on the National Advisory Committee for Labor Provisions of U.S. Free Trade Agreements.  The recently reconstituted advisory committee provides advice to the Secretary of Labor on the implementation of labor rules in existing free trade agreements, and on the labor provisions of FTAs being negotiated.

The committee’s other newly named business representatives all come from USCIB’s membership.  They include Darryl Knudsen of Gap Inc., Ed Potter of The Coca-Cola Company (chair of USCIB’s Labor and Employment Committee) and Anna Walker of Levi Strauss & Co.

“I am delighted that Secretary Solis has selected such solid business representatives for this important advisory committee,” said USCIB President and CEO Peter M. Robinson.  “Effectively navigating the intersection of trade and labor policies is critical if we are to move forward on trade, grow our economy and create quality American jobs.  I congratulate Adam Greene, Ed Potter, Darryl Knudsen and Anna Walker on their appointments and extend USCIB’s full support for their work.”

USCIB is the primary forum for American business in the area of international labor policy and the linkages between trade and labor.  As the American affiliate of the International Organization of Employers (IOE), USCIB plays a direct role in the tripartite International Labor Organization, working alongside government and trade union representatives to develop global labor and workplace standards and programs.  In addition, through its affiliation with the OECD’s Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC), USCIB is actively involved in OECD work in the areas of employment, labor and social affairs, interacting with labor via BIAC’s counterpart organization, the Trade Union Advisory Committee.

Mr. Greene manages U.S. business participation in the development of international labor standards, and advises companies on international and regional trends in labor and employment policy.  He coordinates USCIB involvement in the ILO’s governing and standard setting bodies, and promotes the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.  He is vice chair of the Business Technical Advisory Committee on Labor Affairs to the Inter-American Conference of Ministers of Labor.

Labor representatives on the National Advisory Committee for Labor Provisions of U.S. Free Trade Agreements were drawn from the United Steelworkers, the United Auto Workers and the AFL-CIO, among others, while “public” representatives come from a number of academic institutions and think tanks.

USCIB promotes open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development and corporate responsibility, supported by international engagement and prudent regulation.  Its members include top U.S.-based global companies and professional services firms from every sector of our economy, with operations in every region of the world.  With a unique global network encompassing leading global business organizations, including the IOE and BIAC, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide, and works to facilitate international trade and investment.  More information is available at www.uscib.org.

Contact:
Jonathan Huneke, USCIB
+1 212.703.5043, jhuneke@uscib.org

More on USCIB’s Labor and Employment Policy Committee
More on USCIB’s Trade and Investment Committee

At UN Internet Governance Forum Business Emphasizes Need for an Open Internet

Published on October 24, 2011

4183_image002At the UN’s Internet Governance Forum (IGF), which took place September 27-30 in Nairobi, USCIB joined business representatives from around the world in underscoring the importance of maintaining an open, multi-stakeholder approach to international discussions of the Internet’s development. Many USCIB members attended the 2011 IGF and participated in a range of substantive sessions on Internet policy.

Heather Shaw, USCIB’s vice president for information, communications and technology policy, participated in a panel discussion aimed at promoting awareness of the OECD’s Principles for an Open Internet.  The principles were agreed at a June OECD High-Level Meeting on the Internet Economy.

Ms. Shaw was joined on the panel by: Ambassador Philip L. Verveer, deputy assistant secretary of state and the U.S. coordinator for international communications and information policy; Rod Beckstrom, president and CEO of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), who spoke on behalf of the Internet Technical Advisory Committee to the OECD; Dimitri Ypsilanti of the OECD, who chaired the session;  Professor Luis Magalhães, the head of Portugal’s “knowledge society” agency; Alice Munyua of Kenya’s ministry of information and communications; and Anriette Esterhuysen, CEO of the Association for Progressive Communications, who spoke on behalf of the Civil Society Information Society Advisory Council to the OECD.

The OECD principles aim to ensure the openness and dynamism of the Internet.  Ms. Shaw explained they would be valuable going forward, particularly in the lead-up to the World Congress on Information Technology, to be held in October 2012 in Montreal.  She said USCIB was pleased to convey the views of the broader OECD business community to the IGF, which it regards as an ideal place to draw greater awareness of the OECD principles given the IGF’s broad and diverse participation.

Ms. Shaw said the principles “serve as a basis for greater international coherence on these issues, vital for issues related to the internet where there are no borders, although countries will continue to set their own policies and regulations, adapting international principles to suit their individual cultures, legal systems and priorities.”  She said another added value of the OECD principles is their broad scope and flexibility, which, she said, “means they can be applied on topics where technology and business models are still evolving and emerging.”  Ms. Shaw stressed that interoperability of national policies must be maintained for information flows to continue across borders, promoting greater investment and innovation.

The OECD has been a pioneer in integrating the view of all stakeholders’ in Internet policy discussions.  The need for wide stakeholder involvement was further stressed by ICANN’s Mr. Beckstrom, as an essential to drive the Internet forward.  “We can look at the multi-stakeholder model as something that’s absolutely essential in this system,” he said.  “It’s part of the architecture of the system that, in many ways, reflects the Internet itself,” driving collaboration between different groups.

Ambassador Verveer said that “we in the United States are making it a point to try to recommend these [principles] to other administrations whenever we have the opportunity to do so.”

Also at the IGF, members of the International Chamber of Commerce’s BASIS (Business Action to Support the Information Society) initiative highlighted the essential role of the private sector in driving the Internet’s growth and evolution.  BASIS serves as the voice of global business on how the Internet and ICTs can serve as engines of economic growth and social development.

Speaking during the IGF’s closing ceremony, Herbert Heitmann, executive vice president for external communications with Royal Dutch Shell and chair of the ICC Commission on E-Business, IT and Telecoms, said: “As a dynamic innovator, investor and user, business contributes to the development of the Internet through education initiatives, promoting innovation and creativity, public-private research and development partnerships.”

Staff contact: Barbara Wanner

More on USCIB’s Information, Communications and Technology Committee

Inaugural Green Economies Dialogue Held in Washington

Published on October 24, 2011
A cross-section of experts from business, government and the policy community met in Washington, DC at the inaugural Green Economies Dialogue, hosted by Resources for the Future.
A cross-section of experts from business, government and the policy community met in Washington, DC at the inaugural Green Economies Dialogue, hosted by Resources for the Future.

On October 12, Resources for the Future hosted the first meeting of the Green Economies Dialogue project, an initiative of the United States Council Foundation, USCIB and a host of partner organizations and companies.

The goal of this and other GED meetings is to foster  discussion of green economy topics among business, government, inter-governmental bodies and other stakeholders, with a focus on international cooperative measures and market-based solutions that could take green growth to the next level.

Future dialogue sessions are planned for Paris (November 14, hosted by the OECD), Tokyo and Sao Paolo.  Research on a variety of green economy topics is being commissioned, and will be published in the journal Energy Economics in the lead-up to the Rio+20 summit in June 2012.

The Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD, part of USCIB’s global network, is playing an important role in organizing the dialogues.

At the Washington dialogue, government, business representatives and NGO representatives heard from economists and academics who are reviewing experiences, possibilities and unknowns embedded in the pursuit of a green economy.  Participants sought to better understand one another’s perspectives on how economic and environmental policy approaches can be practical in North America, and meaningfully pursued in international marketplaces and regulatory frameworks.

The synergy of economic and environmental policy has been a common theme of the work of our organizations, and we appreciated the diversity of views and ideas presented in the course of the meeting.   It became clear that every participant in the meeting brought a unique vision of green growth,  and all were seized both by the urgency of the challenges and the long-term nature of the tasks ahead.

Phil Sharp, President, Resources for the Future

Peter M. Robinson, President and CEO, United States Council for International Business

Participants shared U.S. experiences, and looked ahead to how resources could be deployed most effectively to speed the evolution to greener economic growth that is meaningful both in the U.S. and globally.

More information on the Washington and other dialogues, as well as a host of other pertinent resources, will be available shortly on a new Green Economies Dialogue website.

Staff contact: Norine Kennedy

More on USCIB’s Environment Committee

Mobile Broadband Spectrum Shortage Requires Immediate Action

Published on October 20, 2011
ICC says that mobile broadband spectrum policy must co-exist with other critical societal priorities such as broadcast services
ICC says that mobile broadband spectrum policy must co-exist with other critical societal priorities such as broadcast services

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) today called for governments and regulators to accelerate efforts to allocate and assign adequate spectrum to support the ever-increasing traffic demand for mobile broadband.

In a discussion paper developed by the ICC Task Force on Internet and Telecoms Infrastructure and Services (IT IS), ICC expressed concern about the strain on spectrum supply to meet the demand created by the growing number of subscribers and machine-to-machine technologies, and by the increasing consumption of voice minutes and data capacity ICC emphasized that it does not attach a greater importance to the use of spectrum for one particular mobile technology over another, and said that mobile broadband spectrum policy must co-exist with other critical societal priorities such as broadcast services.

Eric Loeb, chair of IT IS, said: “Given the enormous contribution of mobile broadband to innovation, competition, and job and economic growth in developed and developing countries, it is crucial that the unprecedented potential of mobile broadband is not stifled by a lack of adequate spectrum.”

The speed at which governments implement additional spectrum plans is critical. “The skyrocketing uptake of 3G services and mobile devices is already putting tremendous pressure on the current spectrum allocations,” said Mr Loeb. “As 4G adoption kicks in widely, that pressure will substantially increase. This entirely predictable spectrum shortage needs to be tackled as a priority today.”

Click here to read more on ICC’s website.

Staff contact: Barbara Wanner

More on USCIB’s Information, Communications and Technology Policy (ICT)

ICC website