Cicra drafts telecoms strategy to cope with future technology
DEVELOPMENTS in technology and the advent of 5G services are among the issues being considered in the development of a draft telecoms strategy from the regulator Cicra.
The Channel Islands Competition and Regulatory Authorities is seeking to set the context for a healthy telecoms sector in the future with a medium-term strategy.
Working with policy direction set by the States in both islands, the aim is to guide towards developments the island should move towards.
'Use of portable devices already goes beyond voice, web and messaging and the amount and type of spectrum capacity to come is well beyond anything seen previously.
'With it will come new services – what we now receive through fixed wire networks could be matched or exceeded by what could be available wirelessly.
'The implications of that are profound,' said Cicra chief executive Michael Byrne.
'The pace of change, the innovation involved and the support required to see these changes to fruition make predicting the future landscape difficult.
'What is clear is that there needs to be a willingness to view the changes as holistically as we can and to be reasonably prepared and adaptable to take full advantage of fluid changes – avoiding a reactive, defensive response to each change in isolation.'
More information on the future of telecoms services and regulation in the islands can be found at the Cicra website, www.cicra.gg, and in the latest issue of Business Brief magazine, www.briefci.com
