The eighth annual Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR) is organized by the Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), in collaboration with the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology and the National Telecommunications Commission of Thailand. The Symposium will be held at the Pattaya Exhibition and Convention Hall (PEACH), Pattaya, Thailand from 11 to 13 March 2008.

The GSR is an annual event bringing together heads of national regulatory authorities from both developed and developing countries and has earned a reputation as the global venue for regulators to share their views and experiences as part of the worldwide community of regulators.  The meeting fosters an open dialogue between regulators and key ICT stakeholders: the private sector, investors and consumers. The first day of the GSR, 11 March 2008, will be open to regulators, policy makers, ITU-D Sector Members and other invited guests.  The two days that follow, 12-13 March, will be reserved for regulators and policy makers.

The theme of the 8th Annual GSR is Six Degrees of Sharing: Innovative infrastructure sharing and open access strategies to promote affordable access for all. Participants will discuss and debate a range of sharing strategies that have been grouped under six categories. The meeting will address the why, what and how of sharing. Specific topics covered include active and passive infrastructure sharing, functional/operational separation, international and domestic mobile roaming regulation, international gateway liberalization, sharing of end devices and innovative applications, regulatory/policy harmonization and universal access. These issues will also be examined in GSR Discussion Papers to be presented at the Symposium. Two Speeds Exchange sessions will be organized to provide additional opportunities for participants to meet informally and exchange views. A palette of moderated roundtable discussions will be offered, and participants will be encouraged to move from table to table to discuss pressing issues.

For more information on this conference or to download the programme, please click here.