The Independent Regulators Group (IRG) was established in 1997 as a group of European National Telecommunications Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) to share experiences and points of views among its members on important issues relating to the regulation and development of the European telecommunications market at the beginning of the liberalisation of the markets (with the 1998 so-called Open Network Provision (ONP) framework).

Objetivos:

The Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority (ECTEL) was established on 04 May, 2000, by Treaty signed in St. George’s, Grenada, by the Governments of five Eastern Caribbean States – Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

ECTEL is the regulatory body for telecommunications in its Member States. It is made up of three components – A Council of Ministers, a regional Directorate and a National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (NTRC) in each Member State.

Foro Latinoamericano de Entes Reguladores de Telecomunicaciones

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Established on May 28 1975 via the treaty of Lagos, ECOWAS is a 15-member regional group with a mandate of promoting economic integration in all fields of activity of the constituting countries.

Member countries making up ECOWAS are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote d’ Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Senegal and Togo.

The WTO Reference Paper: Negotiating group on basic telecommunications dated 24 April 1996

Telecommunications services are a global market worth over US$ 1.5 trillion in revenue. Mobile services account for roughly 40 per cent of this, while mobile subscribers worldwide currently outnumber the use of fixed telephone lines by more than two to one. Over the past decade, the market has witnessed far-reaching changes, with the introduction of competition into a sector that was once principally a monopoly.

The objectives of the NCC:

Universal Service includes the set of services that are guaranteed to be provided for all end users, regardless of their geographic location, with a specific quality and at an affordable price. The various services included are:

This Law establishes the regulatory framework for the relations between the providers of electronic communications networks and services, on one hand, and the end-users, on the other hand.

(2) This Law establishes rules concerning:

a) the universal service;

b) the rights of end-users;

c) the obligations of the providers of electronic communications networks and services with significant market power;

d) the obligations of the providers of public communications networks and of the providers of publicly available electronic communications services.