The Role of International Organizations in the Telecommunications/Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Sector

Scope of Module 4

This part aims to engage the learner with the role of international organisation in the global telecommunications sphere. Different international organisations are identified and their functions located specifically to telecommunications. This section also provides an analysis of international policies formulated by these organisations, and more importantly, the impact of these polices on the development of telecommunications and ICT in general on national domestic arenas. Learners are also introduced to the various global trends in telecommunications. This is intended to arouse their interests to further follow such trends.

Learning Outcomes

Once you have worked through this study part, you should be able to:

• Explain the role of international organizations and other major players in the telecommunications sector. These organizations include the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), World Trade Organization (WTO), International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB);
• Explain the impact of international telecommunications organizations on domestic telecommunications policies;
• Explain the changing trends in international telecommunications policies of the ITU, WTO, IMF and the WB; and
• Explain the role of research and development (R&D) in the development of new international information and communication technology (ICT) policies.

Introduction

International policy organizations such as the ITU, the WTO, the IMF and the WB, play a crucial role in the development of global telecommunications and information and communication technology (ICT) policies. Global telecommunications policies in turn influence local or domestic ICT and telecommunications policies of many countries. This part examines the role of these organizations in international ICT and telecommunications policy formulation. In this study unit you will also learn how global telecommunications policies affect domestic telecommunications policies, as you will see in the examples of the policies of those countries mentioned in this module; for example, South Africa's telecommunications and ICT policies have been greatly influenced by the ITU, WB and WTO policies.