[At-Large] A Giant Step Backward or the Way Forward

[Derek Smythe]

"A Giant Step Backward or the Way Forward
An Analysis of some Proposals before WCIT"

http://lirneasia.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Samarajiva-WCIT-Final_9.12.pdf

> Executive Summary
> In December, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) will convene the 2012 
> World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT-12) in Dubai, United Arab 
> Emirates, for the purpose of revising the International Telecommunication Regulations 
> (ITRs) that govern the way nations handle telecommunications network traffic as it crosses 
> their borders. Among the most troubling proposals submitted to the ITU’s Council Working 
> Group to prepare for WCIT-12 are the contribution from European Telecommunications 
> Network Operators Association (ETNO) and the Africa Region contribution submitted by 
> Egypt.
> ETNO wants the ITU to designate Internet content providers as “call originators” and 
> subject them to a “sending party network pays” rule that would allow telecommunications 
> operators to charge them rates they believe are commensurate with the bandwidth their 
> content consumes.
> Such a change would have enormous implications for the expansion of the digital economy 
> in the developing world. 
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