broadband strategies handbook.pdf - Khazar University

the principles of technology and service neutrality and (b) the establishmentof greater flexibility in key aspects of licensing and authorizationframeworks, particularly the authorization of a wide range of networks andservices under a single license. At the same time, there is expected to begreater reliance on broad competition law and regulation, as the historicrestrictions contained in licenses and authorizations are progressivelyreduced.Technology and Service NeutralityTechnology neutrality is based on the premise that service providers andnetwork operators should be allowed to use the technology that best meetsthe needs of their network and the demands of their customers; such choicesshould not be dictated by governments. In the licensing context, technologyneutrality means that different technologies capable of providing similar orsubstitute services should be licensed and regulated in a similar way. 3 In thebroadband context, this means that broadband service providers abide bysimilar licensing processes and conditions regardless of whether theydeliver services via wireless, digital subscriber line (DSL), fiber, cablemodem, or other technology. However, a licensing framework that is generallyconsidered technology neutral does not have to treat all providers inexactly the same way; it may treat certain broadband technologies or servicesdifferently. For example, the promotion of nascent services (for example,voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP) using a light-handed regulatoryapproach may warrant departure from technology neutrality, at least on atemporary basis, to promote the development of those technologies. Thisalso may be the case for wireless vs. wireline broadband technologies due tothe need for separate spectrum authorizations and other spectrum-relatedmatters, such as capacity constraints and interference.Service neutrality is based on the similar premise that network operatorsshould be allowed to provide whatever services their technology and infrastructurecan deliver. In the past, due to the limitations of technology, networkswere “purpose built.” As information and communications becameincreasingly digitized, however, it became possible for different networks tosupport similar or substitute services. Thus, both cable and telecommunicationsnetworks can now support a wide range of voice, data, and video services.More relevant for developing countries, mobile service providers areincreasingly able to offer such services as well. Given this convergence, constrainingnetwork operators’ services based on old conceptions of technologyis no longer appropriate. Adoption of more liberal licensing regimesallows companies to provide a wide range of services under a single licenseLaw and Regulation for a Broadband World 93